Essay or Paper?

An assignment for an online class had directions to write a 7-10 paragraph essay based on a book we read and LCSC's conceptual framework. When I think of an essay I think 5-7 paragraphs. The paragraphs in my essay were not piddly little four liners. They had content and lots of it. Double spaced, one paragraph came close to a full page by itself. So when does an assignment go from an essay to a paper? When it goes over seven paragraphs? When it goes over 2-3 pages? No....the answer is when I am the one writing it. I turned this essay into a six and half page paper because I can't seem to shut up on paper. So should it still be considered an essay? Can essay's be that long? Who knows...not me.