College people: How to make your paper longer
 

I thought this was pretty clever:

http://break.com/index/really_useful_paper_tip.html

courier new, size 12, 1.25 inch margins also works, or so I hear :spock:

Rep.

You just scored me an extra 3 lines on a paper on the Three Classical Arguments for the Existence of God.

Thanks.

Changing the font type is extremely obvious, especially courier new. It is a clever trick, too bad the professors I have this this term like to set word instead of page minimums.

I once changed the margins top, bottom, sides. It was also double spaced, so I made it 2.2 spaces instead of just 2 lines. It was sad, but it added enough to make my 8 pages into a "close enough to 10" page paper.

Most of my professors use a ruler or require that you submit your paper via e-mail so they have the original copy. Using little tricks like this is just more likely to get you in trouble than anything else. Regardless, it's still pretty nifty :)

A friend of mine put clip art in his paper once and the prof liked it.

My professors check the margins and all that stuff, so that usually doesn't work.

Never heard of this period trick though. Not sure how it does that, but I'll give it a try on my next paper.

Mine too. Every prof I've had this semester told us they check margins, spacing, font size, etc.

I've been inspecting the "old" paper and the "new" paper and I can't tell....and I know what I'm looking for.

yeah, I know... I generally don't worry about page length, all of the profs I've ever had worried more about quality than quanity (as long as it at least came somewhat close to the minimum length)

I know s/g much better, and not noticeable.

1) Use your regular period, double-spacing, but use a font with a high x-height.
(that's the body of the type as in the lower-case letter x) these take up more room than fonts with narrower x-heights.

2) Add to this, if you can in the program you're using some wider spaces between characters. Usually it's called "kerning" when you remove spaces to make the text fit but when you add it's called "letterspacing." So add some wider letterspacing. Don't go hog wild, as it will get obvious and can be too hard to read if you do that. It really can add quite a few pages.

Heh! Heh! Heh!

Now if the teacher was smart they'd require the thing by number of words or characters instead of pages. BTW, I teach and require papers too. I can spot BS.

I have done that a few times...

If you really want to make a paper beefy... It is simple and the professors love you for it, just quote stuff and do it properly..
Hell if you quote a paragraph you have to indent it on both sides.

The difference in those periods was obvious. Any professor would catch that.

I agree. Thought that was silly. It had to be a joke.

Another prof, here.

I hate reading papers, so I usually specify a maximum length rather than a minimum length.

This period trick acutally changes the space in between lines (try it in Word). If I was anal about page length, I would use a ruler to measure the spacing between lines and the characters per inch and would catch this in a second. If I determined that the deception was intentional I would penalize the hell out of you. No one wants to be played for a fool.

I hope that guy tries his little trick and gets in trouble. You can barely see a normal, 12-pt. period. The 14-pt. period looks like a bold 12-pt. period. Anyone who needs to cheat like that shouldn't be in college.

Yeah! Well I had a kid actually miss his final and filed an appeal because he didn't pass. And someone, literally cut and paste off the net, without chaning the fonts and sizes....it was so obvious. I had to do was type some lines in on Google and Voila! There's always a few.

Helvetica font. Stretched a 4 page to a 4 and 3/4 page paper.

It was a required 6 but it became 7 after a little font-finagling...

You shouldn't be in college, and you're going to hell.

I'm not, at the moment.

You want me to save you a parking space or something?...

Yes, thank you.....


:p

OR, you could add depth to your arguments. Honestly, I've never cared about the length of the paper. The content has to be well-developed, reflective, and well-organized.

Exactly why the 7th draft is essential to the writer with ADHD...

i put one page in how kendrell bell sucks against guarding the flat. my prof loved it

As a teacher, this is great to know. :D

FWIW, I specify WORD COUNT within a specified range. :)

I never have a problem with minimum page lengths. My problem is verbal diarrhea. It's hard for me to use just a few words to get my point across.

However, you have to admit that some professors specify minimum page lengths simply as an exercise in time wasting. If I can answer the question in 4 pages, why make me write 7?

Minimums should be word count...Content over length.

girth over length.

Yep. If you're really in the mood to do that, you might as well just change the line spacing under Format: Paragraph.

Yep, lot's of quotes single-spaced and double indented. Then you spend the following paragraph commenting on the quote. Writing a 10-page paper is a breeze. Those that complain are pussies. Now a 40-50 page paper...well, that's not for the faint at heart.