Essay about a group of witches from Coventry? (3)
I believe the answer is:
try
'essay' is the definition.
('try' can be a synonym of 'essay')
'about a group of witches from coventry?' is the wordplay.
'about' says the letters should be written backwards.
'a group of witches' becomes 'coven' (I've seen this before).
'from' indicates named letters should be taken away.
'coven' written backwards gives 'nevoc'.
'coventry' with 'nevoc' taken away is 'TRY'.
(Other definitions for try that I've seen before include "Judge" , "Sample" , "irritate" , "crack" , "seek" .)