# Notes in Pencil



## sam314159 (Mar 7, 2011)

I have a habbit of writing notes in my reference books, stuff like:

_"Good problem, work again"_

"Use this formula instead V=I.R"

"Watch out for unit conversions"

"Use formula on page 32-2 instead"

"Key to solution is finding internal generator voltage"

"*IMPORTANT CONCEPT*"

"Torque here is in N.m not ft-lbf"

I made all these, probably hundreds of notes, in *PENCIL*, all over my reference books. Is that ok? Here's what I have done so far trying to get an answer:

1. I looked over the NCEES website multiple times and I didn't see anything about notes in pencil. These are "printed" "bound" references as they specified I just happen to write in them while I was studying.

2. I emailed NCEES asking for clarification and they ignored my email. (It's been 4 weeks now)

3. I called my state PE board and asked them and they ofcourse refered me to the NCESS website, which as I mentioned earlier does not prohibit pencil notes.

4. I searched this forum for a consensus and replies seemed all over the place.

*This is what the NCEES says about references:*



> Reference materials: The PE and PS exams are open book, meaning that candidates may bring printed reference materials as long as they are bound and remain bound during the exam. Loose paper may be bound with ring binders, brads, plastic snap binders, spiral-bound notebooks, and screw posts, but not with staples. Sticky notes and flags are permitted only when they remain attached to book pages.


I would rather not have to go over 100s of notes with a highlighter but I will if necessary.

Anyone have any idea on what's acceptable as a reference and what's not? Thanks guys.


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## snickerd3 (Mar 7, 2011)

depends on the state. but as a general rule notes in pencil is not a good idea because proctors could give you a hard time since you aren't supposed to write in your books during the test.

if it isn't a whole lot of notes, going over them in pen or highlighter would solve the problem


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## sam314159 (Mar 7, 2011)

Ok, I think I might just have found an answer to my own question.

Instead of emailing the NCEES I decided to try calling this time and I got to talk to one of their representatives. The lady was very helpful and told me that my state, *Alabama*, has contracted with the NCEES to administer the exam and that the state follows the "NCEES Candidate Agreement - April 2011 Exam Administration".

She said Alabama allows pencil notes and that it would be "perfectly allowed". She did point out that since I will have a pencil with me during the test to make sure that I don't write or appear to write in my references during the exam because a proctor could scrutinize that. So, I will make sure to put my pencil down whenever I am looking in my references just in case.

I also asked her about digital watches since someone told me that those are prohibited and she told me that Alabama allows them but to turn the "beeping" off to not disturb other test takers.

Hope this helps someone else.

Here's a link to the "NCEES Candidate Agreement - April 2011 Exam Administration" on the NCEES website:

http://www.ncees.org/Documents/Public/Exam...and%20Agree.pdf


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