A couple of directions given, for example, by the editor are put to the test (7)
I believe the answer is:
essayed
'put to the test' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'a couple of directions given for example by the editor' is the wordplay.
'a couple of directions given' becomes 'es' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'for example' becomes 'say' ('say' can be used to introduce an example).
'by' says to put letters next to each other.
'the editor' becomes 'ed' (abbreviation).
'es'+'say'+'ed'='ESSAYED'
'are' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for essayed that I've seen before include "Attempted, tried" , "Had a go" , "Attempted, strove" , "Made formal attempt" , "tested" .)