After giving my marvelous introduction to this research project I asked for questions. The first question was, “How many words does it have to be?” Before I could answer, another student replied, “Word count doesn’t matter. You need a robust answer.” This was my answer to another word count question a few weeks ago. Students loved the word “robust” and repeated it around the room. We discussed things like fully answering the question, impressing peer reviewers, and making the writer feel proud. Students actually remembered the discussion and repeated back these parameters.

The original questioner then asked, “So does that mean about 500 words?” There were groans from many classmates. My response was, “If you are doing a good job, you will not be able to stop at 500 words.”

The word count person is one of my students who has learned to believe that meeting a minimum word count should result in an “A” paper. It is the same student that can’t understand how a hundred or so extra words will not automatically result in an “A” paper, especially when a neighboring student got an “A” for a shorter essay. This is one of my students who has difficulty distinguishing quality from quantity. This same student thinks all paragraphs must be five sentences long and that a two page response to a question does not require paragraphs so long as it is answering the question with however many claims are included.

I must admit that I still often provide minimum word counts. I would like to get away from it, but, when I do, students like the one above want me to explain why I believe their 150 words did not fully answer a question like, “What were the causes of the Great Depression?” This is something I really do not have time to debate. It does make me ask, however, why so many students are focused on quantity rather than quality.

Is this a problem for anyone else? Have you found solutions? Have you found ways, like using the word “robust,” to make the quality v quantity differentiation stick?