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How long is 200 words?
200 words is a little under half a single-spaced page (0.4 of a page) or 0.8 of a double-spaced one. It takes under a minute to read and about 1.5 minutes to say out loud.
Work it out
pages, single-spaced, Arial 12 pt, about 500 words a page
- Handwritten pages
- 0.8
- Reading time
- 50 sec
- Speaking time
- 1 min 20 sec–1 min 32 sec
- Typing time
- 5 min
- Paragraphs
- 1–2
- Sentences
- 10–13
- Characters with spaces
- about 1,200
Write it in the word counter with a goal of at least 200 words.
Open the word counter200 words in pages
| Font, 12 pt | Single-spaced | 1.5 spacing | Double-spaced |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arial | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.8 |
| Calibri | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.8 |
| Times New Roman | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.7 |
| Courier New | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1.1 |
How long 200 words takes
| Activity | Time |
|---|---|
| Reading non-fiction (238 words a minute) | 50 sec |
| Reading fiction (260 words a minute) | 46 sec |
| Speaking at 130 words a minute | 1 min 32 sec |
| Speaking at 150 words a minute | 1 min 20 sec |
| Typing at 40 words a minute | 5 min |
Estimates for US Letter or A4 with 1-inch (2.54 cm) margins and ordinary paragraphs; reading at 238 words a minute, speaking at 130 to 150.
What fits in 200 words
Two good paragraphs. That is enough for a short opinion with a reason, a summary of a meeting, an e-mail that makes a request and explains it, or a LinkedIn post that tells one small story. Many scholarship and application short answers sit between 150 and 250 words.
Spoken, 200 words is a toast of about a minute and a half, or the opening of a presentation.
Tips
- Two paragraphs, two jobs. Use the first for the point and the second for the evidence or the ask.
- Keep sentences short. Fifteen words on average keeps 200 words easy to scan on a phone.
- Check the platform. On social media the limit is often in characters, not words: see the character limits for each place.
Questions and answers
How many paragraphs is 200 words?
One or two. Most essay paragraphs are 100 to 200 words; on the web, two shorter paragraphs read better.
How long does it take to say 200 words?
About 1.5 minutes at a conversational 150 words a minute, a little longer at a measured 130.
How many characters is 200 words?
About 1,200 characters with spaces, which is more than a single X post but well under LinkedIn’s 3,000-character limit.