Do you write loads and then cut it down?
I take ages and do it slowly but try to get it done in one go. Some people on my course do 2,000 words for a 500 word report and then cut it back.
( The Cat's Mother Not a People Person., Fri 15 May 2009, 0:11, archived)

No, I try my best to be on target.
2000 for a 500 report is silly, clarity is the key with the little uns: why say it in a paragraph when a sentence would do? Especially if all the space you've got to say it is a sentence.

I think people forget with little essays and don't plan enough, if anything small essays need to be planned more meticulously than big ones because you've got less margin for repetition and waffle.
( TFD is sporting this season's finest necropants, Fri 15 May 2009, 0:20, archived)