Short formal piece of writing (5)

I believe the answer is:

essay

'short formal piece of writing' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

This is all the clue.

(Other definitions for essay that I've seen before include "Try; short written work" , "Try; a piece of writing" , "Trial, piece of writing" , "Test" , "Attempt - piece of writing" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Times.

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