Suitable pen for exam?

Please ignore this poster - he is wrong.

Do not use a gel pen or a pen with gel ink. There are ball point which are OK and comfortable to write with.

Original post by ayesha.a_1202

I think I'll just ask my invigilator if its OK to use (I hope so cuz I struggle to write legibly otherwise), if they say no, I'll just use my non gel ones and hope the person marking it can read jt

Reply 22

Please stop - I'm a teacher and I don't want to be having to tell invigilators to check pens tomorrow because students have read your posts on here.

Original post by jamesh234

Hi, I am not encouraging - if you don't feel comfortable do not do it and, if in doubt, follow the exam board guidance. I know about the scanning problems and that was what I was referring to (I had trialled the pen I eventually used repeatedly with scanners to make sure it came up correctly and ask the school examination officer about it). I would not recommend using gel pens if you are totally comfortable with biro but, as I know that people, including many of my friends, swear by these for exams, I would rather be realistic and tell people that, if they are going to do it, to do it carefully selecting the pens to make sure that they reduce the likelihood of this being a problem. Also, it is worth letting people know that you don't immediately get a 0 if you have done this.

Original post by Reality Check

The invigilators are not there to pass judgement on the suitability of your pen.

I really don't understand why this thread is 23 posts long, and you're still arguing about it. Don't use gel pens. End of.

It's there loud and clear shaking my head 😂💀

Reply 24

ayesha.a_1202

OP

5

imma just use my other zebra pens (the z grip with no gel) then. I just hope the end of my essays are legible, and hoping one day gel pens will be accepted (cuz gosh my writing is amazing using then)

until that day happens, I guess it's messy writing and cramps for me

Reply 25

Original post by Reality Check

The invigilators are not there to pass judgement on the suitability of your pen.

I really don't understand why this thread is 23 posts long, and you're still arguing about it. Don't use gel pens. End of.

Hi, sorry I was referring to the exams officer as I said earlier but that was in error by me. I understand this generally isn't allowed but I don't think there is much harm querying this with the exams officer.

Original post by jamesh234

Hi, sorry I was referring to the exams officer as I said earlier but that was in error by me. I understand this generally isn't allowed but I don't think there is much harm querying this with the exams officer.

There's no "querying" needed as the guidance is clear when it comes to this topic I.e don't be using a gel pen in the exam. Even EOs can sometimes get things wrong.

(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 27

Original post by Talkative Toad

What people "prefer" (be my school who can't run exams properly for the life of them so I'm having to pull them to a corner and correct them or students is irrelevant), the guidance is the guidance and it must be followed at all times.
My school wants to start a physics exam at 12:30 are they allowed? No it goes against the guidance
They wanted to not let me have a reading pen in my A-level MFL, is that ok? Nope also breaks the guidance so I corrected them thanks to the help or TSR and me staying on top of the guidance
They didn't seem to know whether my practical endorsement could be carried over or not so I showed them the JCQ ICE document to prove to them that I can have it carried over.

In all those instances I didn't care what the school "preferred" I stepped in and corrected their mishaps because they weren't following the guidance.

The guidance states very clearly that gel pen must not be used therefore you don't use em.

Sorry if I'm sounding rude/harsh as a Forum
Helper but please don't spread misinformation when it comes to exams. The JCQ ICE document is what you need to be looking at if you're in Northern Ireland, Wales and England when it comes to L2 and L3 qualifications. School's/student's opinion on the matter is irrelevant in my opinion.

Note: I don't work in education but I read the guidance/get clarity from TSR when needed. I make sure that my school isn't getting stuff wrong essentially as I can't trust them when it comes to exams.

I apologise for any misinformation that I caused but I was merely stating that there is no harm with asking this to exams officer. I was merely adding anedoctal experience just for context. Apologies.

Original post by jamesh234

I apologise for any misinformation that I caused but I was merely stating that there is no harm with asking this to exams officer. I was merely adding anedoctal experience just for context. Apologies.

Yeah that's fine :smile:

. We just need to make sure that people follow the guidance as @Muttley79 is saying. People could read this and think that gel pens are allowed when that's clearly not the case, they aren't allowed.

Reply 29

Original post by Muttley79

Please stop - I'm a teacher and I don't want to be having to tell invigilators to check pens tomorrow because students have read your posts on here.

I apologise for any misinformation that I caused but I was merely stating that there is no harm with asking this to exams officer. I was merely adding anedoctal experience just for context and am not a teacher who has great experience with this, just a student who has done GCSE and A-Levels. I was just adding my opinion as this is a student forum. I did not expect people to take my personal experience as a one-stop guidance to how to do their exams. Apologies.

Reply 30

The exams officer will be busy and won't want to waste time answering this sort of question. Students have been told to use the right sort of pen and your posts are just causing confusion,

Original post by jamesh234

I apologise for any misinformation that I caused but I was merely stating that there is no harm with asking this to exams officer. I was merely adding anedoctal experience just for context. Apologies.

Reply 31

Original post by Talkative Toad

Yeah that's fine :smile:

. We just need to make sure that people follow the guidance as @Muttley79 is saying. People could read this and think that gel pens are allowed when that's clearly not the case, they aren't allowed.

Hi, yes I understand this and do not claim to have the experience that others such as Muttley and Reality Check have with examinations and teaching. I was just adding some personal experience and my opinion from doing GCSEs and A-Levels in the past. I do not wish to cause any arguments with anyone else on this forum. Apologies again.

Reply 32

Rara345

17

Original post by Muttley79

No do not use a gel pen - they are not allowed.

Get a ballpoint today - real papers are scanned.

Hello, I don't know if this is a dumb question (my upcoming alevels are first official exams I've sat due to covid so literally no experience) but are we meant to go over pencil in pen? Particularly for bio and chem, there are sometimes graph questions, is it okay to leave that in pencil, considering they are scanned?
Thank you.
And also, just for peace of mind/bc im paranoid, it's fine to use the 'v ball 0.7 pilot pure liquid ink' pen right? (If not luckily i haven't had exams yet, so i'll just use a biro)
ty again.

Reply 33

Original post by Muttley79

The exams officer will be busy and won't want to waste time answering this sort of question. Students have been told to use the right sort of pen and your posts are just causing confusion,

Ok, I am sorry and do not wish to cause any distress or confrontation on this forum. Please remember that this is a student platform and as such many people talk from personal experience not necessarily from the experience that you have. This is why I have apologised for my earlier posts as I thought I was just adding my experience into the mix. Apologies again.

Reply 34