I've been told that as long as everything you say is meaningful and contributes something to the essay, you won't be marked down for going 10% over the word count. however, if you do have sections with waffle, you need to cut them out.
If you really don't want to risk it with the word count, one of the best ways I used to cut down overlong essays, was to highlight my essay in word according to the mark scheme, so I could see which parts were earning me marks from which assessment objectives. When it's all highlighted, you can see which points don't earn you marks, making them easier to cut down.