Black or blue ink?

Mr. Plow

I know this is only a small thing, but does it matter if you use black or blue ink in your exams? I've heard it said that black ink is most appropriate for formal work. Do you think it matters? I'm just thinking of some finicky old examiner who's corrected about 4000 scripts by the time he gets to mine and marks me less favorably because of it! Paranoia!?

Stark

I think most people do their Leaving cert in blue ink. Black ink is only an issue if you're filling out something that will likely be photocopied as blue ink comes out faint when photocopied.

Conor108

I'm gonna do mine in blue

Finical

Whatever you do don't do it in red anyways. :pac:

Black or blue is sound.

gant0

I do all my writing in blue if I have a choice,just prefer it but there's really no difference.

gemxpink

I hate blue ink so I always write in black.

I remember in one of my classes last week one of the teachers said that a recent study had shown that students who write in black and with a 'fancy' pen (apparently they can tell :P) get higher grades??

**Timbuk2**

I prefer black ink - it seems more significant on the page than blue

partyatmygaff

I prefer black ink. I always use a "fancy" pen during exams, it just gives off a slightly better impression. More imposing on the white background if you know what I mean.

MaggieNF

partyatmygaff wrote: »

I prefer black ink. I always use a "fancy" pen during exams, it just gives off a slightly better impression. More imposing on the white background if you know what I mean.

what sort of fancy pens?:L

spurious

It makes no difference to the corrector, just don't use red or green.
If your pen is dark enough to be visible through the back of the page, write on every second page.

Ruski

I can only use blue pen when using for a short period of time, for example I write quotes in blue. Any other time I write exclusively in black.

Rubiee

I think either blue or black is acceptable, whichever you are most comfortable using.

Professional Griefer

Apparently, black biro looks better if your writing is poor, if you try it you should notice a difference, obviously it isn't the same for all of us. My writing isn't great so black for me:rolleyes:

partyatmygaff

MaggieNF wrote: »

what sort of fancy pens?:L

I dunno. Anything from a uniball for €5 to a Cross pen for €100.

I actually used a Cross Pen for my English JC exam. :pac:

It gave my writing a sort of "professional" look. It's a bit hard to explain exactly but it just looked very impressive on paper. Kind of easier to write it with as well, moved smoother over the paper and I could have sworn I wrote a bit faster than I usually did.

All in all though, things like your pen doesn't matter all that much unless you're absolutely dire at English and need anything to give off a good impression.

Here's the pen for those interested :pac:
http://www.cross.com/Catalog/ProductDetail.aspx?MSCSProfile=983BB0CC620F5E6D8FDE26829663AF16588EC312FEAAAF1AB644AF24AC06CDDE791979CC97A3204F7BDCD077749480574B41DAAC90B3EA0943F114FF10E7FAC464B96036FAAFD318C79B2F20B9FBE0167EB3805477B53F0B806A18C51F88B2F1672E392C09CF0F7CDF9D6D3F3EF52D852D3A63AD67364AEC6E672F142F2C7D27BE9941F62A8F522C&id=502%28Cross%29

Finical

partyatmygaff wrote: »

Here's the pen for those interested :pac:
http://www.cross.com/Catalog/ProductDetail.aspx?MSCSProfile=983BB0CC620F5E6D8FDE26829663AF16588EC312FEAAAF1AB644AF24AC06CDDE791979CC97A3204F7BDCD077749480574B41DAAC90B3EA0943F114FF10E7FAC464B96036FAAFD318C79B2F20B9FBE0167EB3805477B53F0B806A18C51F88B2F1672E392C09CF0F7CDF9D6D3F3EF52D852D3A63AD67364AEC6E672F142F2C7D27BE9941F62A8F522C&id=502%28Cross%29

I'm going to buy that pen, will be sorted for the LC then!!!

partyatmygaff

Finical wrote: »

I'm going to buy that pen, will be sorted for the LC then!!!

It's the secret to getting all As :P

Finical

partyatmygaff wrote: »

It's the secret to getting all As :P

We better keep it secret than, take down the link.

Tibbers

Black ink creates greater contrast with the white page than blue ink, therefore, is more legible.
Blue ink just happened to become a standard although black ink is a great improvement.

Same as traditional bubble gum. The pink colour comes from the rubber first used, it just got stuck (no poor pun intended).

dan_d

Doesn't matter a damn!!

highlydebased

All I ever use for anything are blue bic biros. I HATE writing with black.

