Too Many Notes?
Hi All, quick question. I'm currently reading the Conrad study guide in preparation for the CISSP exam in August, and i'm taking notes in a notebook while I read. The problem is that I feel like i'm constantly writing. I have 8 pages, front and back, of notes on the first domain alone. Is this too much? I took the McGraw-Hill quiz for the first domain when I was complete and scored in the mid 80s, so I guess I'm doing ok. Did everyone else take notes, and how much is too much? Thanks for the replies.
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Remember, as others have said ... this test is a mile wide and an inch deep.
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But rather than figure out what this group thinks is an optimal page count, I say go with what works best for you. I really think the process of creating the notes helps me more than actually reviewing the info. If you gave me someone else's notes, I don't think I'd get nearly as much out of them as I do creating my own, but that's just me.
Finally - if you really want to test your retention, don't take the MH test right after you've completed the domain. The information is too fresh that way and that's not really emulating test conditions. For example, I'd complete my notes for Access Control, InfoSec Gov, and SAD. Then, I'd go back and take the Access Control MH exam. I found it a lot harder this way because you've got more info crammed in your head and the details about AC aren't so fresh. But this is what it's gonna be like on the test except you'll be juggling 10 domains.
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Stop and think about what your trying to communicate back to yourself. Think about what it is your writing about and why. Then come back in an hour and pass over the same notes and ask yourself how you feel about the information on the page. Does the information feel more familiar? Are you more comfortable with the material? More confident?
If your writing just to write your not going to get much out of it. If you can learn to associate the learning with what is on the page - your learning something important.
Break those sessions down to 20 minutes or less and start to review what you've already studied and reviewed. Short term memory is 20 minutes long. As a student of anything you want those memories to go long term.
I do much the same.
- b/eads
So I'm another one that types up notes to learn. Thinking through how to recap the material on a page, in a way that makes sense to me, helps me retain it better - not that I don't still need to go back and do a couple refresh reviews before the exam.
"... but everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked."
Don't get me wrong on the 20 minute thing. I can review and take tests for hours at a time, no problem. But actual genuine studying? I generally do in shorter chunks of 20 minutes or so. Quizzes, 10 questions or stop at two fails. I do this daily at work a couple of times a day. At least once in the evening but its a discipline. I suffer from the same foibles as anyone else in this industry. I can read all day long and still feel as though I am skimming the surface.
Seventy-five pages over 10 domains sounds adequate. Again, there is no right or wrong answer but your answer that is the best answer. Its how you remember or learn from your notes. Still asking if it feels within reach or not can be helpful as well.
Good luck and may the information be with you at exam time. Errr... some cool thing like that! Yeah! That's it!
- b/eads
I've been trying the 20 minutes strategy the past couple of days, so we'll see how it works out come quiz time.