Word Count Analysis

I thought of doing a little analysis of how an article evolves. This article is still evolving but I am impressed with how it has taken shape so far. You can see the ideal of 6000 words and how I started out with 9540. Also, the most problematic part was the Findings and you can see how it has progressively fall in word count. It fell because of my supervisor's feedback to restructure. So the fastest way to cut word count is to find a neater structure that can contain your ideas. Copyediting will not help much at cutting down the words, it only chips away. So those minor fall in numbers were the results of concision and clarity, the drastic fall was the result of major re-writing. Also, perhaps you can see my struggle with the conclusion, especially at the beginning. So clueless I was, I left it empty. I have consistently found the conclusion one of the hardest sections to write.

I hope this analysis can encourage others who are finding it difficult to write. It's really a matter of perseverance. You keep working at it, and you don't give up, and one day it will be ready to be submitted.

So I am going to give myself some appreciation and validation now (and be self-compassionate). Good job, Shuyi! Nice work you have there. It's not yet completed, but I like the way it's going. :)