Can You Use Erasable Pens in an AP Exam?

Everyone wants to maintain a tidy and clean exam paper. However, it can occasionally be impossible to maintain a clean exam paper free of cross-writings. You don’t want your teacher to be disappointed by seeing your erroneous words, especially on AP exam. That’s why some students think whether they can use Erasable Pens in an AP exam or not.

Erasable pens are perfect for erasing mistakes from paper. Some exams allow students to use erasable pens. However, big exams sometimes do not consider using erasable pen because often erasable pen can smudge and makes paper harder to read.  This article explains whether or not you can use erasable pens in an AP exam.

Can You Use Erasable Pens in an AP Exam?

Erasable pens can be pretty handy if you are using them correctly. They are convenient and easily erasable so you can remove any mistakes without worrying. But you cannot use erasable pens everywhere such as legal documents. That means can you use erasable pens in an AP Exam?

You should not use erasable pens in an AP exam because if they are scanning the paper, the residue from the eraser can interrupt the scanning. Another problem is if you use the eraser too much it can tear the exam paper. So, you should not use any erasable pen in AP exam.

There are no instructions on the website whether you can take erasable pens to the AP exam. If you look into the website, you will see they have restricted taking any colored pencil and mechanical pencil. That means you cannot erase anything on the AP exam.

They have also cleared that you can only take pens with black and dark blue ink. Here is the list of what to bring to AP exam:

• Blank or blue inked pen
• No.2 pencils

These two types of pens and pencil you can bring to the AP exam. That’s why it is recommended not using erasable pens on the AP exam.

Do Erasable Pens Actually Erase?

We know erasers can easily remove pencil marks but do erasable pens actually erase? From our childhood, we have seen that nothing can remove ink marks from paper or clothes. However, you can put a white layer and cover the ink with correction tape or fluid. But removing ink permanently from paper seems little to no chance of possibility.

Erasable pens can erase the ink, but it’s not magic. The ink disappears from the friction between the eraser and the paper. A second reason for the disappearance of ink lies in the formula that creates erasable pens. Usually, people make ink with oils that create a permanent mark on the paper or clothes.

However, erasable pens are actually made with a formula named liquid rubber cement solution which is easy to erase. That means erasable pens are different that traditional pens and they can actually erase ink.

Do Erasable Pens Smear?

Erasable pens do not smear but erasing the ink can leave some residue. Even if you erase pencil marks, if not done correctly you will see some residue on the paper. Another issue is that some people write firmly on the paper, making it difficult to clean up their mistakes.

Erasable pens do not bleed through paper and they do not smear. If you write firmly on the paper the eraser will smudge the ink and the scanner cannot scan your paper. So, make sure to erase properly with erasable pens.

Can You Bring an Eraser to the AP Test?

You can definitely bring an eraser to the AP test to erase pencil marks. On the website on the AP test, they have mentioned that you can bring No.2 pencils with erasers. You will need eraser for the multiple choice questions part. So, bringing eraser is a must on the AP test.

However, you cannot use the eraser on the writing part because you have to write with a black or blue inked pen. That means you can bring eraser to the AP test only for the MCQ part but not for the writing part.

What Type of Pens Are Allowed on the AP Exam?

If you check the website of the AP exam, they have mentioned you can bring two types of pens. They are black inked pen and blue inked pen. In the website, they have mentioned –

• Two no.2 pencils with eraser for multiple choices answer sheet.
• Pens with black or dark blue inks.

You won’t be allowed to proceed the exam if you take any colored pencil or mechanical pencil. One paper has mentioned that you cannot bring erasable pen to the AP test.

See How Erasable Pens Work:

Final Thoughts

Before any exam, every student gets concerned about what to bring and what not to. “Can you use erasable pens in an AP exam” – is the most common question students ask. Now that you got the answer in our article that whether you should bring erasable pen in an AP exam; it will relief your stress.

It depends on what type of paper you are writing to erase anything with erasable pens. Legal documents and exam papers are not a suitable choice to use erasable pens. So, from next time, make sure to bring black ball pen or blue inked ball pen for your exam.