Good luck, GGM! Mr Disco seems right on to me.
250 words=1 standard double-spaced typed page (US letter size) in an old-fashioned 12 point Courier font. So that's where I suspect that number comes from, but it's a pretty short page in, say, Times Roman 12 or 10 point.
I usually take the number to mean that the panel coordinator wants about a typed page, a good solid, no words wasted paragraph or two. (And since he says "about" he'll probably be ok if it's single-spaced and closer to 500 words...but make them count!)
Be sure to include your contact info at the top in a header (not included in the word count), and the title.
Obviously, in addition to Mr D's advice, it's generally good to make it clear that you understand the history of the question by alluding to earlier research, but typically there's no need to include formal footnotes. ("As Jane Blow has recently argued ...")
I hope that's not sounding too simplistic to you! |
