Anybody using pencil in the morning session PASSED?

CFA Level III
#1

Just try to confirm pencil is not the issue.

#2

I used pen… (and what a mess I caused crossing things out and writing under and so on)

#3

I used multiple crayola crayons. They have a tendency to smudge, but the colors can really add emphasis where necessary.

#4

I used multiple pencils as well and passed. This is not an issue at all.

#5

I know that NufaN, another poster, used a pencil and passed…

#6

Used pencil and passed myself. But if I was to do it over again I’d use pen. Mainly because I’ve second guessed myself so much for using pencil (due to the negative influence it could have on graders)…

#7

Sigh. Unless you wrote in disappearing ink, no grader will ever care what you wrote your exam with. What you should do is go out and splurge and buy a pen that you really like and take the exam with that. Spending $20 or $30 on a pen doesn’t usually work, but you can justify it for this exam.

#8

pencil as many others, run a search this has been discussed a few times

#9

for what it’s worth, I used pencil last year and failed, and used pen this year and passed.

#10

I used pencil also as I did not have one during the exam - I didn’t know that I needed a pen. I was caught in surprise. I passed. I may use a pen next time, because pencil marks tend to get blurred by scratching (when the graders flip the pages).

#11

I used pen and did not pass… And I scribbled a lot out and I know it was really messy… I know they don’t read parts that are scribbled out, but I felt that it made me seem “wishy washy” with my answers and I would prefer to do it in pencil which would look neater. JoeyD–what is your take on that? Do the graders notice the cross outs, etc. Does it influence their grading? I know you suggested a nice pen, but I think pencil would look neater in my case…and make me feel better about my answers becuase I can read them more easily!

#12

I used pencil and passed. Using pencil is NOT an issue at all. The graders even grade questions answered outside the template. This is clearly stated on CFAI website.

#13

ctnycgirl Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I used pen and did not pass… > > And I scribbled a lot out and I know it was really > messy… I know they don’t read parts that are > scribbled out, but I felt that it made me seem > “wishy washy” with my answers and I would prefer > to do it in pencil which would look neater. > > JoeyD–what is your take on that? Do the graders > notice the cross outs, etc. Does it influence > their grading? I know you suggested a nice pen, > but I think pencil would look neater in my > case…and make me feel better about my answers > becuase I can read them more easily! They might mutter something about “Er it’s going to take me longer to grade this”, but that’s all. Grading is about searching for the right answers quickly or finding stuff that excludes correct answers quickly. Buy a nice pencil then.

#14

ctnycgirl, I had a few large sections crossed out and managed to pass. That said, my AM scores were atrocious.

#15

I don’t blame failing on my choice of pen/pencil. (at least I don’t blame the graders)–I just think I would have been more organized in writing my answers… and I spent time fretting over my messy handwriting, etc. which could easily be corrected with pencil… I really wish we could type though!

#16

The problem with cross-outs is that whatever got crossed out was a waste of time. The goal is to not have any cross-outs…

#17

agreed…a bit late, but agreed.

#18

Buy a erasable biro. Saved me in morning exam. One piece of advice I would give to those taking level III

#19

I used machanical pencil for all 3 levels and passed.

#20

I seriously cannot remember, the whole exam was washed away in an alcohol induced fog the night after the exam.