@meredithgrey congratulations on making it this far! The WE is definitely a stressful element, and one that is heavily linked to time preparation. So, set yourself a strict amount of time to go through the reading, whichever way works for you. I tend to first look at the question I am being asked, and to then go through the wider materials (just so, I can leverage some of the reading time to build out a skeleton of what I am going to say).
Upon learning what the question is, think about your audience, if it is for a client (summary, straight to the point, not heavily legal) or if it is for an internal staff member (more detail, possibly less formal). The audience will shape your tone so take a second to think about this before you begin writing.
Good luck!
