Write a 1000 word essay on the topic of your choosing…

Okay, but how do you know when you’ve hit your elusive word count target? There are plenty of browser-based word count tools you can use, but luckily word count is a function that is built into Office 365 (and has long been built into past versions of Microsoft Word). You can keep a running word count visible in the bottom bar of Word 2013/2016 and Word Online, or you can pull up additional details about paragraph count, character count, and so on.

Follow the comprehensive instructions in the video above, or simply right click on the bottom bar and select Word Count.