Chapter 15. Final Preparation

The first 14 chapters of this book cover the technologies, protocols, design concepts, and considerations required to be prepared to pass the Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA) Networking with Windows Server 2016 70-741 exam. Although these chapters supply detailed information, most people need more preparation than just reading the covered material. This chapter details a set of tools and a study plan to help you complete your exam preparation.

This short chapter has two main sections. The first section lists the exam preparation tools that you might find useful at this point in the study process. The second section provides a suggested study plan now that you have covered all the necessary material in the book.

The Pearson Test Prep practice test software comes with two full practice exams, available either online or as an offline Windows application. To access the practice exams that were developed with this book, see the instructions in the card inserted in the sleeve at the back of the book. This card includes a unique access code that enables you to activate your exams using the Pearson Test Prep software.

Step 1. Go to http://www.PearsonTestPrep.com.

Step 2. Select Pearson IT Certification as your product group.

Step 3. Enter your email and password for your account. If you don’t have an account on PearsonITCertification.com or CiscoPress.com, you need to establish one by going to PearsonITCertification.com/join.

Step 4. On the My Products tab, click the Activate New Product button.

Step 5. Enter the access code printed on the insert card in the back of your book to activate your product.

Step 6. The product now is listed in your My Products page. Click the Exams button to launch the exam settings screen and start your exam.

http://www.pearsonitcertification.com/content/downloads/pcpt/engine.zip

To access the book’s companion website and the software, simply follow these steps:

Step 1. Register your book by going to PearsonITCertification.com/register and entering the ISBN, 9780789757043.

Step 2. Respond to the challenge questions.

Step 3. Go to your account page and select the Registered Products tab.

Step 4. Click the Access Bonus Content link under the product listing.

Step 5. Click the Install Pearson Test Prep Desktop Version link on the Practice Exams section of the page to download the software.

Step 6. When the software finishes downloading, unzip all the files on your computer.

Step 7. Double-click the application file to start the installation, and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the registration.

Step 8. When the installation is complete, launch the application and click the Activate Exam button on the My Products tab.

Step 9. Click the Activate a Product button in the Activate Product Wizard.

Step 10. Enter the unique access code found on the card in the sleeve at the back of your book and click the Activate button.

Step 11. Click Next, and then click Finish to download the exam data to your application.

Step 12. You can now start using the practice exams. Select the product and click the Open Exam button to open the exam settings screen.

Note that the offline and online versions sync, so exams and grade results recorded on one version are available to you on the other as well.

Study Mode

Practice Exam Mode

Flash Card Mode

Study Mode enables you to fully customize your exam and review answers as you are taking it. This is the mode you want to use first, to assess your knowledge and identify information gaps. Practice Exam Mode locks certain customization options, to present a realistic exam experience. Use this mode when you are testing your exam readiness. Flash Card Mode strips out the answers and presents you with only the question stem. This mode is great for late-stage preparation when you really want to challenge yourself without the benefit of seeing multiple-choice options. Flash Card Mode does not provide the detailed score reports that the other two modes do, so do not use it if you are trying to identify your knowledge gaps.

In addition to choosing your mode, you can select the source of your questions. You can opt to take exams that cover all the chapters, or you can narrow your view to just a single chapter or the chapters that make up specific parts in the book. By default, exams cover material in all chapters. If you want to narrow your focus to individual chapters, simply deselect all the chapters and then, in the Objectives area, select only the ones you want.

You can also select your desired exam banks. Each exam bank comes with a full exam of questions that cover topics in every chapter. In addition, the two exams printed in the book are available, along with two additional exams of unique questions. You can have the test engine serve up exams from all four banks or from just one bank by selecting your desired banks in the exam bank area.

You can make several other customizations to your exam at the exam settings screen, including the time of the exam, the number of questions served up, whether to randomize questions and answers, whether to show the number of correct answers for multiple answer questions, and whether to serve up only specific types of questions. You can also create custom test banks by selecting only questions that you have marked or questions on which you have added notes.

For multiple reasons, exam data might not fully download when you activate your exam. If you find that figures or exhibits are missing, you might need to manually update your exams.

To update an exam that you have already activated and downloaded, simply select the Tools tab and click the Update Products button. This is an issue only with the desktop Windows application.

If you want to check for updates to the Pearson Test Prep exam engine software, Windows desktop version, simply select the Tools tab and click the Update Application button. This ensures that you are running the latest version of the software engine.

Because you have purchased the print version of this title, you can purchase the Premium Edition at a deep discount. Look for a coupon code in the book sleeve that contains a one-time-use code and instructions for where you can purchase the Premium Edition.

To view the Premium Edition product page, go to www.informit.com/title/9780789757043.

This book’s Appendixes B and C give you another review tool for tables. Appendix B lists partially completed versions of many of the tables from the book. You can open Appendix B (a PDF is available on the book website after you register), print it, and then attempt to complete the tables. This strategy exercises the memory connectors in your brain and makes you think about the information as you fill out the tables, forcing a little more contemplation about the facts.

Appendix C, also a PDF located on the book website, lists the completed tables so you can check yourself. You can also just refer to the tables printed in this book.

The plan involves four steps:

Step 1. Review key topics and “Do I Know This Already?” (DIKTA) quiz questions. You can use the table that lists the key topics in each chapter or just flip through the pages looking for key topics. Reviewing the DIKTA questions from the beginning of the chapter can also be helpful for review.

Step 2. Complete the memory tables. Open Appendix B from the book’s website and either print the entire appendix or print only the tables by major part. Then complete the tables.

Step 3. Review the “End-of-Chapter Review Questions” sections. Complete the questions at the end of each chapter to identify areas where you need more study.

Step 4. Use the Pearson Test Prep practice test software. The Pearson Test Prep practice test software helps you study by using a bank of unique exam-realistic questions that are available only with this book.