Mechanical or Normal pencil for the test? Does it matter??

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Iam
Posts: 31
Joined: Wed May 23, 2018 1:21 pm

Mechanical or Normal pencil for the test? Does it matter??

Post by Iam »

Dear all apologies to be pedantic,
and i hope you all have a good Bank Holiday.


Are the papers with the boxes marked by Humans or Computers?
And does the thickness of the pencil then matter?

In my childhood exams we all had to use HB pencils because they rubbed off neater and the computer could read it better.

Any pointers?TIA
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yoyo123
Posts: 8099
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2007 3:32 pm
Location: East Kent

Re: Mechanical or Normal pencil for the test? Does it matter

Post by yoyo123 »

I would use a “normal” pencil. They are read by computer. Mechanical pencils tend to be fainter and they break!
Nella
Posts: 231
Joined: Sun Mar 17, 2019 8:56 am

Re: Mechanical or Normal pencil for the test? Does it matter

Post by Nella »

Are the pencils not provided by the testing centre?
spanner
Posts: 40
Joined: Fri Sep 27, 2019 3:37 pm

Re: Mechanical or Normal pencil for the test? Does it matter

Post by spanner »

You will be given instructions by the consortium on what to take (and not take). From memory you do need HB pencils.
The tests are marked by computer. You need to practice making the marks hard enough because the computer won’t pick them up if they are too light.
They do some manual checks but better safe than sorry!
Iam
Posts: 31
Joined: Wed May 23, 2018 1:21 pm

Re: Mechanical or Normal pencil for the test? Does it matter

Post by Iam »

Thank you all, most appreciated
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