Study Approach help

Hello everyone,

I took the 801 test on friday and failed. Got a 669. This is my breakdown.

Planning and designing 67%
Implementation and Operation 50%
Troubleshooting 44%
technology 54%

I will be taking the test on 6/23 again and want to crush it now that i know how it acts, looks and works. But i dont have a clue as to how to study for it this time. <My idea was to read the book again and see what i missed. Im not that far off, just want to seal it by passing well.

Any suggestions?

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Comments

Slowhand

How did you do on the sims? If you had trouble in those areas, you may want to think about doing more hands-on work before retaking the exam. If you felt like a lot of what got you on the exam were the kinds of questions I like to call "Playing the Memory Game", (where you really just have to memorize facts, know theory, and know what types of answers Cisco wants,) then reading the book again is a good idea. Focus on one area at a time, like troubleshooting or technology, and work on it all in succession. The key is to figure out where your weak areas are, and learn from your mistakes on the exam.

ishgotbike

Thats Weird, My PS did not show.

MODERATED -- read the NDA on the Cisco Website -- you agreed to it when you took the exam

Besides that the test felt easy. Until i got the score. I thought i did enough to maybe squeak by. But i really want it now.

I just dont want to read the book all over again and have it mess up what i do remember.

What i do want to ask is what cisco defines as "Troubleshooting" and "Implemenation And operation". What does each one mean and what should i focus on in the Sybex book to help me.

Slowhand

The sims are usually a considerable factor on your exam, (may even be what felled you, in this case). Make sure you're ready for just about anything, in terms of setting up ACL's, configuring routing protocols, VLAN's, Frame-Relay, ISDN, etc. You never know what those sims are going to be on, or how many there'll be on your next exam. A big chunk of your score comes from the sims, so make sure you're ready for that hands-on work.

If you're using the Sybex book, there should be a little "**** sheet" at the beginning of it, showing which chapters discuss what topics on the exams, and what category the chapter covers. Also, take a look at the exam topics on Cisco's website, to see where you're at.

markzab

http://dev.techexams.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=22477

mikej412

ishgotbike wrote:

Thats Weird, My PS did not show.

No -- it was moderated.

Cisco Career Certifications and Confidentiality Agreement

3.1 Confidentiality. You agree that the contents of the exam are confidential and that the disclosure of that information could compromise the integrity of the Program and of Certifications. Cisco makes exams available to you solely to test your knowledge of the exam subject matter for which you seek Certification. You are expressly prohibited from disclosing, publishing, reproducing, or transmitting any exam and any related information including, without limitation, questions, answers, worksheets, computations, drawings, diagrams, length or number of exam segments or questions, or any communication, including oral communication regarding or related to the exam (known collectively as “Proprietary Information”), in whole or in part, in any form or by any means, oral or written, electronic or mechanical, for any purpose, without the prior express written permission of Cisco.

In other words -- don't tell us what questions you had on the exam.

ishgotbike

sorry about that. I thought i kept it real general.

Im definitely going to look at those topics and focus on them. I am looking at june for the test so lets see how it goes.

Paul Boz

What book are you using to study? If I were you I'd get whatever book you're using and attempt the practice questions at the end of each chapter. If you find that you're missing more than one per chapter you should probably spend more time on that material. You should also take advantage of the Cisco Prep Center practice tests, the practice tests here, and any practice tests that may have come with your book.

Just be patient and focus on the details. If you can get at least a 50% on the test you're at least in the right direction and have the fundamentals down. You just have to flesh out your knowledge a bit.

JNeko

Apologies, not to diverge the assistance being given to the original poster, I feel I also need some guidance in my study approach, though my situation is quite different. And I don't like to start threads if I don't have to.

I am wrapping up my CCNA studies with a Sybex book, I just need to go over the WAN section once more and I will have read the book through twice. I really feel good about everything, I feel like I have a good knowledge and base to work from. I am not ready for the test yet for many reasons, the one most apparent to me being my subnetting speed. Now, I will not be able to take the test (or get my hands dirty with some real gear) until next Fall, because I am presently out of the US. Do you guys suggest taking time to study for something else, like a higher level of Cisco cert? Or just continue to prepare for the CCNA?

I am figuring I should continue preparing for CCNA, because in my mind you can't drill basics enough. But at the same time, I don't want to be wasting time. If I decide to continue studying CCNA and objectives I will probably have a plan like this: keep with studying around three hours a day, rotate with taking practice tests, work on configuration/troubleshooting using labs and simulators, exposing myself to other prep material, scenario situations, stuff like that...any more suggestions?

Thanks very much!

J

Paul Boz

If you can't take the CCNA until next fall but you've already gone through Lammle's book twice you should probably start expanding your knowledge a little. It definitely wouldn't hurt to start studying for the CCNP, as nothing you'll learn will contradict anything you already have, and if anything it'll just make the CCNA easier. I work 40 hours a week, over night, and go to college full time, so scheduling the tests and taking them was hard. I didn't complete the CCNA in as much time as I would have liked to so I started on the CCNP in my spare time, and it made the ICND significantly easier. I'd advise you to start passively reading the CCNP forum here, as well as the groupstudy.com forums.