How Long Does It Take To Write 500 Words? [Tips To Write Fast] (2024)

As a seasoned writer, I am often asked how long it takes to write 500 words. While the long answer can be quite complex, I’d like to keep things simple for you on this occasion. Obviously, the time could vary according to the amount of research you wish to give the topic and your level of experience as a writer. It is more important to understand that time doesn’t matter; quality matters much more when it comes to your blog post content.

How Long Should A 500-Word Essay Take?

It depends on how good of a writer you are. We’ll never know, but if we take the average number of words a person speaks in a day, which is around 7000, then 500 words will take 13 minutes. If we assume that you write as fast as you speak, then writing 500 words will take 15 minutes.

Essays don’t have to be exactly 500 words long, but they should be as close as possible. The prompt may ask you to write in under or at least 500 words, which would state whether 500 is the minimum or maximum word count. If the prompt doesn’t state a specific length requirement, you should aim to write an essay that’s around 500 words long — long enough to develop your idea and short enough for you to write it succinctly.

Here is how much time it will take to write a 500-word essay:

  • Research: 30 minutes to an hour (depending on the topic)
  • Organizing: 25 minutes (it’s best to start with an outline first)
  • Drafting: 35 – 45 minutes
  • Revising: 35 – 45 minutes
  • Editing and Proofreading: 20 – 30 minutes

Can You Write 500 Words In A Day?

Writing 500 words a day may seem like a lot to many, but it’s doable. If you make it a habit, you’ll soon find you can write 500 words in an hour and possibly even 1,000 words in an hour.

I wrote my first 500-word article in 20 minutes.

It took another 20 minutes to edit it, format it and publish it on my blog.

The words were flowing out of me at a speed that I had never experienced before — almost as if I were typing them directly into my brain!

But how long does it take to write 500 words?

That depends on how fast you can type and how good you are at writing.

While writing 500 words can take about 12.5 minutes for the average writer typing on a keyboard, it can take 2.5 hours if the content needs to include in-depth research, links, citations, or graphics such as for a blog article or high school essay.

The easiest way to write 500 words in a day is to start with the most difficult task. As you tackle that, the momentum will make it easier to move on to the next tasks. If you’re worried about writing an entire short story or article, break it down into smaller assignments.

Additionally, using a task timer can help you stay focused and allocate specific time intervals to each segment of your writing process, ensuring a more structured and productive approach

How Do You Write 500 Words An Hour?

When it comes to writing 500 words an hour, the first, and the most important thing you need is a clear plan. If you don’t know what you are going to write about from the outset, then you will spend the entire hour staring at a blank screen.

This is because writing with no real purpose is incredibly difficult. You have nothing to guide you, so you stare at a blank screen wondering what to write.

If you want to write 500 words an hour, then you need to go into your session with a clear idea of what you are going to be writing about. This might be:

  • A plan of how the session will go
  • A detailed question and answer format
  • A list of points that need covering in order
  • After this, it is all about keeping yourself focused on the topic in hand. So if it helps, create a checklist of questions or points that need covering and tick them off as you write. This will help keep your direction and also make sure that nothing gets missed out.

How Many Pages Are 500 Words Double Spaced 12?

It should be one page single-spaced or two pages double-spaced. However, depending on how you’ve set up your document, your page count may vary slightly. Use Arial or Times New Roman 12 point font and conventional margins to achieve similar results.

Most essays are about 1-2 pages long double spaced, so if you’ve been assigned a 500-word essay and you want to know how many paragraphs it should take, just divide your total word count by 250 and write that many body paragraphs (paragraphs with topic sentences and transitions).

If your essay comes out to be around 500 words, don’t worry! Essays don’t have to be exactly 500 words — they can be slightly longer or slightly shorter.

Is 500 Words Too Short For A Blog Post?

In the days of printed newspapers, 300 words was a “short” story. But in the web content arena, 500 words is a bit more than short. Of course, no one will care how many words it takes you to write your blog as long as it is a quality blog.

500 words is still a bit more than short.

If you are writing a How-To blog, 500 words may be too short to give the reader all the information they need. On the other hand, if you are writing an opinion piece or a piece that is intended to spark debate, 500 words can be plenty.

Writing a blog post that’s too short is just as bad as writing a blog post that’s too long. It doesn’t provide enough value to the reader.

If you’ve ever tried your hand at writing, you know that coming up with new ideas is hard and thinking of topics people want to read about is even harder.

The good news is that there are some topic formulas you can follow to make it easier:

  • Talking about something that happened in your industry — this could be a new development or something controversial.
  • A thought-provoking question — this makes people think, comment, and share with their friends.
  • An inspirational quote — everyone loves quotes, especially if they are relevant to your business and industry.
  • A how-to guide — these are always useful and give you an opportunity to show off your expertise (and help people at the same time).

Is A 500-Word Paragraph Too Long?

Yes, a 500-word paragraph is too long. A single paragraph should be no longer than 250 words or no more than five or six sentences, and for the majority of you, this will be shorter.

While this is not a concrete rule, it comes pretty close. I want to make sure that you understand my point here. If your paragraph is too long, it will be hard to digest for your readers.

How To Write A 500-Word Article In The Shortest Time?

