| If you're preparing for the 70-272 certification exam for the first time, we've structured the topics in this book to build upon one another. Therefore, the topics covered in later chapters might refer to previous discussions in earlier chapters. We suggest that you read this book from front to back. You won't be wasting your time because nothing we've written is a guess about an unknown exam. We've had to explain certain underlying information on such a regular basis that we've included those explanations here. After you've read the book, you can brush up on a certain area by using the index or the table of contents to go straight to the topics and questions you want to reexamine. We've tried to use the headings and subheadings to provide outline information about each given topic. We think, after you've been certified, you'll find this book useful as a tightly focused reference for supporting desktop users in a Windows XP and Office XP environment. Chapter Formats Each Exam Cram 2 chapter follows a regular structure and provides graphical cues about especially important or useful material. The structure of a typical chapter is as follows: -
Opening hotlists ” Each chapter begins with lists of the terms you'll need to understand and the concepts you'll need to master before you can be fully conversant with the chapter's subject matter. A few introductory paragraphs follow the hotlists, setting the stage for the rest of the chapter. -
Topical coverage ” After the opening hotlists, each chapter covers the topics related to the chapter's subject. -
Alerts ” Throughout the topical coverage section, we highlight material most likely to appear on the exam by using a special Exam Alert layout that looks like this:  | An Exam Alert stresses concepts, terms, software, or activities that will most likely appear in one or more certification exam questions. For that reason, we think any information found offset in Exam Alert format is worthy of unusual attentiveness on your part. |
Even if material isn't flagged as an Exam Alert, all the content in this book is associated in some way with test-related material. What appears in the chapter content is critical knowledge. -
Notes ” Where a body of knowledge is deeper than the scope of the book, we use notes to indicate areas of concern or specialty training.  | Cramming for an exam will help you through a test, but it won't make you a competent IT professional. Although you can memorize just the facts you need to become certified, your daily work in the field will rapidly put you in water over your head if you don't know the underlying principles of application development. |
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Tips ” We provide tips that will help you to build a better foundation of knowledge or to focus your attention on an important concept that will reappear later in the book. Tips provide a helpful way to remind you of the context surrounding a particular area of a topic under discussion. -
"Exam Prep Questions" ” This section presents a short list of test questions related to the specific chapter topic. Each question is followed by an explanation of both correct and incorrect answers. The practice questions highlight the areas we've found to be most important on the exam. -
"Need to Know More?" ” Every chapter ends with a section titled "Need to Know More?" This section provides pointers to resources that we've found to be helpful in offering further details on the chapter's subject matter. If you find a resource that you like in this collection, use it, but don't feel compelled to use all these resources. We use this section to recommend resources that we have used on a regular basis, so none of the recommendations will be a waste of your time or money. These resources might go out of print or be taken down (in the case of Web sites), so we've tried to reference widely accepted resources. The bulk of the book follows this chapter structure, but there are a few other elements that we want to point out: -
Practice exams ” The practice exams, which appear in Chapters 10 and 12 (with answer keys in Chapters 11 and 13), are very close approximations of the types of questions you are likely to see on the current Exam 70-272. -
Answer keys ” These features provide the answers to the practice exams, complete with explanations of both the correct and incorrect responses. -
Glossary ” The extensive glossary identifies important terms used in this book. -
The Cram Sheet ” This valuable tool appears as a tear-away sheet inside the front cover of this Exam Cram 2 book. It represents a collection of the most difficult-to-remember facts and numbers we think you should memorize before taking the test. Remember, you can dump this information out of your head onto a piece of paper as soon as you enter the testing room. This information usually includes facts that we've found require brute-force memorization. You need to remember this information only long enough to write it down when you walk into the test room. Be advised that you will be asked to surrender all personal belongings before you enter the exam room itself. You might want to look at the Cram Sheet in your car or in the lobby just before you walk into the testing center. The Cram Sheet is divided into headings, so you can review the appropriate parts just before each test. -
The CD ” The CD contains the MeasureUp exam-simulation software. For more information, visit www.measureup.com. |
