In this lesson, we're going to discuss some basic exam tips
that you should know before taking a CompTIA exam,
like the PenTest+.
Now, before we dig into the content
of the CompTIA PenTest+ exam in this course,
it's really important that we discuss
some exam tips and tricks.
This will help you better study for the exam as you're going
through the course, and also help you focus your efforts
to get the most out of our materials.
Now, the most important thing to remember when you're taking
the exam is that there's not any trick questions
come exam day.
Every question is precisely worded to match the material
you are going to be studying.
If you need to, take the time
to read each question multiple times
to ensure you understand exactly what they're asking of you,
so that way you're answering the question
that you're actually being asked.
As you read the questions and answers,
always be on the lookout for distractors or red herrings.
Generally, at least one of the four possible choices
are going to be written to try
and distract you from the correct answer.
If you can identify which one that is
and eliminate it as a possibility,
you've now exponentially increased your chances
of guessing the right answer from the remaining options.
Another thing to remember is that if you see a word in bold,
italics, or all capital letters, you need
to pay very close attention to that word
because the test writers decided it was a key word
and was extremely important for you
to consider when picking the right answer.
It's also important to remember
that you must answer all the questions based on
your CompTIA PenTest+ knowledge and studies from this course
or the official CompTIA PenTest+ Student Textbook,
and not from your personal workplace experience.
Now, your workplace may use different terminology
when they're conducting penetration tests
or different terms for specific types of assessments.
You should always select the book answer
when you're answering a question on the certification exam
because that's what the test writers are using
when they write their questions.
On exam day, you are always going to be selecting
the best answer.
Now, each question may have several things you think
are right answers, but only one will actually be
the most right because it is most right
or most true in most cases.
In cybersecurity, you're going to find
that there really is no 100% correct answers 100%
of the time in the real world
because most things are situational.
But for the exam, I want you to try
to select the answer that'll be right for the most number
of times or in the most situations.
Then, if you're ever in doubt, you're always going to be able
to choose that correct answer based on the highest number
of right answers or the highest number of situations,
and this will eliminate some of that doubt you're having
when you're reading those questions.
Try not to fight the exam either or the test questions.
Instead, try to understand what the key concept
is they're asking you about in a question
whenever you're reading that test question.
It really can help increase your score, I guarantee it.
For example, if you get a question
that talks about guaranteeing confidentiality,
you should know the answer has
something to do with encryption.
That's the idea of these keywords and matching
and picking out what is the concept they're asking me
about in this question.
Also, remember that you don't need
to memorize the terms from this course
or the textbook, word for word,
because we're taking a multiple-choice style exam.
Instead, you simply need to be able
to recognize them from the answer choices given
in the questions.
There are no fill-in-the-blank questions on the exam.
It's all multiple choice or multiple select
with the exception of those PBQs or simulations.
Now, when you're asked about a tool, remember
that you really just need to know what that tool is
and what it's used for, as opposed to knowing all the syntax
or how to properly operate that tool.
Think about this as the why of a tool.
Why would you use it, and in what type
of situation would you choose that particular tool?
Now, there's a few exceptions to this general rule,
and this is things like Nmap and Netcat,
where you are expected to actually know the proper syntax
for those tools,
and those are called out in the objectives,
and we'll cover those tools in depth in this course
and do demonstrations so you'll be ready
to succeed on test day for those tools.
But for the rest of the tools, you really just need to know
what the tool name is, what it's used for,
and what we're going to get as an output from that tool
if we're using it during a penetration test.
Now remember, during the certification exam,
you're going to be choosing the right answer
from a multiple-choice style question,
not a fill in the blank or essay question.
This is a really big difference
in certification exam testing
and the tests you may have taken back
in high school or college.
In the certification world, you just need able to recognize
and not regurgitate the information you are learning.
Now, if you remember these exam tips,
it's really going to help you out
and help you get a higher score on the exam
and lead to a lot less frustration for you
as you begin preparing for this exam
by watching the videos in this course, taking our quizzes,
and using the practice exams
as you're studying for the certification.
Keep all that in mind and I know you're going to do great
on the exam.