I'd like an option to automatically grade an open answer/essay prompt as 'correct.' Maybe something like: so long as the student enters X words then the question is marked for Y points.

My scenario is a short, free course with hundreds of initial students and open enrollment going forward. I'd like to offer a short answer prompt and an essay prompt. But I can't afford to go thru and grade this many quizzes at once, nor promptly on a continual basis.

I could (and am currently) offering these are a separate assignment they could view and respond to. But I'm not lying to anybody, they know I'm not present in that course. I feel like a short page with something amounting to 'open a document and type a response that no one will read' isn't going to be very motivational. But if I could weave these little reflections into the quiz, which is otherwise graded, I feel like the chances of participation will go up.

That's all, thanks.