essay vs effort

essay and effort both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
essay	Yes	No	Yes	No
effort	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, effort is a hypernym of essay; that is, effort is a word with a broader meaning than essay:

essay: a tentative attempt
effort: earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something

Other hypernyms of essay include attempt, endeavor, endeavour, try.

essay (noun)	effort (noun)
a tentative attempt	earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something
an analytic or interpretive literary composition	use of physical or mental energy; hard work
	a notable achievement
	a series of actions advancing a principle or tending toward a particular end

essay (verb)	effort (verb)
make an effort or attempt
put to the test, as for its quality, or give experimental use to