Can you lose marks in GCSE due to handwriting?

[PurpleDuck]

Thank you, I've just got it now.

[scaredycat]

We've found the choice of pen helps; ds writes very quickly and staedtler fine liner pens are good, I read somewhere that they are great for fast writers as they just glide and there is very little effort required so their hand doesn't get as tired. You can get a 10 pack from Amazon for about £6, they don't last too long but it's worth it for exams I think! Ds really likes them and says they are much easier to write with.

[PurpleDuck]

Thank you.

[silverysea]

That's a good tip about pens, thanks scaredycat.

[Yamin151]

Are roller tip pens still around? Some of those we lovely and smooth an not direction dependant, if you see what I mean

[PurpleDuck]

Yes, they are around. DS has been using Uni-Ball by Mitshubishi Pencil company. Ink in those pens is great, it doesn't smudge at all, he is jut not holding his pen correctly, hence I was looking for something that would force the correct grip (and he refuses to use the 'banana' pen).

I came across a very nice Montblanc StarWalker Platinum Plated Rollerball Pen, priced at a 'mere' £305. Somehow I can't see myself buying it.

[Eccentric]

Look at the examiners report together e.g this:

".... Performance on unstructured questions was also weaker, showing less strategy in coming up with secure procedures for solution, and too many attempts that resembled trial and improvement approaches.

The inclusion of working out to support answers remains an issue for many; but not only does working out need to be shown, it needs to be shown legibly, demonstrating the processes of calculation that are used. There were too many instances in this paper where working was set out in such a disorganised way that examiners found it impossible to identify a chosen route of solution by the student, in order to award method marks."

http://qualifications.pearson.com/conte ... 150108.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thank you hugely for the Guest55 I have been trying to drum into my Dd how important workings are and this will give me fodder for my campaign. She lost a number of marks in her last maths tests due to the fact that she hadn't shown her workings. Her response was "why should I show my workings when it was so easy I could do it in my head, it is a waste of time showing workings when I could be moving on to another question" I am hoping that by her next maths test she will have accepted the necessity.

[PurpleDuck]

Thank you hugely for the Guest55 I have been trying to drum into my Dd how important workings are and this will give me fodder for my campaign. She lost a number of marks in her last maths tests due to the fact that she hadn't shown her workings. Her response was "why should I show my workings when it was so easy I could do it in my head, it is a waste of time showing workings when I could be moving on to another question" I am hoping that by her next maths test she will have accepted the necessity.

That sounds like my DS .If you download any maths GCSE mark scheme from internet, you will be able to prove to your DD that for many questions marks are awarded specifically for workings out, so no workings out = no marks! Hopefully, she won't want to argue with the official marking guide.

[Y]

My DS - whose writing rivals mine for illegibility - is a particular fan of the erasable Frixion pens, which he writes a little better with. But ..... don't let them use them in exams. I had a particularly stressful few weeks when I discovered my DS had used these in his GCSEs, as the ink can be rendered invisible by heat....

[PurpleDuck]

My DS - whose writing rivals mine for illegibility - is a particular fan of the erasable Frixion pens, which he writes a little better with. But ..... don't let them use them in exams. I had a particularly stressful few weeks when I discovered my DS had used these in his GCSEs, as the ink can be rendered invisible by heat....

My goodness, that would totally freak me out - imagine leaving an exam paper somewhere close to a sunny window!