Personal reference notes

TPatil · Oct 24, 2018

Hello, I have prepared and gathered personal notes written in my handwriting. They are several pages stapled and secured in a ring binder.

My notes are in pencil. Are personal notes written in pencil allowed? I didn't find any specific notes related to this in NCEES exam guide.

Thanks in advance.

ME_PE_WANNABE · Oct 24, 2018

I think you'll be fine just as long your notes are secured to your ring binder. I had a ton of pencil-written notes in my binder and the proctors never had a problem with them.

Mech_Engineer · Oct 24, 2018

I'd suggest making a copy of them as to not run the risk of having a proctor accuse you of writing in your notes. Just my opinion. I'd also not staple the notes so that you can flip through them easier.

txjennah PE · Oct 24, 2018

I'd call your state board. You're (probably) fine but good to check. I called the Texas State Board before my 1st attempt, and they said pencil was not allowed.

youngmotivatedengineer · Oct 24, 2018

Mech_Engineer said:
I'd suggest making a copy of them as to not run the risk of having a proctor accuse you of writing in your notes. Just my opinion. I'd also not staple the notes so that you can flip through them easier.

This is the main reason people advise against pencil notes. During the test, you are only allowed to write in test booklet not your references. If proctor accuses you of writing in your references, it's your word against theirs. There's no way to tell what was notes while studying, and what, if any was added during the exam. With all the time, money and effort put in to studying, do you want to risk being kicked out if they think you wrote in your references during the exam?

TPatil · Oct 24, 2018

Thank you all for input. I will make a copy to be on safer side.

Audi Driver P.E. · Oct 25, 2018

youngmotivatedengineer said:
This is the main reason people advise against pencil notes. During the test, you are only allowed to write in test booklet not your references. If proctor accuses you of writing in your references, it's your word against theirs. There's no way to tell what was notes while studying, and what, if any was added during the exam. With all the time, money and effort put in to studying, do you want to risk being kicked out if they think you wrote in your references during the exam?

I absolutely agree with all said above. If, however you hadn't copied and just brought pages in pencil, and get accused of writing in your reference during the exam when you did not, it should not be TOO difficult to show that there wasn't anything related to the actual exam you were given... still don't want to have to fight that battle unnecessarily.

Ski8839 · Oct 25, 2018

A potentially easier solution is to highlight over what you have written in pencil.

I then used erasable pen to make the rest of my notes.

Personal reference notes

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