What does 700 words look like?

Someone asked that question in class on Tuesday and I've been thinking about it ever since. Sat deliberating at my computer for quite awhile, in fact, until the notion struck me that I should find some articles that matched that description.

Daily journalism didn't seem the place to look since one would expect those articles to be short. So I turned to one of my favorite essayists, Dr. Johnson. And while this essay is 1,332 words, if you have put off anything in your life lately (surely not an assignment for this class!), you should read what Samuel Johnson (right) has to say about procrastination.

Then I thought about the articles I had linked to from this blog. That Gene Weingarten article mentioning Lady GaGa? 679 words.

An article on knife sharpening in The Seattle Times magazine I linked to last year as a fine example of an informed essay? 679 words.

Turns out my on again, off again favorite magazine, Esquire, has a feature called "A Thousand Words about Our Culture" and this month it is addressing a question that crossed my mind recently: "Why Can't Kanye West Shut the Hell Up?" 1,001 words. Close enough.

And in the political realms I found 702 words on Ben Bernanke and fiscal policy in National Review.

The Nation had 935 words to say about Sarah Palin's new TV show (there was one kind one, I think).