The next time you find yourself staring at a blank page and wondering how to write 500 words in 30 minutes, here are some ideas:

  • Write the headlines first

Writing headlines is a skill of its own, and there’s no better way to start your article than by getting straight to the point.

  • Set word count goals

It sounds counterintuitive to set word count goals when trying to write faster, but it actually works.

  • Don’t edit as you go

Experienced writers are usually great editors as well, but that doesn’t mean they should do both jobs at the same time.

  • Use an outline

Brainstorming and outlining will help you write faster because it gets all the ideas out of your head and down on paper (or screen).

  • Work with a timer

This is one of the oldest tricks for speed writing that I’ve ever heard of, but it’s still one of my favorites!

Writing 500 words is not a big deal. However, writing them in an efficient way – which means that they’re grammatically correct, logically sequenced and well-structured, research-backed, and contextually relevant – takes a lot of effort.

Furthermore, these three factors may differ slightly for each writer, so some more time might be required to achieve the desired outcome. But with a good strategy in place, any writer should have no problem writing 500 words within a reasonable timeframe.

How Long Does It Take To Write 500 Words? [Tips To Write Fast] (2024)

FAQs

How long does it take to write a 500 word response? ›

Writing 500 words will take about 12.5 minutes for the average writer typing on a keyboard and 25 minutes for handwriting. However, if the content needs to include in-depth research, links, citations, or graphics such as for a blog article or high school essay, the length can grow to 1.7 hours.

How long should 500 words take to type? ›

The average person can type around 40 words per minute. Meaning, that if they were freewriting (letting their fingers move as quickly as their brain allowed), a 500-word piece could be completed in about 12.5 minutes. But typing is only one part of the writing process.

Can you write a 500 word essay in 2 hours? ›

500 words is relatively short. If it takes 3 to 4 hours to jot down 1000 words, it should take you no more than 1 hour to 2 hours for 500 words. Many times, a 500 word essay will be more complicated than you thought.

What does a 500 word response look like? ›

The format of a 500-word scholarship essay is similar to a shorter essay. Each paragraph is about 75-125 words, and it consists of 3-5 well-written sentences. If you are writing a story or personal anecdote, the formatting can be more like a novel than a news article. It is ok to use 10% less or more words.

Is it possible to write 500 words in a day? ›

There's certainly not just one way to be a good writer! Take heart: in an hour you can crack a daily word count of 500, like Graham, if you're using the other 23 hours to consider the coming scene.

How long is a 500 word essay example? ›

A 500-word essay is generally around 1-3 pages in length, depending on font size and spacing. 🎐 How many paragraphs should a 500 word essay have? Since most paragraphs contain around 75-200 words, a 500-word essay will have approximately 4-6 paragraphs.

Is 5000 words a lot? ›

Typical documents that are 5,000 words include college dissertations, theses, and in-depth blog posts and journal articles. It will take approximately 17 minutes to read 5,000 words. A 5,000 word count will create about 10 pages with single spacing or 20 pages double-spaced when using normal 1-inch margins, 12 pt.

Is 1200 words a lot? ›

What About 1200 Words? Writing 1200 words should take you approximately 3 and a half to 4 and a half hours. This length of an article can include key details, but you won't be able to expand too much unless the subject is straightforward. An essay of this size usually requires a fair amount of research.

Can I write an essay in 1 hour? ›

Well, let us assure you: it has very little to do with talent and a whole lot with your formed writing habits, practices and tricks you've learned along the way. Anybody can learn how to finish an urgent essay in 1 hour and do an excellent job of it.

Is 500 words 4 minutes? ›

If you're a slow reader, you may read somewhere between 125 and 200 words per minute. This means reading 500 words will take you between 2.5 and 4 minutes. Want to read faster? Try these tips.

Is 500 words 5 minutes? ›

500 words is 3.33 minutes of speaking time. How minutes is 750 words? 750 words is 5 minutes of speaking time.

How to crank out an essay? ›

Therefore, start your essay with an opening sentence or paragraph that immediately seizes the imagination. This might be a bold statement, a thoughtful quote, a question you pose, or a descriptive scene. Starting your essay in a powerful way with a clear thesis statement can often help you along in the writing process.

How long is 500 words answer? ›

Answer: 500 words is 1 page single spaced or 2 pages double spaced.

How many pages is a 500 word response? ›

500 words is 1 pages single-spaced or 2 pages double-spaced.

A 500 word count will create about 1 page with single spacing or 2 pages double-spaced when using normal 1-inch margins, 12 pt. Arial font, and a standard A4 (letter size) page size.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Francesca Jacobs Ret

Last Updated:

Views: 5339

Rating: 4.8 / 5 (48 voted)

Reviews: 87% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Francesca Jacobs Ret

Birthday: 1996-12-09

Address: Apt. 141 1406 Mitch Summit, New Teganshire, UT 82655-0699

Phone: +2296092334654

Job: Technology Architect

Hobby: Snowboarding, Scouting, Foreign language learning, Dowsing, Baton twirling, Sculpting, Cabaret

Introduction: My name is Francesca Jacobs Ret, I am a innocent, super, beautiful, charming, lucky, gentle, clever person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.