I don't know how i ever dealt with such tiny word limits XD
I just wrote a 4000 word History coursework essay on the october revolution in Russia 1917. I still went over my word limit far too quickly.
I think the best essay i have written, it was also the most fun to write, was why Operation Market Garden was a failure. It was 5000 words long and awesome.
I suppose if i were to write a 1200 word essay i would do it on whether or not Germany was responsible for the war, with the key talking points being the Fischer thesis and weltpolitik. 1200 words is still a really small word limit for this, but it is manageable. Of course, proper evaluation of source material can take up a considerable number of words. Do you have to reference it too? I always find that to be the most tedious part of essay writing.