diff --git a/question/type/essay/renderer.php b/question/type/essay/renderer.php
index 5f649f2a9f5..06116ea5801 100644
--- a/question/type/essay/renderer.php
+++ b/question/type/essay/renderer.php
@@ -225,7 +225,10 @@ class qtype_essay_format_editor_renderer extends plugin_renderer_base {
 
     public function response_area_read_only($name, $qa, $step, $lines, $context) {
         return html_writer::tag('div', $this->prepare_response($name, $qa, $step, $context),
-                array('class' => $this->class_name() . ' qtype_essay_response readonly'));
+                ['class' => $this->class_name() . ' qtype_essay_response readonly',
+                        'style' => 'min-height: ' . ($lines * 1.5) . 'em;']);
+        // Height $lines * 1.5 because that is a typical line-height on web pages.
+        // That seems to give results that look OK.
     }
 
     public function response_area_input($name, $qa, $step, $lines, $context) {