> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.classquill.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Notes and reference sheets
> Publish study notes and one-page reference sheets to your students, add extra material for one class, and control what they can open during an exam.
Every topic in ClassQuill can carry **notes** — as long as you like — and every area of study can carry a **reference sheet**, the one-page cheat sheet a student keeps open while working.
## How the layers work
Notes and reference sheets stack in layers, and **no layer replaces another**:
| Layer | Written by | Who sees it |
| --------------------------------------------- | ------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Official** | ClassQuill | Everyone on the platform |
| **Your organisation** | You and your tutors | Every student your org teaches |
| **An extra for one class, group, or student** | You and your tutors | Only that class, group, or student — *on top of* the org-wide one |
| **Mine** | The student | Only them |
A student sees the layers that apply to them, each labelled with where it came from. Adding an extra for one class never hides the org-wide version from anyone else.
***
## Writing notes for a topic
### 1. Open the Study notes tab
From the sidebar, click **Resources**, then the **Study notes** tab.
You don't need a classroom to write notes — this tab exists so you can publish from anywhere, including if you don't teach a class yourself.
### 2. Pick a topic
Choose a curriculum, then an area of study, then a topic. Click **Open notes for this topic**.
You land in the same reader your students use, so what you see while writing is what they get.
### 3. Add your note
Click **Add a note for your students**, write it, and click **Save**.
A new note saves as a **Draft**. Drafts are visible only to you and your org admins — your students see nothing until you switch the **Draft / Published** toggle in the editor to **Published**.
You can also jump straight there from a topic that has no notes yet: the empty state shows a **Publish notes for this topic** button.
Only the tutor who wrote a note sees the **Edit** button on it. Everyone else in your org reads it.
***
## Writing a reference sheet
Reference sheets attach to an **area of study** rather than a single topic — a reference sheet covers a chunk of the course by definition.
### 1. Open the reference sheet panel
Open any study or practice session and switch to the **Reference sheet** panel.
### 2. Create the sheet
Click **New sheet**. Give it a title and write the content — maths renders properly, so formulas look the way they will in an exam.
### 3. Choose who it's for
Under **Who is this extra for?**, pick one:
| Choice | What it does |
| ------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Everyone in the org** | The default. Reaches every student your organisation teaches. |
| **Extra for one class** | Sits on top of the default, for that class only. |
| **Extra for one group** | Sits on top of the default, for that group only. |
| **Extra for one student** | Sits on top of the default, for that student only. |
You're only offered the classes, groups, and students you actually teach.
### 4. Save
Click **Save**. As with notes, it stays a draft until you publish it.
Students switch between layers using the tabs at the top of the panel — **Official**, your organisation's name, any extra for their class, and **Mine**.
Deleting a shared sheet removes it for **every student it currently reaches**, and can't be undone. ClassQuill asks you to confirm first.
***
## What students can do
* Every student gets a **Mine** tab on both notes and reference sheets, and a **Create your own** button.
* Their own material is private — tutors can't read, edit, or hide it.
* Students can't edit anything you publish. They keep their own notes alongside yours rather than forking a copy.
***
## Controlling what's open during an exam
Practice runs always have everything available. A **timed exam** is different, and the rule is set per organisation.
Go to **Settings** → **Subjects** → **Exam resources**:
| Setting | Options | Default |
| ------------------- | --------------------------------------------------- | ---------------- |
| **Topic notes** | Practice only / Always available / Never in an exam | Practice only |
| **Reference sheet** | Practice only / Always available / Never in an exam | Always available |
The two defaults differ on purpose, and both match how ClassQuill already behaved — notes were practice-only, the reference sheet was always open. Nothing changes for your org until you choose otherwise.
***
## Good to know
* **Fix it once, everywhere.** An extra for one class points at your org-wide version rather than copying it, so correcting the original still reaches every class. Nothing drifts out of date.
* **Per-class extras are on reference sheets today.** Notes publish to your whole organisation.
* **Official content stays.** You can add your own material alongside ClassQuill's, but you can't hide the Official layer from your students.
***
## Related
Finding questions in the Question Bank and sending them to students.
The student's side of the portal.