Importance of word count?

[Stick]

So I've been achieving really good results for English this year (I got 49/50 for all the essays on my Unit 1 exam) but I just cannot help but feel that I'm being marked too leniently, especially for the amount of words that I'm writing. Last year I was writing about 600 words for my essays and throughout this year I've managed to extend it to 800-1000 words of writing (about 4 pages), of which the three body paragraphs are 200-250 words, the introduction is 150-200 words and the conclusion is 100-150 words. However, I've heard that this isn't enough in order to delve into the detail the examiners are looking for at the end of next year. Yet, I feel that I would be merely 'waffling on' if I wrote any more than what I am at the moment. How can I possibly be achieving good results if I'm not discussing enough in my responses? Will more length just come with time, or is this actually an acceptable amount in order to justify a high quality response?

[nisha]

High quality responses are based upon the complexity of your ideas and how effectively you convey them. 800-1000 words is ideal, under exam situations. The most important thing is to be short and sweet, without the need for unnecessary repetition.
If you think you remarked too leniently, post a couple of them up here and you will get excellent feedback.

[pi]

Word length has a role, but examiners would probably see it as a benchmark (ie. an excellent piece is unlikely to be below 800 words) rather than a marking criteria.

[EvangelionZeta]

Read the FAQ!

[werdna]

Just write as much as you feel you need to write in order to have enough depth and detail in your essay. For some people, it is possible for them to write a really good essay in 1000 words for example, for others it may take a bigger word count. But the most important thing is that you don't ramble or write a long essay for the sake of a long essay. IIRC my text response and context essays were both 6 or 7 pages each, 300 words a page in my handwriting. As long as you can write your essays under time, you're all good...

[charmanderp]

In re waffling, it's about developing your ideas to the point where you can maintain a sophisticated and complex discussion over longer passages of writing. Because of course, the more you write, the more detail you can go in to and that's what the examiners want. You just need to add more depth to your analysis of texts and such, and that will come with more detailed study and such.