# Allowed books for Illinois PE exam



## sonyisda1 (Oct 9, 2010)

From reading on this forum, it seems that Illinois is much more strict on the allowed books. This question is directed to anyone who has taken a PE exam in IL.

From the PE_SPEC_Exam pdf available at the testing info site, it states:

The following references are NOT permitted in the examination room:


Dictionaries;
Material copied from several handbooks and textbooks and bound by/for the candidate;
Loose tables, maps, charts, reference cards, etc.;
Writing tables, unbound tables, or unbound notes;
Manuals that are publications of the Illinois Department of Transportation (commonly referred to as the IDOT Manual);
Books with content directed mainly toward solution of engineering problems or preparation for professional engineering examinations.

I read the "books with content directed mainly toward solution of engineering problems" as schaum's outline books but does anyone know for sure?

Also does the "dictionaries" limitation include technical dictionaries such as "Dictionary of Electrical and Computer Engineering published by McGraw-Hill"

thanks!


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## snickerd3 (Oct 11, 2010)

yes it includes technical dictionaries. basically if it has the word dictionary in the title it is not allowed.

I don't know what that bbok is, but if it is just a book of problems with solutions then I would say it is also not allowed.


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## thewalt33 (Oct 15, 2010)

Thanks for the post. I'm taking the exam in Florida and it got me motivated to make sure I'm not studying with a reference that is not allowed. I called this morning and basically we can bring any material we want in, including the practice exam, as long as it is binded in the approved fashion, i.e. no staples or loose paper.

Just an FYI for those taking the exam in Florida.

Walt


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## speedyox (Oct 18, 2010)

I'm worried about this same issue.

Several of my references are schaum's guides so I really hope they are allowed. I also would love to be able to bring printed-out (and 3-ring bound) articles. Does anyone know if that is allowed in Illinois?


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## snickerd3 (Oct 18, 2010)

printed out articles would fall into the not allowed category. You would have to bring the book/journal that they were orginally published in.


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## speedyox (Oct 18, 2010)

That's really disappointing. Electronics Engineering is largely paperless these days. Some manufacturers provide excellent reference material in pdf format but never actually print anything.

Bummer.


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## dianevp (Feb 18, 2011)

I heard that IL is considering allowing PDF versions of books, as long as the entire book is brought and bounded, not just one page. I was told this directly by the IL testing center (Continental). NO Handwritten notes either.


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## LEEDengineer (Feb 19, 2011)

dianevp said:


> I heard that IL is considering allowing PDF versions of books, as long as the entire book is brought and bounded, not just one page. I was told this directly by the IL testing center (Continental). NO Handwritten notes either.


I too am testing in IL this April and was told the same thing. Printed books in 3 ring binders or spiral bound are ok in their entirety.

I didn't know about the handwritten notes part though. A lot of people I know in other states have "equation sheets" they used.


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