<p>so it's kinda late by now, but my pen was dying by the end of my AP euro exam when i took it last month and i feel like it was sort of faint, esp. considering that i was writing with a pretty fine-point pen to being with. </p>
<p>...so what happens if your frq doesn't scan correctly?</p>
<p>It is read by a human, not scanned.
If you could read it, it will be fine.</p>
<p>really? i thought they scanned all AP FRQs before reading them? <em>crosses fingers</em></p>
<p>That is why you have to put an AP label and your initials/other anonymous identifications on the booklet instead of your whole name. They get the whole booklet.</p>
<p>The booklets are definitely shipped to the various grading locations.</p>
<p>wait…so why do we have to write in pen (and not pencil) then?</p>
<p>Because it’s easier on the readers’ eyes to read darker print. It’s more straining and strenuous to read hundreds of essays faintly-written in lead.</p>
<p>I think this is how the scoring works, as told by my AP World History teacher:</p>
<p>A grader sits with a group of graders and a leader. They read all these essays, and if a grader can’t read it, first they ask the leader to read it, and if they can’t read it, then the group will try to make it bigger for everyone else in the area to read it. I guess they use some sort of real-time document scanner. If anyone still can’t read it then I guess it gets a zero.</p>