A lot of writing to give a small statement of belief (6)
I believe the answer is:
screed
'a lot of' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.
'to give a small statement of belief' is the wordplay.
'to give' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'a small' becomes 's' (abbreviation - e.g. clothes size).
'statement of belief' becomes 'creed' (a creed is a statement of someone's beliefs).
's' put next to 'creed' is 'SCREED'.
'writing' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for screed that I've seen before include "Lengthy statement" , "Tedious speech; cement" , "Layer applied to floor" , "lengthy document" , "extensive text" .)