essay question

noun

1. a question on a test or examination on a given topic requiring a written analysis or explanation, usually of a specified length.

Word History and Origins

Origin of essay question¹

First recorded in 1945–50

Example Sentences

Trump sounded to me like a student who didn’t do the reading, trying to bluff his way through an essay question.

From Seattle Times

So we set ourselves a challenge, which involved each of us answering the same essay question, twice.

From BBC

Ethan Mollick, a management professor at the University of Pennsylvania, had ChatGPT write an essay question, create a grading rubric for said question, answer the question, and grade its own answer.

From Slate

It’s hard to write a good essay when you lack detailed, course-specific knowledge of the content that led to the essay question.

From Slate

One shadow minister said the task of this year's Labour conference is to answer the political essay question: So what would you do differently?

From BBC