Have you ever submitted a tender with a limit on the number of words permitted in the response for each section? Isn’t it much easier to write 1,000 words on a topic than 300!
The temptation is to write the response without regard to the word count – and then worry about that later. The trouble is, that way you are likely to spend an inordinate amount of time cutting it down to size.
My tip is this; write a basic response that touches on all the key points, and aim to keep it well within the word count. Then build it up bit by bit, making sure that it is all relevant and, importantly, addresses the question.
This leads to one final point; keep checking the question. It is very easy to waste valuable words on good but irrelevant material!