My essay should be 400 words long, but I have it at almost 500. Should I try to narrow it down?

3 answers

That depends upon the directions provided by your teacher.
The directions are very vague. It says

-clear thesis
-use specific evidence from history
-400 words

but doesn't include a rubric or how many paragraphs

prompt:
Analyze the contributions of two of the following in helping establish a stable constitution after the adoption of the constitution.

T. Jefferson & G.Washington

It was hard to capture all of this in 400 words
I suggest you go through to see if there are any extraneous ideas or words that could be deleted. Then leave it at whatever word count you have. Apparently, your teacher wanted at least 400 words -- but won't mark you down if you have 500.