A short essay can be defined as a piece of writing that is usually limited to only one or two pages. It contains an introduction, body, and conclusion, just like other essays, but has fewer words.
Short essays are common in school, especially in high school. Teachers give students assignments such as persuasive essays or compare/contrast papers. These short essays focus on specific topics which enable the writer to add their own examples and thoughts without too much trouble.
The word count of a short essay varies with each subject and topic, but it typically falls somewhere between 350-500 words long. According to Purdue University, the majority of professional essays average 300-400 words per page, so if you were assigned a three-page paper, for example, you would have at least 900 words to work with.