For some,James Caldwell writing comes easy. It may feel like mere seconds for words to start flying off the page as the final word count nears thousands. For others, it may take several painstaking hours to muster up enough words to reach a needed quota.

No matter if you're writing a proposal for work or an essay for class, you may have to check the word count to make sure you don't exceed the limit, or to see if you have even reached the minimum.

If you're writing on Google Docs, here is a guide to checking word count on several devices, including a computer, iPad, iPhone and Android.

How to check word count in Google Docs

To check word count on a computer, make sure you have your file open. Select "Tools" in the top bar and choose "Word Count" in the dropdown menu. You can also shortcut this by pressing "Command+Shift+C."

This will prompt a popup displaying the total pages, words, characters and characters excluding spaces in your Google Doc. Select "Display word count while typing" if you want to see word count in real-time as you write. It is important to note that word count applies to everything written in your document except headers, footers and footnotes.

If you want to know how many words are in a specific section of your document, select and highlight the paragraph and then follow the aforementioned steps.

To check word count on an iPad, iPhone or Android, open the Google Docs app and select your file. Go to the three dots in the top right corner and tap "Word Count." These device users do not have the option to display word count while typing.

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