Don't panic!

Discussion in 'A+' started by Silverfox, Feb 3, 2009.

  1. Silverfox

    Silverfox Bit Poster

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    I passed the A+ exams last week, much to my surprise. Using self study, I felt fully prepared prior to sitting the exams. However, I was not prepared for the wave of panic when so many questions used situations and terms that I was not familiar with.

    My advice to anyone approaching the exams would be

    1. Use a wide variety of resourses to cover all bases. My problem may have been a head full of facts and figures from one book without the wider understanding and practical experience needed.

    2. Treat practise questions and exams from various sources as a guide only. I often came across questions that were ambiguous or just plain wrong!

    3. Use a technique for multiple choice type questions. Look first to eliminate the obviously wrong answers - usually two of the options. Then take your time to make an educated guess on the remaining choices. More often than not you will be right.

    4. Don't lose heart during the exam. You are maybe doing better than you think!

    Good luck
     
  2. dalsoth

    dalsoth Kilobyte Poster

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    Congrats on the pass :D

    Some good advice there for any exams.

    I try to use a CBT and then a book that has a good reputation followed up by another book such as Exam Cram before the exam. All throughout i will practice on the real thing. That works well for most exams i guess.
     
    Certifications: MCSE, MCP, MCDST, MCSA, ITIL v3
    WIP: MCITP EA
  3. Evilwheato

    Evilwheato Kilobyte Poster

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    Using various training methods always helps. Although reading from a book is good, video's and practice exams are great :)

    I also couldn't agree more with no.3!
     
  4. soundian

    soundian Gigabyte Poster

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    That's all good advice.
    I recently took a practice exam where I did really badly for the first 20 questions or so but still scraped a pass so hopefully I wont panic if the same thing happens for real.
     
    Certifications: A+, N+,MCDST,MCTS(680), MCP(270, 271, 272), ITILv3F, CCENT
    WIP: Knuckling down at my new job
  5. tripwire45
    Honorary Member

    tripwire45 Zettabyte Poster

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    I think one of the challenges that exams presents is that the relevant information in each question is set within a scenario-type question containing a lot of irrelevant information. The trick is to be able to hone in on just the bits you need and disregard the rest.
     
    Certifications: A+ and Network+
  6. GiddyG

    GiddyG Terabyte Poster Gold Member

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    Exactly.
     
  7. del_port

    del_port Byte Poster

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    May'be the study material wasn't good enough,if you did this subject at college you would be familiar with everything in the exam.

    College is intensive and covers absolutely everything in the exam.And the college practice tests were quite like the exam too,a bit tougher i felt,at times.

    I would disagree with tripwire 45,i think they are talking about microsoft not the A+,unlike microsoft questions there is barely anything to the A+ questions,the questions are compact and straightforward,you read them once and answer them,yes there there is the odd bizarre question thrown in there,but you can answer 10 questions in under 10 minutes in the exam.Whereas you could be looking at 30 minutes to answer 10 microsoft questions.

    If the exam question is only two sentences long i don't see how it can be over elaborate,typical A+ exam question below

    what is the storage capacity of a single layer dvd?

    In that question you need all the words,there is nothing you can remove to make the question shorter,and there isn't a lot to the question in the first place.
    I admit that not every question is one sentence only,some are 3 sentences or one paragraph,but there is nothing longwinded in that exam.And nearly all the details are important because the questions are short.

    I think there is a reason you only get 90 minutes to answer 100 questions,the content of the question is small.

    You don't need to read it over and over again,if you did they would give you longer to complete the exam.
     
    Certifications: A+ and MCDST 70-271
    WIP: mcdst 272
  8. Devilfish

    Devilfish Bit Poster

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    Good advice guys, thanks for the tips.
     
    WIP: A+, Network+, MCDST
  9. Silverfox

    Silverfox Bit Poster

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    Re reply from del_port, I self studied using mainly the popular Mike Meyers AIO. Whilst it did help me pass, I found it a bit dated in some areas - assume it is ready to be republished soon.

    Your example of the DVD question was exactly the type of straightforward fact based questions I was hoping for but appeared to be in short supply, particularly in the 602. However, I would agree that time limits in the exam are generous and there is no need to rush.
     
  10. G_uk

    G_uk Bit Poster

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    Congratulations.

    It's a good feeling when you pass and don't let anyone belittle the achievement of the A+. Comparing it to other courses and exams is completely irrelevant!

    8)
     
  11. Kitkatninja
    Highly Decorated Member Award 500 Likes Award

    Kitkatninja aka me, myself & I Moderator

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    Congrats on the pass :)

    -Ken
     
    Certifications: MSc, PGDip, PGCert, BSc, HNC, LCGI, MBCS CITP, MCP, MCSA, MCSE, MCE, A+, N+, S+, Server+
    WIP: MSc Cyber Security

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