对于留学生来说，Essay写作伴随着整个留学生活。正因为留学生大量的Essay作业，不少留学生为了规定的Essay字数而发愁，毕竟既不能写得太少，又不能写得太多，所以很纠结。那么如何根据老师规定的字数进行删减呢？
For international students,Essay writing is accompanied by the whole life of studying abroad.Because of the large number of Essay assignments of foreign students,many foreign students worry about the required number of Essay words.After all,they cannot write too little or too much,so they are very confused.Then how to delete according to the number of words specified by the teacher?
一、Essay写作字数的重要性
1、The Importance of Essay's Word Count
一篇Essay的字数规定代表着期望你写出多少东西。大部分学校可以接受学生交上来的Essay在规定字数的上下10％范围内浮动。如果你不确定你所在院校的具体规定，一定要去查一查style guide或者咨询一下课程讲师。
An Essay word count rule represents how much you are expected to write.Most schools can accept that the Essay handed in by students should be within 10%of the required number of words.If you are not sure about the specific regulations of your school,you must check the style guide or consult the course instructor.
既然有了字数规定以及合理的浮动范围，那么字数太少就表示你根本写不出东西，要么对写作议题的深度和广度缺乏足够的严肃的认识，要么就是因为各种主观客观因素没有做好充分的研究。但不管什么原因，字数不够总不是什么好事儿。
Since there is a rule on the number of words and a reasonable floating range,a small number of words means that you can't write anything at all.Either you lack a serious understanding of the depth and breadth of the writing topic,or you don't do enough research on various subjective and objective factors.But no matter what the reason,it is not good to have enough words.
而另一方面，Essay字数也并不是多多益善。洋洋洒洒写太多可能意味着你无法清晰简洁地表达观点，或者这篇文章可能有太多的旁枝末节、没有专注于探讨一个特定的议题。
On the other hand,the number of words of Essay is not always good.Too much writing may mean that you can't express your views clearly and concisely,or the article may have too many sidelights and not focus on a specific topic.
二、提前做好Essay字数规划
2、Plan the word number of Essay in advance
那么怎样才能保证Essay的长度正合适呢？首先要做的就是在开始写作之前预先进行规划。列出文章的整体结构和提纲，确认好整篇文章规定的总字数，然后就可以大致了解Essay论文里的每个论证部分有多少字数空间。
How can we ensure that the length of Essay is right?The first thing to do is to plan ahead before you start writing.List the overall structure and outline of the article,confirm the total number of words specified in the whole article,and then you can roughly understand the number of words in each argument part of Essay's paper.
当然，字数分配在实际撰写的过程中还可以随时进行调整。这样的心中有谱可比文章才写了一半就发现字数超标要省心省力得多！
Of course,the number of characters can be adjusted at any time during the actual writing process.It is much easier to find that the number of words exceeds the standard after only half of the article is written!
三、怎样减少Essay写作字数？
3、How to reduce the number of words written by Essay?
如果你真的文思泉涌，字数超出了合理范围，那么可以回顾一下我们前一期分享的有关填充词的精简，并从以下几个方面入手，尝试减少字数：
If you are really full of ideas and the number of words is beyond the reasonable range,you can review the simplification of filler words we shared in the previous issue and try to reduce the number of words from the following aspects:
找出并删减文章中重复的语句
Find and delete repeated sentences in the article
删除不必要的、冗余的单词或短语
Delete unnecessary and redundant words or phrases
将被动语态改为主动语态
Change the passive voice to the active voice
如果你的Essay远远超过了规定字数、需要大量减少的话，那么需要你下狠心进行更大幅度的删减。例如文中对你的观点不那么重要的论证过程和例子就可以考虑删除，从而达到去芜存菁的效果，保持文章的精炼。此外，在篇幅较长的论文或毕业论文中，也可以将一些信息移到附录中。
If your Essay is far more than the required number of words and needs to be greatly reduced,you need to be more ruthless to cut it.For example,the argumentation process and examples that are not so important to your point of view in the article can be deleted,so as to achieve the effect of eliminating the turnip and keeping the article concise.In addition,some information can also be moved to the appendix in the long thesis or graduation thesis.
四、怎样增加Essay写作字数？
4、How to increase the number of words written by Essay?
正如前面讲到的，字数太少往往不是写作技巧的问题，而是内容上的硬伤。因此，我们也没有增加Essay写作字数的捷径，但有一些建议供你参考。
As mentioned earlier,too few words are often not a problem of writing skills,but a hard injury to the content.Therefore,we do not have a shortcut to increase the number of words in the article,but we have some suggestions for your reference.
首先就是千万不要为了增加字数而注水，胡乱硬塞些不必要的、对文章观点没有帮助的文字，这只能起到适得其反的效果。应该做的是好好地重读一遍文章，找出可以加以扩展的内容，例如：
First of all,do not inject water in order to increase the number of words,and just cram unnecessary words that do not help the article's point of view.This will only backfire.What should be done is to reread the article and find out what can be expanded,such as:
补充另一个例子
Add another example
更加深入地阐述一个论点
Elaborate an argument in greater depth
对不同的观点进行比较和分析
Compare and analyze different views
加入权威性的引言来支持你的观点
Add an authoritative quote to support your point of view
如果还是不知道应该写什么，那么就沉下心来多看一点文献资料、多做一些研究吧。重申一下增加字数的关键是必须有干货，绝不是简单地注水哦！
If you still don't know what to write,then you should settle down to read more literature and do more research.Once again,the key to increasing the number of words is to have dry goods,not simply water!
