How Many Pages Is 600 Words?
1 min read
Short answer
600 words in pages
Times New Roman 12pt with 1-inch margins, the usual academic setup.
| Spacing | US Letter | A4 |
|---|---|---|
| Single spaced | 1.2 pages | 1.2 pages |
| 1.5 spaced | 1.6 pages | 1.5 pages |
| Double spaced | 2.4 pages | 2.3 pages |
By font
US Letter, 1-inch margins. Google Docs starts in Arial 11pt; Word used Calibri 11pt for years before switching to Aptos.
| Font and size | Single spaced | Double spaced |
|---|---|---|
| Times New Roman 12pt | 1.2 | 2.4 |
| Arial 12pt | 1.4 | 2.8 |
| Arial 11pt | 1.2 | 2.3 |
| Calibri 12pt | 1.3 | 2.5 |
| Calibri 11pt | 1.1 | 2.1 |
- Paragraphs
- About 4 (3 to 6, at 100 to 200 words each)
- Characters
- About 3,500 including spaces
- Reading time
- 2 minutes 31 seconds at 238 words a minute
- Speaking time
- 4 minutes at 150 words a minute
- Handwritten
- About 2.4 sides of lined paperin average handwriting, about 250 words a side
Check your own numbers
2.4
Pages · double spaced
Every spacing
600 wordsAlso worth knowing
Estimates assume 12pt Times New Roman or Arial with 1-inch margins on US Letter or A4.
Two places 600 words matters
College application essays. The Common App personal essay has a limit of 650 words. A 600-word draft is in the right place: long enough to tell one story properly, with a little room for the edits your readers will suggest.
Opinion pieces. Many newspaper and magazine opinion sections ask for around 600 to 800 words. At 600, you make one argument, support it with your best evidence and stop.
Both have the same discipline: one idea, told well.
Shaping a 600-word personal essay
A personal essay is not a list of achievements. A shape that works:
| Part | Words |
|---|---|
| A specific moment that opens the story | 100 |
| What was at stake, and what you did | 200 |
| What changed in how you think | 200 |
| Where that leads you now | 100 |
The middle 400 words carry the essay. Admissions readers see thousands of openings about sports injuries and mission trips; what they remember is the reflection, the part only you could write.
Shaping a 600-word op-ed
| Part | Words |
|---|---|
| The hook: why this matters this week | 80 |
| Your argument in one sentence, then expanded | 150 |
| Evidence: two strong points | 250 |
| The best objection, answered | 70 |
| What should happen next | 50 |
Editors cut from the bottom, so put the strongest material high.
Getting under the limit
If your Common App draft is 780 words, cut the opening paragraph of background first; most first drafts start a paragraph too early. Then cut sentences that tell the reader what to feel (“This experience was truly life-changing”). Paste your draft into the essay word counter with a 650 limit to see where you stand.