Using pen/Pencil in VCAA exams...

[qshyrn]

People say don't use pencil cuz someone nasty might rub out your answers...
this is so annoying cause i tend to make mistakes!
Do they also take marks off you if you use pencil??

[mypurpleundercracka]

i seriously doubt they'd take marks off

[qshyrn]

i seriously doubt they'd take marks off

well i suppose the examiners can't read pencil if they are old +half blind

[doboman]

People say don't use pencil cuz someone nasty might rub out your answers...
this is so annoying cause i tend to make mistakes!
Do they also take marks off you if you use pencil??

You can use pencil of you wish. I did, and didn't loose any marks for doing so. English exam, however, you MUST use pen.

[qshyrn]

why is there a 'MUST' for the english exam?

[dekoyl]

I don't think you have to use pen for any exam other then English.
Rubbing your work out? Who would do that (unless the examiner happened to be someone that knows you by recognising your VCAA number... or your teacher may lurk around the exam hall after you guys are done and sabotage your exam OH SHI)?

why is there a 'MUST' for the english exam?

Because when you write 10 pages in blunt pencil, your sweaty hands dragging across the page as you write and the examiners having to read a few hundred pages of essays, it tends to get a bit hard to read.

[Fyrefly]

I wrote Legal Studies and English in pen; Spec, Methods, Physics and Accounting in pencil... whichever you prefer, really

[TrueTears]

Just out of curiosity, would they take marks off if you didn't use pen for the English exam?

[methodsboy]

Just out of curiosity, would they take marks off if you didn't use pen for the English exam?

why would you though? pen is smooth (espesh a parker pen)

[TrueTears]

I make heaps of mistake I wouldn't want to cross out every 3rd word lol

[Fyrefly]

I make heaps of mistake I wouldn't want to cross out every 3rd word lol

Knowing you TT, come the actual English exam, you'll basically be regurgitating bits and pieces of the dozens of practice exams you've already done... if all goes well, only about a dozen lines of your essays will be new material.

More generally though, you really don't have time to be that much of a perfectionist... if you keep trying to re-phrase what you've written, you probably won't get finished...

[polky]

Pencil is not recommended because markers usually mark through the night to reach deadlines. This means that they will be using strong desklamp lights shining on the paper, and pencil graphite is rather reflective and hard to read.  Pen is easier to read.  Pencil creates smudges, and rubbing out pencil isn't as definite as crossing out as it leaves marks and stuff.

I used pen for all my exams except for any graph drawing.  Practiced through the year using pen for maths, chem etc (I had used pencil for math ever since grade 1) specifically for this purpose

[iamdan08]

I used pen for Lit and Texts & Traditions, but pencil for the rest! Just do what you feel comfortable with. As long as you make sure you're using a decent quality pen/pencil it won't matter to much.

[darkphoenix]

Yeah its probably strongly recommended to use pen for English exams because of what everyone said about smudging and the ease or rubbing out.

But for others i think pencil is fine, i used pencil for my accounting one.