Whatever kind of material you are writing, keeping within the required word counts are an important aspect of the whole process.   There are different reasons for requiring particular lengths, of course, with your own reason depending largely on the kind of text you are putting together.

Most class professors require students to keep their essays at a certain length to make them easier to check.  Magazine features usually subscribe to specific word counts to fit allotted spaces in their publications.  Suffice to say, when someone asks you to limit the amount of words in your piece, there's usually a sensible reason for it.

Writing Your Draft

When putting together a first draft, aim to make it between 10 to 20 percent longer than your intended word count.  That's because you'll usually end up chopping up a good amount of text in between using a proofreading software and editing the piece for clarity.

To be able to keep track of how many words you are writing, use a word processor that has a running word count constantly on display.  Many of them, especially those directed specifically for working writers, offer it as additional features.

Block Writing

If you work well with outlines, arrange it so that one outline represents one block of text.  Try dividing the target word count among each block, allotting more for those parts that you need to discuss in greater detail.  Make sure you stick to the assignments the same way you follow the topics listed in your outline.