You can count the number of words in a document or in any portion of a document. This is particularly handy when you must limit the number of words in a section of a document. Make use of this feature when a work or school project requires a specific number of words.
Click Tools.
Click Word Count.
The Word Count dialog box appears
The Word Count dialog box reports the number of pages, words, characters with and without spaces, paragraphs, and lines in your document.
Click View.
Click Toolbars.
Click Word Count.
The Word Count toolbar appears, displaying the total number of words in your document.
Add text to, or delete text from, your document.
Click Recount.
Word recalculates the number of words in the document and displays the updated count.
How can I count something other than words when using the Word Count toolbar?
Click the beside the number of words displayed on the toolbar; from the list that appears, you can view the number of characters with and without spaces, lines, pages, and paragraphs. To continue counting something other than words, select the element you want to count.
Can I count the number of words in just one paragraph?
Yes. Select the text containing the words you want to count and then perform the steps to count them using either method described in this section. You can count any element, such as lines or paragraphs, by selecting them before counting.