In a recent practice essay I had 8–9 examples and almost no argument of my own. It read like a list. What's a reasonable number for a 1000–1200 word essay so it still feels like an essay, not a compilation?

I aim for a few well-used examples (maybe 4–5 across the whole essay) and spend more lines explaining why they matter to the argument. A short anecdote plus one scheme plus one historical reference is already a lot if each is unpacked.

If you can delete an example and the paragraph still stands, it was decoration. That's the test I use.

The delete-test is brutal and useful. Thank you.