Need help plz

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I've been studying the MCDST for about 3mths and have now taken 3 mock exams as I am doing the course through Advent and must get 75% b4 I can do the real exam.
I have failed all 3 mocks with scores betweem 67 and 74% and would like so advice as to what else I can try to pass this exam, at the mo I am using the Microsoft press book (70-271). Any suggestions would be welcome as it's now starting to get on top of me
Thankyou in advance.

 

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Hey mate,
I too took 3 attempts at the Advent mock and it was a bit of a swine. It's based on the transcender exam questions you get with advent so the first thing i'd say to do is cram like hell on those questions rather than on the MS Press stuff. According to the posts i've read on here the transcender stuff pretty hard and the real exam will be more like the MS Press stuff so if you say you've been studying up on the MS press exams and book you should be fine with the real thing depending ofc on how well you have been doing on the MS press exams and how well you actually know the material ofc.

Go through the transcender exam on custom mode with all the questions. Give an answer don't worry if it's not right as the plan will then be to go through all your answers and take the time to read the explanations and take notes and try to understand exactly when is being asked in each case.

I know this is not good practice but you may even try a little brain dumping (JUST TO GET THOUGH THE MOCK!!!)

Then when you pass the mock book your real exam but give yourself as much time as you feel you need to be confident with your knowledge.

Also if you can get a copy of the CBT NUggets exam pack (try EBay) I found this really useful in learning this stuff although the guy that talks you through it is rather annoying you will eventually learn to love him.

I did my mock about 3 weeks ago and my real exam is tomorrow. Fingers crossed
Hope this helps
Jammo

 

I didnt bother reading the whole post there Jammo, the red part took my eye instantly.

Braindumping is a terrible way to get through anything, and to get through the mock is just ridiculous. Whats the point in doing that, to then fail the actual exam? All your doing is giving yourself false hope and inaccurate evaluation of what you've learnt, and at some point in the future, when you need to put your cert to the test in a real work environment, you will stuggle.

Klospros, in the words of Tripwire, "Study, study, study". Use whatever materials you can get your hands on, Transcender or similar software will help show you your weak areas, and then concentrate on that area until you nail it, and move on.

Good luck

 

Tru dat.

I can't see any point in 8rayndUmp1nG for a mock! What, so you can pass a fake test, but then fail at the real one because you take it before you're ready? Gimme a break.

You're not a million miles away with scores like you've been getting. Hit the books, study for a bit more and wait until you can consistently pass at around 80% and you'll be ready. If Advent have done their homework then the mock should be a little tougher than the real exam, so their approach sounds reasonable to me.

Good luck!

 

Not only is it not good practice... but it's a sure-fire way to get yourself banned from this forum. Understand, Jammo?

Resale of CBTNuggets on eBay is prohibited by their single-user licensing restrictions. So not only are you advocating braindumping, you're advocating that he break Copyright Law. Niiiice.

 

Surely the point of BDs is that they are the same questions as the real exam?

Forgive my innocence in all this but unless the mock exams are also BDs aren't you studying the wrong questions, and therefore will get an even worse fail?

Just a thought...

J.

 

Yeah I know what you're saying guys but if you had bothered to read the rest of the post you would have noticed that I also said to give yourself enough time to be sure you lean the material.

Don't get me wrong I totally disagree with brain dumping as a method for getting through the real exam. THIS IS WHY IT WAS IN RED and also the reson why i said that it was not good pratice. Also you would have noticed the other options i said to use ie. Going through the exams taking the time to read the explanations and understand the reasons why you're getting something wrong and using other sources to help you learn the material.

Ok maybe i shouldn't have mentioned it as a method to get through a mock. However for me personally i find that i work much more productively with a deadline, the pressure helps me to learn things as i said i've given myself three weeks to learn the material since i did my mocks and it has really helped me to get my head down to do the work. This may not be the case for everyone but it works for me.

If i hadn't done this i would not be in the position i'm in now having had a massive wake up call to my initially rather relaxed approach to this exam. I have taken the time to understand all the material and if i pass tomorrow i do not want to have loads of peeps accusing me of brain dumping as this WILL NOT be the case!!

I've not been in this forum long and you guys have been very helpful for finding new sources of information. I don't want to fall out over this. But do realise that i'm not saying it's a good way to pass an exam!

 

I did bother to read the rest of your post. But there is absolutely, positively, unconditionally, NO valid reason for using braindumps. Period. Doesn't matter if you're on a deadline, doesn't matter if you need to pass an exam or get fired, doesn't matter if you use braindumps AND learn by hands-on experience, doesn't matter if you plan on passing the test now and learning the "right way" later, doesn't matter if you're the best tech in the world but you don't take tests well... there's NO valid excuse for using them. Ever. It doesn't matter how you attempt to rationalize it - cheating is cheating.

You're right about one thing: you shouldn't have mentioned it at all.

 

Ok, gang. So we *all* agree that braindumping is bad and hopefully, we all agree that using braindump sites and materials is not acceptable under any circumstances. Even by using them to pass mock exams, you're still supporting unethical and illegal practices.

If the mock exams are *based* on Transcender exams (and I'm hoping that Transcender was conpensated in some matter for this), then they are likely to be about as challenging as the real exam.

The whole point of mock exams is to have an environment to test your knowledge and skills against an outside standard, see where you are doing well and where you aren't, and then to focus your studies on where you aren't.

klospros, if your top score was 74% and you need a 75% to pass, you must be getting close. If you've taken the exam three times already, you must have *some* idea what areas are challenging for you. My recommendation would be to focus your studies in those areas.

I know this flies in the face of conventional wisdom, but the whole point *isn't* passing the exam. The whole point is learning the skill sets required to do the job. Even if you pass an exam and become certified, you'll actually have to "walk the walk" at some point and perform in a production environment. That is, when an end user says "My CD drive reads data CDs but not music CDs", you'll have to have some idea of where to look for the answer.

 

OK OK POINT TAKEN.
So what now, you gonna kick me for one stupid comment?

 

Im with advent aswell mate, just recently finished the MCDST. Have you used the transcender discs that you were supplied? If you have then checkout the summary section to see where your weak areas are, then concentrate on bringing them up to par, if you havent used the transcender discs yet, then start.

 

No one is attacking you mate, just trying to get across that Braindumps are a massive no-no. It seems you are fully aware of this which is why I was surprized that you mentioned using them! As Trip said, we all agree Braindumps are bad, so lets stick with that

 

Actually, there were two stupid comments. You never addressed the fact that resale of CBTNuggets on eBay is prohibited.

That said, no, I'm not trying to kick you. I'm simply pointing out what can get you (and klospros) into trouble, both here and in "real life", if someone follows your advice.

 

Thanks for all the good advice, I wont be using any B/D's though, I do have the transender and will go through all questions on the CD and find out more where I'm going wrong and also read through the book again

 

Relax, all of you. I'm trying to get this thread past the point of contention and back on track, which is a discussion on how to use the information gained from taking mock exams to improve performance and knowledge. Let's drop the other junk, shall we?

Pax.

 

Ok good call.
sorry to have annoyed you guys. although TBH i was more refering to remembering the questions asked in the trancender practice exams. I wouldn't even know where to look for a B/D website Anyway it would be great if, as already mentioned that can be the end of it.
And good luck with your mocks mate, you'll get there.