The Joys of Writing to Wordcount

By Olga Mecking

“On the test, you will have to write an essay of around 200 words,” my English teacher said.

I first encountered the idea of wordcount in EFL classes and was taken aback. Where I come from, long essays written in flowery style are the norm, especially in school. Teachers said, “Write for as long as you need to include all the necessary information,” but their preference was clearly on the longer side. Lacking any other guidelines, I submitted one-page assignments and was...