Studying techniquess???

Discussion in 'General Microsoft Certifications' started by shocksl, Dec 4, 2011.

  1. shocksl

    shocksl Byte Poster

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    What's the best Study plan for studying for the MCTS (Exam 70-680) ?

    I was thinking off:
    1)Watching the CBT Nuggets
    2) Then once completed read the MS Book and make Notes
    3) Then do some exam questions


    What do you all think? I've never really done an I.T exam before, so that's why i need some pointers on what methods did people helpful for studying for this exam?

    thanks
     
  2. RichyV

    RichyV Megabyte Poster

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    Hi,

    yes, the only slight amendment I'd make is to watch the vid & then read the related section of the book followed by some example q's/running through some scenarios; then repeat until all sections are covered before tackling the practice exams.

    Oh, and don't forget to book the exam with Prometric, I'd say 4-6 weeks in advance. It gives you a goal to aim for, or otherwise you can find yourself 'meandering' through the material letting time drag-on and then possibly even giving up.
     
    Certifications: B.Sc.(Hons), MBCS. MCP (271,272), MCDST, MCTS (680), MCITP:EDST7, MCSA:WIN7, MCPS, MCNPS
    WIP: 70-686, then onto MCSE: Desktop Infrastructure via MCSA: Server 2012...
  3. shocksl

    shocksl Byte Poster

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    RichyV , thank you sooo much for your input - repped.

    How long do you think I should spend studying a section? or a better question would be how long do you take? I also work till 6pm.
     
  4. RichyV

    RichyV Megabyte Poster

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    No problem & thank you! :thumbleft

    The vids take as long as they take (somewhere between 35mins and and 1 hour 20) and sometimes I have to repeat small sections if the guy's talking too fast..! So some evenings I will only get to do the vid/or the corresponding book section, other days when the section is short I get to do both, but either way I will be doing 45mins to 1.5 hours on an evening (I get home from work @ 5:15pm as we have an early start and it's only just down the road from me...) and I will study 5 days a week.

    This weekend is full of practice tests (oh joy!) as I'm sitting the 682 tomorrow :eek:

    Good luck with the studying, hope you find it as rewarding as I...
     
    Certifications: B.Sc.(Hons), MBCS. MCP (271,272), MCDST, MCTS (680), MCITP:EDST7, MCSA:WIN7, MCPS, MCNPS
    WIP: 70-686, then onto MCSE: Desktop Infrastructure via MCSA: Server 2012...
  5. shocksl

    shocksl Byte Poster

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    Thank you mate for that and Good luck with your exam!!!


    How long have you been studying for the exam and did you find it difficult. I am about to start tomorrow with it using Nuggets and then the MS Press Book :)
     
  6. TheITCrowd

    TheITCrowd Kilobyte Poster

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    I read the book then the nuggets, like watching the nuggets and thinking "I actually know what he's going on about!"
    I tend to study at 4 - 430am now, I have a 4 year old who sings all the time and a 8 month old who bangs anything with any object she can find. 4am is quiet for my head :tongue When I get home from work I can spend time with the kids and not worry I have not studied anything
     
    Certifications: Network + |CCNA |MCTS-70-680,MCTS-70-401, MCTS-70-656, MCTS-70-351 |HP AIS ProCurve Networking -2011 | HP2-896 |VCD-CP27|JNCIA |Hewlett Packard ASE - Network Infrastructure (2011)
    WIP: 642-813
  7. RichyV

    RichyV Megabyte Poster

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    Hi yes, found the exam hard, but remember it was the 682 I was sitting; see here:-

    http://www.certforums.co.uk/forums/windows-vista-7-client-exams/46327-found-682-hard.html

    Been studying on-and-off for about 3 months (note to self: Try to avoid getting married half-way through studies..!).

    Yes Nuggets or TrainSignal are good (Don't forget Prof. Messer's freebie vids...) along with the MS Pressbook (download the Errata as there are errors published within it (although nothing so disastrous that it would make you fail the exam, IMO).
     
    Certifications: B.Sc.(Hons), MBCS. MCP (271,272), MCDST, MCTS (680), MCITP:EDST7, MCSA:WIN7, MCPS, MCNPS
    WIP: 70-686, then onto MCSE: Desktop Infrastructure via MCSA: Server 2012...
  8. algorithm&blues

    algorithm&blues Nibble Poster

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    I tend to book my exam 1 month ahead. Usually after I've been studying for about a month, giving a 2 month study lead up.
    Most of the studying revolves around the MS Press Book - I'll read it and make notes and make my own handwritten condensed version, maybe turning the 800/900 pages of the book into 150-200 or so pages of stuff I NEED to know.
    This will also be accompanied by buying a cheap version of the relevant ExamCram book. I find these books are good for solidifying the stuff I've learnt in the MSPress books. It also tends to explain things a little easier, so if I there was something in the MSPress book I didn't 100% understand, I'll look it up in ExamCram and most of the time I'll then understand it.
    Also browsing for things I've learnt on Technet.
    I aim to finish reading the MSPress book with around 10-14 days to go for the exam. This gives me time to go back over things.
     
  9. shocksl

    shocksl Byte Poster

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    thanks for that guys,

    Algorith seems like you make alot of notes.

    How many lessons/ chapters do you guys get done per day from the MS Press Book? and do you make huge amount of notes or not?

    I am finding it difficult to keep things i.e commands etc in my head!!!!! any tips fellas??
     
  10. Fixxxer80

    Fixxxer80 Bit Poster

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    There is a saying that i really agree with:

    Tell me, I'll forget
    Show me, I'll remember
    Let Me Do, I'll understand

    So basiclaly if you can't "do" alot of the stuff in a production work environment i suggest getting a VMWare Viewer building a a couple of VM's and actually play with them, break them, fix them. Doing everything is really the best way to remember CLI commands.

    Other than that, your CBT Nuggets and MS Press books, along with a few practive exams do go a long way.

    Also in regards to study time i guess everyone is different, i tend to study for a few weeks in the evenings maybe 2 hours or so a night, then a week out from the exam, i take a week off work (i know not always an option for everyone, but i have heaps of leave) study really hard for the week, then hopefully pass the exam.
     
    Certifications: MCSE: Productivity, MCSA: O365, MCSA: Win Svr 2012/2008/2003, MCITP Exchange 2007
    WIP: MCSA: Cloud Platform, MCSE: Cloud Platform & Infrastructre
  11. derkit

    derkit Gigabyte Poster

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    I've just passed the beast (70-291) and that's taken about 6 months of studying including quite a bit of sick time and bereavement but I watched the vids first and then read the MS Press book - used the Sybex book also, but only as a guide to clear a few topics up - managed to fit in Exam Cram if I needed it.

    I probably had 150-200 pages of notes, which I used Evernote to make a more condensed an accurate version - double checking online, other sources to make sure it was spot on - and then used it to revise with whilst virtualising the entire syallbus in VMWare - comprehensive but nailed it good and proper.
     
    Certifications: MBCS, BSc(Hons), Cert(Maths), A+, Net+, MCDST, ITIL-F v3, MCSA
    WIP: 70-293
  12. shocksl

    shocksl Byte Poster

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    thank you very much guys. I will try to do more practicing. By the way your all repped. if ive missed you, tell me and I will rep you. thanks again.
     

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