[header] How to avoid going over an essay word limit [title] Develop a clear thesis. [step] The thesis statement of an essay is the overall point you are trying to argue or get across. In most cases, it is a one sentence response to the prompt you were given for your essay. 
With a clear thesis statement you can spend the rest of the essay methodically backing up whatever claim you made in your thesis. [substeps] For example, if your teacher gives you the prompt of " what is the most important invention of the 19th century? " your thesis statement could be " the most important invention of the 19th century was the steam engine.