Dont use red- thats what they correct with. Some people say write quotes etc in red but I'd rather not do that.

Victoria.

I'll be using black but not a biro because I always get such an ache in my hand with those. In exams I change pen every now and then for different questions so I don't get a blister because the pens are different shapes wth pressure on different spots same colour ink obviously. Seems to work try it in english.

rainbowtrout

Mr. Plow wrote: »

I know this is only a small thing, but does it matter if you use black or blue ink in your exams? I've heard it said that black ink is most appropriate for formal work. Do you think it matters? I'm just thinking of some finicky old examiner who's corrected about 4000 scripts by the time he gets to mine and marks me less favorably because of it! Paranoia!?

doesn't matter once it's legible, but again don't use red or green, we use those to correct. We seriously don't sit there pondering the merits of blue v black when there are 400 papers to correct.

And to the odd student who thinks writing in pink/purple/orange gel pens is cool .... don't do it, it's a pain in the arse to read and means I have to correct in a diffferent colour so i can see the marks.

oh I suppose while I'm at it. DON'T USE TIPPEX. It takes too long to dry, it smudges, the pages get stuck together.

Don't spend half the day obliterating an answer with your pen because you've decided it's wrong, a line through it will suffice. You might even get marks for it if it is still legible. You might have decided 'that was a really stupid answer, I don't want the examiner to think i'm stupid'. We really don't care. You are just another number. We don't know who you are. By the time I've gotten to the end of correcting your paper I've forgotten about it (unless it was particularly comical! )

spurious

rainbowtrout wrote: »

oh I suppose while I'm at it. DON'T USE TIPPEX.

This cannot be said enough.

**Timbuk2**

Hi thanks for the advice! What about the mouse tape Tippex? The one that you can write over instantly. Normally I just cross answers out, but in Accounting where neatness is important I don't want to have to cross out answers and try and squeeze in my correction.

3_BOoYA_X

Personal favourite here

rainbowtrout

**Timbuk2** wrote: »

Hi thanks for the advice! What about the mouse tape Tippex? The one that you can write over instantly. Normally I just cross answers out, but in Accounting where neatness is important I don't want to have to cross out answers and try and squeeze in my correction.

Well ya that stuff is better and pretty instant, just don't forget to put your figures in again

rainbowtrout

3_BOoYA_X wrote: »

Personal favourite here

No Leaving Cert should be without one

But for that price I'd expect it to be able to write by itself and be the fountain (pen) of all knowledge!

ShayK1

Neon-Circles wrote: »

Some people say write quotes etc in red but I'd rather not do that.

I thought they were supposed to be in Italics?

**Timbuk2**

ShayK1 wrote: »

I thought they were supposed to be in Italics?

Well my writing is nearly all in italics anyway, and I'm sure I'm not the only one.

Do you have to do your quotes in a different colour? Can you not just write them in the same colour?

Also, for poetry, do you put the quotes on a separate line, or do you put it on the same line? It's just that in Irish you would answer like this, leaving the quote stand out. I'm not sure what you are supposed to do for English.

blahblahblah
"quote
more quote
more quote
end of quote"
blahblahblahblah

MaggieNF

**Timbuk2** wrote: »

Well my writing is nearly all in italics anyway, and I'm sure I'm not the only one.

Do you have to do your quotes in a different colour? Can you not just write them in the same colour?

Also, for poetry, do you put the quotes on a separate line, or do you put it on the same line? It's just that in Irish you would answer like this, leaving the quote stand out. I'm not sure what you are supposed to do for English.

blahblahblah
"quote
more quote
more quote
end of quote"
blahblahblahblah

i do that for english, teacher said it was a good idea, like have the paragraph explaining it go to next line and put in quote.

You don't have to write it in a different colour or skip a line or whatever. Quotes go in quotation marks. That's the only rule.

cullen5998

Poor feckers doing the leaving!

Good luck to all:D

anothernight

**Timbuk2** wrote: »

Hi thanks for the advice! What about the mouse tape Tippex? The one that you can write over instantly. Normally I just cross answers out, but in Accounting where neatness is important I don't want to have to cross out answers and try and squeeze in my correction.

