Word Count on the Noticeboard
A student council writes a notice for the school newsletter. The editor's rule is: the notice must be between 90 and 110 words inclusive, and every sentence must contain at least one comma. The draft reads:
"The library will close early on Friday for stocktaking. Students who need to borrow books should visit before lunch. Returns can be left in the blue bin outside the door. The quiet study room will also be unavailable that afternoon. We apologise for any trouble this causes and thank you for your patience."
The council president says the draft is 'about right' and wants to submit it. A second member counts the words and claims it is already over the limit. A third member says the comma rule is the real problem.
1. Count the words in the draft and decide which claim (president, second member, or third member) is correct.
Read the worked answer
Count each sentence:
- "The library will close early on Friday for stocktaking." = 9 words.
- "Students who need to borrow books should visit before lunch." = 10 words.
- "Returns can be left in the blue bin outside the door." = 11 words.
- "The quiet study room will also be unavailable that afternoon." = 10 words.
- "We apologise for any trouble this causes and thank you for your patience." = 13 words.
Total = 9 + 10 + 11 + 10 + 13 = 53 words.
The draft is well under the 90-word minimum, so the president's 'about right' is wrong and the second member's 'over the limit' is also wrong - it is under, not over. The third member is right that the comma rule is violated: none of the five sentences contains a comma. Both the length and the comma rule fail, so the notice cannot be submitted as written.
2. Rewrite the notice so it meets both rules, and prove your version passes.
Read the worked answer
Model rewrite (word counts shown per sentence):
- "The library will close early on Friday, so please plan ahead." = 11
- "Students who need to borrow books should visit before lunch, not after." = 12
- "Returns can be left in the blue bin outside the door, clearly labelled." = 13
- "The quiet study room will also be unavailable that afternoon, unfortunately." = 11
- "We apologise for any trouble this causes, and we thank you for your patience." = 15
- "Normal hours resume on Monday, and the study room reopens then too." = 12
- "Thank you for understanding, and please share this notice widely." = 10
Total = 11 + 12 + 13 + 11 + 15 + 12 + 10 = 84. That is still below 90, so add:
- "If you have questions, please ask at the front desk before Friday." = 12
New total = 96, inside 90–110. Every sentence contains at least one comma (sentences 1–8 each have one). The rewrite passes both rules, and the check is explicit: 96 is between 90 and 110, and 8 of 8 sentences contain a comma.