What if you had to write something that was 1000 words, such as an article or a blog post? How many pages is 1000 words? The answer to that question depends on the medium of those 1000 words. Is it in a word document? Is it on a website? Is it for a college application?
People use Microsoft Word or Google Docs for all sorts of academic and business projects. The word counter in Microsoft Word shows how many words per page there are. The number of pages that 1000 words take up in Word depends on the font type, font size, spacing, margins, and paragraph structure. Here are some rudimentary calculations for 1000 words:
- Two pages when the font type is Arial, the font size is 12pt, and it has single spacing.
- Two pages when the font type is Calibri, the font size is 10pt, and it has double spacing.
- Four pages when the font type is Times New Roman, the font size is 12pt, and it has double spacing. These are the common requirements for both high school and college writing.
Example Calculations of Words per Page
Example #1
Let’s say a high school senior is applying for college. For a college application, they must write a 1000-word essay on a topic. The student uses a word counter to keep track of the number of words and pages. The page count depends on the college’s requirements regarding font size and type, margins, and spacing. In some cases, student's are required to write their college application essays by hand. In that instance, the number of words per page, and the number of pages for the total amount of 1000 words depends on the student’s handwriting. On average, however, a 1000-word essay would take 2–4 pages depending on the spacing guidelines.
Example #2
What if you are typing up a 500-word blog post for a website. How many pages is 500 words? Well, if you type up the post in Microsoft Word or Google Docs beforehand, 500 words will roughly take up between 1–2 pages. On the actual website, it could take up a small section or the entire website page (so make sure you know which one you're going to use). The website's layout matters in this case, and determines the final look of the text. Using a program like Google Docs you can easily track your post's word count using their built in word/character count feature.
Example #3
What if you had to write something that was 1500 words? Again, it depends on the factors already discussed: font type and size, spacing, margins, and paragraph structure. A rough page estimate for 1500 words in a document that uses 14pt Verdana font and 1.5 spacing would be about six and a half pages. If you change the font to Times New Roman, and the font size to 12pt, that 1500-word document is about four pages. So you can see the choice of typeface and size has a significant impact on page count.
Example #4
How about 2000 words? Let’s say a high school student had to write a final paper for one of their classes. How Many Pages is 2000 Words? In this case, the teacher just wants the text to be readable. Therefore, the student uses a typeface such as Verdana or Arial, at a 12pt size, and with double spacing. Using the same formula 2000 words takes up about seven pages.
Exmaple #5
Let’s say a college student needs to write a term paper for their history course. The required word count is 3000 words. The teacher makes the other following requirements:
- Times New Roman font.
- 12pt font size.
- Double spacing.
Using our table the approximate page number is twelve pages. However, if the teacher also requires the same paper to have headings and subheadings, the page count will change. For this example, the main headings will have the Heading 1 format, and the subheadings will have Heading 2 format. Plus, the margins will be 0.5 inches on the right and left. When the student uses those additional settings on a 3000-word document typed in Microsoft Word, the total number of pages is 13.
Example #6
Let’s say an aspiring writer is working on a story. Their goal is 10,000 words. For this example, the writer uses Google Docs. If the writer follows the typical manuscript format – 12pt Calibri font with double spacing – they will have a short story that is approximately 34 pages.
If that writer writes a 50,000-word novel, the total manuscript page count will be about 172 pages. However, that does not take into account the story being broken down into chapters or the use of line breaks. Therefore, the page count for one 50,000-word novel will very likely differ from the page count of another novel with the same word count since the book's layout will have to be taken into account.
Page Count is Subjective
For instance, a 20,000-word article in a magazine may only take up few pages, or it may take up ten pages due to advertisements. It depends on how the magazine is formatted. Another example is a children’s book with lots of pictures. The total word count can be around 500 words. However, those 500 words can take up to 20 pages due to large font size and the inclusion of pictures.
In conclusion, the number of pages for a certain amount of words depends on the font and size, margins, spacing, and paragraph structure. The final format of a piece of writing, whether it’s a printed Word document, a published book, a magazine article, or a page on a website, also matters. Page count is either just a required element of an academic or business assignment, or something to keep track of for personal reasons.