Both accounting teachers in my school told us to never ever use tippex, not even mouse tape. They say it can dry out and then crumble off the page, as the papers can be stored over a pretty long time. They recommended just using a sharp pencil and writing clearly. I'll be using a mechanical pencil as I always do for accounting.

As for pens, black ftw. It just looks nicer. But of course examiners don't really care as long as it's legible.

cob50nm

i thought i didnt matter at all what colour pen you use,

i'm quite sure i saw it written somewhere like a marking scheme that if the candidate uses red pen to write with that the examiner should use black or blue to correct.

still probably safer not to use them and besides red looks crap and messy :P

black bic biros ftw

rainbowtrout

cob50nm wrote: »

i thought i didnt matter at all what colour pen you use,

i'm quite sure i saw it written somewhere like a marking scheme that if the candidate uses red pen to write with that the examiner should use black or blue to correct.

still probably safer not to use them and besides red looks crap and messy :P

black bic biros ftw

Yes, you are correct, but page after page of paragraphs of red biro is really hard to read. A student would want to be pretty hard up if they can't rustle up a blue/black biro and only have red available to them.

When I see a paper done in red/green etc (it's not that common) the first thought that comes to mind is 'What tool thought it would be a good idea to answer their exam in red?!!!'

VARIEGATED GIRL

I heard that black pen is the best as it is less straining on the eyes.. but i'm sticking to the good auld blue I think you should use whatever colour makes you feel at ease.. at the end of the day, the examiners will be looking for knowledge and SRP's, not the colour of yuor biro..:rolleyes: unfortunately..:pac:

brian1991

I'm using a black UB-157 Uniball pen. Now that's classy.

Conor108

Staedtler Blue Biro ftw!

Shanotheslayer

Tesco blue and black pens is the way to go tbh.

Behind you Joey

Black ftw! I dunno why it just always seems to look more professional, its in banks, solicitors offices, etc.

Also, the fancy pens always look better and feel a lot more comfortable. Here's my personal favourite...(God I sound like a right nerd):pac:

http://www.staedtler.com/triplus_ball_gb.Staedtler

Bob the Builder

If I have bad handwriting (even though it's still fairly legible), will I be making enemies with the examiner? My handwriting is big, is just as legible as other people in my year, but it is very inconsistent. Will a corrector nail me to the cross for it?

spurious wrote: »

It makes no difference to the corrector, just don't use red or green.
If your pen is dark enough to be visible through the back of the page, write on every second page.

That's good advice.

Ruski wrote: »

I can only use blue pen when using for a short period of time, for example I write quotes in blue. Any other time I write exclusively in black.

That's what i did in the mocks. And because I have a weird way of holding a pen that applies significant pressure to the end joint on my middle finger, mixing pen's works better...

Melena

can't wait to buy new pens! most exciting part about this exam!:L

Midnight_EG

Generally, I'll use my Blue Parker pen when writing english, maths, geography and physics.
For french, irish and business I'll use my Black Cross pen :P

**Timbuk2**

I wish I had a fancy pen. I feel so common with my Bic biros. Is there much difference?

Are those Bic Fine pens any good? (you know the ones that are orange on the outside and have half the nib size as the normal Bic pens)

Midnight_EG

**Timbuk2** wrote: »

I wish I had a fancy pen. I feel so common with my Bic biros. Is there much difference?

Are those Bic Fine pens any good? (you know the ones that are orange on the outside and have half the nib size as the normal Bic pens)

The Parker is very comfy for essay writing I find, and out of about 10 I've had, none have splodged at all!

VARIEGATED GIRL

Midnight_EG

I see your Fabre Castel and raise you a

and a

VARIEGATED GIRL

well lawww de dawwww.. aren't you fancy..:p

sorry, but NO OTHER PEN will EVER come between me and old blue..........;)

Ardennes1944

i did my leavin with a black staedtler. lasted me the whole thing. beautiful!

MaggieNF

well they are lovely pens, btu somehow there is no way to tell the examiner what oen you have to get higher marks so I'm just gonna stick with my papermate bic and staedtler blue and black and swap between them its only really english you need it for anyways likeee

anothernight

**Timbuk2** wrote: »

I wish I had a fancy pen. I feel so common with my Bic biros. Is there much difference?

Are those Bic Fine pens any good? (you know the ones that are orange on the outside and have half the nib size as the normal Bic pens)

I like those because they make my writing a lot clearer. And my writing is one of the worst I've ever seen, so any improvement is welcome.