essay
A short piece of writing about one topic, often for school or in a magazine, where the writer gives ideas, reasons, or opinions.
A short piece of writing on a particular subject, especially one giving the writer’s ideas or arguments, often written by students or published in magazines or online.
To try to do something that may be hard or new, usually in a careful way; used mostly in books and formal writing, not in everyday speech.
To try to do something, especially something difficult or new, often in a careful or tentative way; used mainly in literary or formal style.
An attempt or first try to do something, used mostly in old books or very formal writing.
An attempt or first try at doing something, especially something new; now used mainly in older or very formal writing.
- Base: essay
- Plural: essays
- Base: essay
- 3rd Person Singular: essays
- Present Participle: essaying
- Past: essayed
essay exam
1exam requiring essay-style answers
A test where students must write longer answers in sentences and paragraphs, not just short or multiple-choice answers.
- The midterm will be an essay exam, so practice writing clear paragraphs.
- Some students prefer essay exams because they can explain their thinking.
- The history course ends with a three-hour essay exam.
essay mill
1company that sells essays to students
A company that students pay to write their school essays for them, which is usually against school rules.
- Universities are trying to ban essay mills to fight cheating.
- The report showed that many students had bought papers from essay mills.
- Some countries have made essay mills illegal to protect academic honesty.
essay prompt
1instruction for what to write about
A sentence or question from a teacher or test that tells you what your essay should talk about.
- The essay prompt asked us to describe a time we faced a challenge.
- Read the essay prompt carefully before you start writing.
- The exam includes three essay prompts, and you choose one to answer.
essay question
1exam question needing a written answer
A test or exam question where the student must write a short piece of writing, not just choose A, B, C, or D.
- The final will include multiple-choice items and one long essay question.
- The teacher gave us three essay questions, and we had to answer two.
- Essay questions test how well you can explain your ideas in writing.
essay writing
1the skill of writing essays
The activity and skill of planning and writing essays, especially for school or exams.
- Good essay writing requires clear structure and strong arguments.
- The course includes a unit on academic essay writing.
- She offers online classes in essay writing for international students.
photo essay
1story or report told with photos
A group of photos that are shown together to tell a story or explain an idea, often with short texts or captions.
- The magazine ran a powerful photo essay on life in the refugee camp.
- For her project, she created a photo essay about street art in her city.
- The website published a photo essay documenting the wildfire’s impact.