Two points, say, for a try (5)
I believe the answer is:
essay
'a try' is the definition.
(essay is a kind of try)
'two points say' is the wordplay.
'two points' becomes 'es'.
'es'+'say'='ESSAY'
'for' is the link.
(Other definitions for essay that I've seen before include "Short literary piece: attempt" , "Short treatise" , "Attempt, try" , "Try; dissertation" , "Scholarly work" .)