A Few Thoughts
Here are a few thoughts before you start this practice exam.
Question Management
Before you start the clock, give yourself a few blank sheets of paper and a couple of pencils. You should keep a list of questions you need to return to, and of course you might want to make notes when you’re trying to figure out a particularly tricky question.
You will get some sort of writing equipment at the testing center. Unfortunately, not all testing centers have agreed on what the “writing equipment” standard is. If you can choose between a few centers that are close to you, call first. If one center offers you a small dry erase board, and another offers you pencils and paper, go for the pencil and paper, even if it means a longer commute! The advantages of pencil and paper over a small dry erase board are enormous!
Time Management
Some candidates report that three hours for the exam is plenty of time. Some candidates (even candidates who do well) report that they felt pressed for time. Remember, you’ll have enough time to spend three minutes on each question. Of course, some questions will take very little time, but some questions (like threads and garbage collection) might take more. If you find yourself getting hung up on a particular question, add it to your list of “questions to return to” and move on. It’s much better to miss a few tough questions than to not even get to some easy ones at the end of the exam.
Before you go to the exam center, reread the caution in the intro concerning the Drag and Drop bug in the exam engine. It’s crucial!
Drag and Drop
Each of the four full practice exams in this book have a couple of simulated Drag and Drop (D&D), style questions. As in the real exam, the instructions can vary slightly from one D&D to the next. For instance, sometimes you can use a fragment more than once, and sometimes you can’t. Also, as in the real exam, sometimes there will be more than one way to correctly arrange the fragments. You will receive full credit for ANY of the correct answer arrangements.