How Long Is 400 Words?

At some point in your life, you will likely be tasked with writing something that is at least 400 words long.

In fact, there are plenty of reasons why 400 words are required, but it can get a little confusing when understanding how long 400 words actually is. 

At its most basic, 400 words is just under a page long (about 0.8 pages long) if it is single spaced, and then just over one and half pages long (1.6 pages long) if you are double spacing. 

However, there’s a lot more to understand when it comes to the length of 400 words.

This guide will help you understand all of the facets of the length that 400 words can cover – along with other handy tips.

So, if you’re getting ready to write 400 words for any reason – read on and learn more!

400 Words Single Spaced 

So, as we mentioned – if you are single spacing your words, 400 words will cover about 0.8 pages worth of words. 

It’s probably best at this point that we explain that our figures will simply be estimates.

This is because there are many reasons that will increase the page use. 

Single spacing is generally accepted when it comes to writing, but sometimes you will be told that you must double space your words. 

So, you’ll need to know about the length of 400 words when they are double spaced.

400 Words Double Spaced 

Indeed, there are lots of times when your organization such as college or workplace will require that you double space your words. 

As a result, the number of pages that 400 words will cover will also double.

Therefore, if you have been asked to write 400 words double spaced, you can likely expect 1.6 pages worth of words.

Double spacing is often requested because it improves the readability of the documents, especially when it comes to college papers. 

Readability is incredibly important when it comes to writing, so even if you have not been specifically tasked with using double spacing, it’s a good idea to do so. 

What If I’m Handwriting 400 Words?

While the practice of handwriting words has seen a decline over the years, many people will still prefer to handwrite – and sometimes, handwriting is actually preferred by the organization that requests the work.

If you’re handwriting something, generally, the size of handwriting is about the size of double spaced typing. 

In other words, if you are handwriting 400 words, you can expect to cover about 1.6 pages worth of words. 

Once again though, it’s important to recognize that everybody’s handwriting is different.

Some people will have larger handwriting, and others will have smaller handwriting. 

Will The Font Make A Difference?

Generally speaking, the font will make a difference to the amount of pages you cover.

The reason for this is that the typical choices of arial or times new roman are smaller than fonts such as verdana. 

Verdana in fact normally covers about 1.1 pages to every page that arial covers, and slightly less so for times new roman. 

It’s best practice to use an arial font or times new roman.

This is because these fonts are the preferred fonts for professional and academic settings and makes your writing look more sophisticated and therefore provides more authority.

Additionally, it improves the readability of your text – and as we mentioned earlier, this is absolutely critical to the overall quality of your work. 

Does 400 Words Take Long To Write?

This really depends on you as a writer. Many people take much longer to write than others, but the real time it normally takes largely is down to the research aspect of writing. 

However, if you are looking for a general rule of thumb, you can expect 400 words to take you about ten minutes to write – based on the assumption that the average person can write 40 words a minute. 

How Many Paragraphs Are In 400 Words?

The answer to this question will change depending on what you are writing, the format and why you are writing it. 

We’ve mentioned that one of the most important aspects of writing is the readability – and one of the ways to improve readability is by using paragraphs.

This will allow readers to digest helpful chunks of information in a flow, rather than having to read, somewhat of a novel, type of text. 

It’s also far more likely that readers will read all of your text if you paragraph correctly.

Giving a general estimate, we can ascertain that 400 words will have around 4-8 paragraphs (which covers around 100 words each). 

Having said this though, it is best practice to increase your paragraphing if you are writing something like a newspaper article. 

What Requires 400 Words?

A lot of work will require 400 words specifically. Generally speaking though, 400 words is not a great deal.

This means that 400 words is often reserved for short and sharp bursts of information.

Therefore, you’re likely to see news stories written with 400 words.

It gives readers the perfect amount of information with everything they need to know, without having to read through waffled information. 

However, it’s not uncommon for short essays and even short stories to be 400 words or less.

These types of essays are generally not in depth or worthy of being investigated to be more than 400 words long. 

The Bottom Line 

When it comes to writing 400 words, you can generally expect to cover just under a page for single spaced writing, or just over one and half pages if you are double spacing. 

However, it’s usually best practice to ensure you are using double spacing and choose the best fonts which improve readability to the reader.