Chapter 1. Cisco Certification Exams

Terms you'll need to understand:

• Radio button

• Check box

• Careful reading

• Exhibits

• Multiple-choice question formats

• Simulation questions

• Process of elimination

Techniques you'll need to master:

• Preparing to take a certification exam

• Practicing to take a certification exam

• Making the best use of the testing software

• Budgeting your time

• Guessing (as a last resort)

No matter how well prepared you might be, exam taking is not something that most people look forward to. In most cases, familiarity helps relieve test anxiety. You probably won't be as nervous when you take your second or third Cisco certification exam as you'll be when you take your first one.

Whether it's your second exam or your tenth, understanding the finer points of exam taking (how much time to spend on questions, the setting you'll be in, and so on) and the exam software will help you concentrate on the questions at hand rather than on the surroundings. Likewise, mastering some basic exam-taking skills should help you recognize and perhaps even outsmart some of the tricks and traps that you're bound to find in several of the exam questions.

This chapter in addition to explaining the Cisco BCMSN exam environment and software describes some proven exam-taking strategies that you should be able to use to your advantage.