How do you count the number of words in an article?

Hi, When the article is on paper, I first count the number of lines and then count the number of words in the first line. Then I multiply these two numbers to get a rough estimate of number of words in that article. Sometimes I write in Microsoft word and it has an in-built word counting system. If the article is already published on some webpage, then I just copy and paste the required portion in Microsoft word and let it count the number of words. Whether you do it manually or with some automated system, there will always be some difference between the actual count and the approximate count, so why do it manually at all? Thanks. God bless you.

If you are using a Microsoft word programme there is a word count facility in the tool bar. Just g to tools and it is shown up at the bottom of the list that opens. I would imagine that any word processing programme would have the same facility

the program Word has an automatic word counter which i use all the time.

I just go to http://javascript.com/script/script2/countwords.shtml which really comes in handy when I need to do a paid post asking for a certain number of words. It is a real pain counting them.

I use Word, so I can do it automatically there (see the posts above), it is really the easiest way...

Since others have replied to the question already, all I want to say, I'm thankful I don't have to count them one by one.

I use an editor called NoteTab. It counts the words, lines, whatever you want it to do. It's inexpensive and I wouldn't be without it. Unlike Word, you can copy and paste into anything without worrying about strange characters showing up.

Hi Hippie, MS Word has word count plus the spell check function. The spell check function is not really that good. However, it can offer suggestion for active voice when you have written in passive voice. If you want to check the keyword density, you need to do a word count, then use the Find function to count the number of keywords. After that, you can calculate the keyword density.

Like virtually everyone has said, use the "Word Count" feature, HOWEVER, also be aware of just how picky the site you're writing for is with regards to typing errors (e.g. you may have typed "at" or "be" twice), as you will need to check this manually, as Word sometimes won't pick mistakes like this up. If you find manual counting tedious, but It's something you have to do (e.g. for a very strict word limit), break the writing down into sections, such as counting words per section or paragraph - this way, you won't need to check over the entire work when you're at the very end.