Method of Study

jMak

Hey guys! So I recently just passed my A+ tests with subpar scores (not very proud of it) and now I'm looking to complete my Network+. I have already purchased Todd Lammle's Network+ (Sybex) book. So I know everyone has their own effective way of studying but I don't think I'm taking the right approach. For the A+ I basically typed out notes as I read through the book, studied my notes, then took practice exams. I know some people read through the book twice without taking notes. Please give me your input on how you prepare for the Network+ thanks!

Darril

Congrats on the A+ pass.

Your method sounds good but if you're trying to improve it to get better scores, there are some things you might like to add in.

One thing I frequently do when I'm studying is that I ask myself questions related to the content. I write these questions down and then research them. For example, on the Network+ test you might read about some tools such as TDRs, butt sets, and protocol analyzers. You might never have seen these tools but taking the time to look them up with Google and even using Google images, you get a better idea of what they are.

Also, on the Network+ exam, you'll probably benefit from creating tables for the different topics. This is useful for the OSI model, wireless standards, LAN technology types (such as 100BaseT, 10GBaseSR, and so on), and more. You'll often find tables in some of the books but you might find that the content sticks better if you reformat the tables so that they make more sense to you.

Last, when taking the practice exams, it's very useful to dig into the explanations so that you understand why correct answers are correct and why incorrect answers are incorrect. This helps to give you a much better understanding of the content. Also, you're much more likely to answer the live exam questions correctly no matter how CompTIA words them.

Hope this helps.

jMak

Thanks so much for the advice Darrril! I think creating a table can make the content more organized and concise making it easier for me to read. Since a lot of the material and terminology on Network+ will be brand new to me, Google will be the best resource I have. Also, next time ill make sure I look further into my incorrect answers when taking practice exams. Most of the time when I study for anything, I have the most trouble memorizing words and terms. However, understanding the concepts and "how things work" is normally not a problem. Another question I have would be, how effective is it to highlight the textbook and how many of you guys out there do this?