The school 'makes every effort' [=the school does all that it can] 'to help' new students become adjusted to college life.
His novel's surprise ending is not really convincing, but we'll give him 'an A for effort'.
He wanted to contribute in some way to the 'war effort'. [=to the effort to win the war]
(..) Yeah. Mr. White is currently on medical leave. But as he's chair of the science department... ...he's made a very special effort to be with us here. And I'd like to take a moment to thank him for that. Could you please tell us more about the equipment that was taken? (..)2008 TvShow: Breaking Bad Title: A No-Rough-Stuff-Type Deal Season: 1 Episode 7