Drained student replaces top of writing implement, having used this to make neat lettering (7)
I believe the answer is:
stencil
'drained student replaces top of writing implement having used this to make neat lettering' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.
This is the entire clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for stencil that I've seen before include "It's perforated for ink or paint to pass through" , "Sheet with cut-out letters, pattern etc for copying" , "Clients for copying device" , "Make patterns using thin perforated sheets" , "It helps get uniform print-out" .)