Try South Africa, as briefly suggested (5)
I believe the answer is:
essay
'try' is the definition.
(synonyms)
I don't understand how the rest of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for essay that I've seen before include "Short formal piece of writing" , "Scholarly work" , "Try; a piece of writing" , "Attempt - written work" , "Prose composition" .)