Writers in today’s age have to adhere to strict guidelines no matter what the subject matter.  Whether you’re a student or a professional, making sure you meet a specific word count is a standard typically used to measure how much needs to be written.  Some requirements need an exact numerical amount of words to reach, while others require a firm page count. This is where a word count tool comes in handy.  You may be curious as to what does a word counter actually count?  Is it only just whole words?  Characters? Sentences?  Take a deep dive to understand what a word counter is and why it is an asset to writers of all forms and formats.  

Uses for a Word Counter

A highly useful tool that every writer needs to take advantage of is a word counter.  In its most simplistic form, is a tool in which you can upload, paste or type your text into in order to positively confirm how much you have written.  Having these tools are an asset to writers in numerous ways, not simply just for counting words.  Here’s the long and short of how it can assist your writing needs.

• Counting words – ensure that your essay, article or written work meets the exact criteria of words necessary
• Characters – know the precise number of characters your work includes, especially useful for professional writers on social media platforms where there is a character limit in place
• Sentences – track how many sentences are currently in your piece
• Paragraphs and pages – Ideal for students in determining if they have reached the minimum page requirement for school assignments or professional writers who must not exceed a specific length
• Spelling and grammar checking – useful for every scenario, a word counter can alert you when there has been a spelling or grammar error in real time  
• Keyword tracking – determine which words are used multiple times to ensure diversity in your vocabulary 

Improve Writing Skills

Utilizing a word counter tool is beneficial in not only the ways mentioned above, but can inherently advance your writing skills as a whole.  In the instance of having to create an assignment for educational or professional purposes, oftentimes words can come at a loss especially when writing about one particular topic.  When imploring the use of a word counter, you can track which keywords or terms have been used most often and research synonymous language that can convey a similar sentiment without repeating yourself over and over.  New vocabulary is easily uncovered this way, thus opening the door for improving the manner in which your written expressions can be relayed.  It’s an often overlooked issue when deep in thought that repetition occurs, but with repetitions comes learning and growth.  Knowing where you can revamp is a significant step in becoming a better and clearer writer.

Thankfully, technology has come a long way with helping to better our lives, making knowledge available faster and easier to obtain.  Gone are the days when typewriters were the method in which printed text was available, as well as green screen computers connected to printers as large as a wild African cat.  The ways in which we are able to transcribe words are numerous and as such, so are the ways in which we are easily able to enhance, correct and elaborate on those thoughts.  Taking advantage of the tools that are available to us not only makes life easier, but allows for us to expand our knowledge base on a much faster scale than ever before.  Little did you know that using a tool as simplistic as a word counter could open the door to learning and expanding our vernacular horizons.