Word Count Without Citations
Count the words in your essay without in-text citations, the reference list, footnotes, or any other part your word limit leaves out. Upload your Word document or paste the text: every part that is left out is highlighted, so you can check it.
Drop your Word document here, or click to choose it
.docx works best: headings, tables, footnotes and superscript citations come from Word itself.
Your document is read in your browser and never uploaded.
What It Can Leave Out
| Part | How it is found | Word file | Pasted text |
|---|---|---|---|
| In-text citations | Citation patterns in brackets, plus superscript numbers in Word files | Yes | Yes |
| Reference list or bibliography | A "References", "Works Cited" or "Bibliography" heading and everything after it | Yes | Yes |
| Footnotes and endnotes | Word's own footnote and endnote sections | Yes | No |
| Appendices | An "Appendix" heading and everything after it | Yes | Yes |
| Abstract | An "Abstract" heading up to the next heading, including a "Keywords" line | Yes | Yes |
| Title and headings | Word's Title and Heading styles, and the table of contents | Yes | No |
| Tables | Text inside Word tables | Yes | No |
| Figure and table captions | Word's Caption style, or lines starting "Figure 1." or "Table 2:" | Yes | Yes |
| Quotations | Text in quotation marks, and Word's Quote styles for block quotes | Yes | Yes |
Pasted text loses Word's headings, tables, footnotes and superscript formatting, so upload the .docx when you can.
Citation Styles It Recognises
APA, Harvard, Chicago author-date
- (Walker, 2017)
- (Smith & Lee, 2019, p. 14)
- (Jones et al., 2021; Brown, n.d.)
- Walker (2017) argues… removes only (2017)
MLA
- (Fitzgerald 180)
- (Smith and Lee 24–26)
- (Hamlet 3.1.56)
- "…over" (24)
Numbered: IEEE, Vancouver, AMA
- [1]
- [2, 3]
- [4–6]
- superscript ¹² in a Word file
Brackets it leaves alone: (see Figure 2), (n = 45), (p < 0.001), (about 20%), (1939–1945), (January 2020), (e.g., cats), [sic]. Citations without brackets ("Walker argues") and MLA citations with a name only, such as (Walker), stay in the count because they cannot be told apart from ordinary text.
How Accurate Is It?
We tested the citation finder on eight open-access research papers, four with author-date citations and four with numbered citations, where the publisher marks every citation in the article's source. It found all 532 marked citations and did not flag any of the 498 other brackets, such as statistics like (p < 0.001), percentages and abbreviations. It also removed 39 years in narrative mentions such as "Wang et al. (2018)", which the publishers had not marked but most word limits treat as part of the citation.
Research papers are tidier than most essays, and MLA was checked only on our own examples, so always look through the highlighted preview before you rely on the number.
How to Count Words Without Citations in Microsoft Word
Word cannot leave citations out of its count. University libraries usually suggest this workaround:
- Save a copy of your essay and open the copy.
- Delete the reference list and appendices.
- Press Ctrl+H, click More, and tick Use wildcards.
- In Find what, type
\(*\), leave Replace with empty, and click Replace All. - Press Ctrl+Shift+G to see the new count.
It works, but it deletes every bracket, including statistics and asides that should count, and it misses numbered citations such as [1]. The tool above removes only citations and shows you each one.
Should You Leave Citations Out?
Only if your rules say so. Many courses count in-text citations as part of the essay, while almost all leave out the reference list. Postgraduate theses and dissertations are the most common place where citations are excluded too. When the brief is unclear, ask. For the usual rules on footnotes, titles, tables and appendices, see what counts toward a word count.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do in-text citations count toward the word count?
It depends on your course. Many instructors count in-text citations as part of the essay, and Microsoft Word always counts them. Some rules leave them out, especially for postgraduate theses and dissertations, and almost all leave out the reference list. Check your assignment brief or handbook before you remove anything.
How do I get a word count without citations in Microsoft Word?
Word has no setting for it. The usual workaround is to work on a copy, press Ctrl+H, tick "Use wildcards", search for \(*\) and replace it with nothing, then check the count. That also deletes every other bracket, such as statistics and asides, and misses numbered citations like [1]. This page removes only the brackets that look like citations and shows you each one.
Can I use it with Google Docs?
Yes. Either copy the text from Google Docs and paste it here, or use File > Download > Microsoft Word (.docx) and upload the file. The .docx keeps your headings and footnotes, so more options work.
Is my essay uploaded anywhere?
No. Your Word file or pasted text is read and counted in your browser. It is not sent to our server or stored.
What if it misses a citation or removes something that is not one?
Every removed citation and quotation is highlighted in the preview: click one to count it again. Citations without brackets, such as "Walker argues", and MLA citations with only a name, such as (Walker), are not removed, because they cannot be told apart from ordinary text. Subtract those yourself.
Does the total match Microsoft Word?
The total uses the same counting rules as the rest of Word Word Count, and includes footnotes and endnotes as Word does when "Include textboxes, footnotes and endnotes" is ticked. A few edge cases, such as words joined by dashes, can still differ by a word or two.
Need the full count instead? Use the Word Word Count word counter, or see how to check word count in Word.