<p>i've gotten my essays edited thoroughly by my two english teachers and both my 500 word essays now hover around 400-440ish words. they want me to leave it "tightly constructed" but am i putting myself at a disadvantage by not using all the given space?</p>
<p>If 500 words is the limit, anything between 400-500 words is fine. If your essays are strong as is, with 50-80 words less than the limit, that is a good thing. It matters more about content than length</p>