# Word Count Without Citations

> Count the words in an essay without in-text citations, the reference list, footnotes, or any other part a word limit leaves out. Upload a Word document (.docx or .doc) or paste the text; every part that is left out is highlighted so you can check it. Everything runs in the browser; nothing is uploaded.
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> **Canonical URL:** https://wordwordcount.com/word-count-without-citations  
> **Tool Access:** Interactive tool on the page (file upload or paste, a checkbox for each part, highlighted preview, copy the text that counts).

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## 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 |

By default it leaves out in-text citations, the reference list, footnotes and endnotes, appendices, and the abstract.

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## Citation Styles It Recognises

- **APA, Harvard, Chicago author-date:** `(Walker, 2017)`, `(Smith & Lee, 2019, p. 14)`, `(Jones et al., 2021; Brown, n.d.)`; in "Walker (2017) argues" only `(2017)` is removed.
- **MLA:** `(Fitzgerald 180)`, `(Smith and Lee 24–26)`, `(Hamlet 3.1.56)`, and a bare page after a quotation: `"…over" (24)`.
- **Numbered (IEEE, Vancouver, AMA):** `[1]`, `[2, 3]`, `[4–6]`, and superscript numbers 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.

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## How Accurate Is It?

Tested on eight open-access research papers (four author-date, four numbered) whose publishers mark every citation in the article source: it found all 532 marked citations and flagged none of the 498 other brackets (statistics, percentages, abbreviations). It also removed 39 years in narrative mentions such as "Wang et al. (2018)", which most word limits treat as part of the citation. MLA was checked only on our own examples. Always look through the highlighted preview before relying on the number.

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## How to Count Words Without Citations in Microsoft Word

Word cannot leave citations out of its count. The usual workaround: save a copy, delete the reference list and appendices, press Ctrl+H, click More, tick Use wildcards, search for `\(*\)`, replace with nothing, Replace All, then press Ctrl+Shift+G. This deletes every bracket, including statistics and asides that should count, and misses numbered citations such as [1].

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## 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. See https://wordwordcount.com/what-counts-toward-word-count for the usual rules.

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## Frequently Asked Questions

### Can I use it with Google Docs?
Yes. Paste the text, or use File > Download > Microsoft Word (.docx) and upload the file so headings and footnotes are kept.

### Is my essay uploaded anywhere?
No. The file or text is read and counted in your browser.

### 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 are not removed.