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1000 Your Guide to Success

1010 Product Introduction


1020 System Requirements
1030 Backing Up
1040 References
1050 Getting Started
1060 Answering and Studying Questions
1070 Reports and Tools
1080 Customize Sessions (Including Practice Exam)
1090 Emergency Study Procedures

1010 Product Introduction


1011 License and Technical Support Procedures
1011.01

During the installation process, review the license agreement in the


software that explains your usage rights and responsibilities. (Reminder:
This software cannot be installed on more than one (1) computer. You do
not want to split up your scoring and have inaccurate diagnostics.)

1011.02

The study materials contained in your CISA Practice Question Database


are current as of the purchase date.

1011.03

We are here to offer technical support should you encounter any


difficulties. Please be at your computer and have your installation code
and, if applicable, software/disks available when calling. Service is a
priority with ISACA. Technical support is available between 9:30 a.m. and
7:00 p.m., U.S. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday at 1-877-272-7277,
extension 606 (1-303-799-1177 outside the U.S. and Canada) or email at
tech@cisa-support.com.

1011.04

Please note that the screen shots presented in this Success Guide are
representative and are provided for informational purposes; the current
version of the CISA Practice Question Database may vary in terms of data
displayed, content of questions shown, etc.

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1020 System Requirements


1020.01

The system requirements are as follows:


a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.

1GHz Pentium processor or equivalent (recommended); 400 MHz


Pentium processor or equivalent (minimum)
Supported Operating Systems: Windows Server 2003, Windows
Server 2008, Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 8
Not compatible with MAC
Microsoft.NET Framework 4.0
1GB RAM or higher for 32-bit OS; 2 GB RAM or higher for 64-bit
OS
One hard drive with 250MB free space (flash/thumb drives not
supported)
CD-ROM drive

1030 Backing Up
1030.01

Backups of your data are made automatically by the software. If you have
any data problems, please call Technical Support at 1-877-272-7277,
extension 606. If you try to restore your own data, you may lose your study
progress.

1040 References
1040.01

Your CISA Practice Question Database contains an itemization of CISA


Task Statements by Domain and a list of acronyms used in the review.

1040.02

To access the reference materials:


1.

Go to the Tools menu in the upper right corner of the dashboard


(main screen) and select References:

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2.

Select the reference item from the list:

3.

When you click on the CISA Task Statements link, a PDF document
will appear containing the CISA Domains with Task Statements:

4.

When you click on the CISA Acronyms link, a PDF document will
appear containing a list of acronyms used in the review:

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1050 Getting Started


1051 Dashboard (Main Screen)
1051.01

On your desktop, select Start, All Programs, ISACA, then click on the
CISA selection, or simply click on the course icon from your desktop. This
will take you to the main screen, called the dashboard:

1051.02

The dashboard is split into the following panels:

Study Session
Performance
Progress by Domain
Study History

In addition, there are three menus in the upper right corner (Reports,
Tools, and Setup) for additional features and an Exit text link.

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1051.03

Study Session
Study sessions are launched from this panel. Choose the default study
method (Personal Professor) or click Customize to choose from
several study options. The Reference Report can also be accessed from
this panel. (See section 1071, Progress and Reference Reports, for more
information.)

1051.04

The Personal Professor will default to 30 questions or approximately one


(1) hour of study. Part of your success on the actual exam is to remain
focused during the exam. Your endurance capabilities are very important,
so if you have the time, build your endurance by studying longer sessions
to the point where you feel comfortable answering questions in the same
time frame as for the actual exam.

Throughout your study you will notice the options will change, as the
Personal Professor will have you concentrate in your weak areas. For
example, periodically you will be reviewing questions you missed
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previously. (See section 1052 for more information on the Personal


Professor.)
1051.05

Performance
This panel shows your overall study progress in the CISA Practice
Question Database. The review is divided into three distinct phases:
Assessment, Adaptive Learning, and Review.

In the Assessment Phase, you begin to review questions while


the software analyzes the results. This phase continues until you
answer 35% of the total questions in the review.

In the Adaptive Learning Phase, the software creates study


sessions based on your previous results. This is the largest, most
comprehensive phase and continues until you answer each question
correctly at least once.

In the Review Phase, you continue to review your weak areas as


your exam date approaches.

The Performance panel also links to the Success Guide PDF document
(Getting Started), displays the number of days until your planned CISA
examination date (see section 1053, Set Exam Date), and displays both
your overall trending score (most recent score based on the category
averages and recent study sessions) and the number of hours spent
studying.

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1051.06

Progress by Domain
This panel tracks your progress in each CISA Domain. The categories
(domains) in which you need the most work are displayed at the top of the
panel. The percentage displayed for each bar (e.g., 5%, 12%) indicates
the percentage of questions answered correctly in each domain.

If you wish, you can begin a study session for a specific category by
clicking that categorys bar. (For more information, see the Selected
categories information in section 1082.05, Categories.)
You can also access your Progress Report (see section 1071, Progress and
Reference Reports) or click the Contents button to see the Domain/Task
Statement outline.

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1051.07

Study History
This panel displays a graph of your most recent study sessions. You can
access the Session Summary Report of each study session shown in the
graph by clicking the point (circle) of the session. (See section 1071,
Progress and Reference Reports.)

You can also access a list of all Session Summary Reports by clicking on
the Session Results button at the bottom of this panel.
Note: The dotted line near the top of the graph indicates an 85% score,
which is the overall review score recommended before taking the exam.

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1051.08

Reports, Tools, Setup, and Exit


The drop-down menus and text links in the upper right corner of the
dashboard allow additional access to much of the dashboard functionality
as well as other review features.

Reports gives you access to Reference Reports, Progress


Reports, and Session Results.

Tools accesses the Getting Started Guide (the Success Guide,


this PDF document), Contents (the Domain/Task Statement
outline), Glossary, References (CISA Domain/Task Statements
and Acronyms), About (version information for the review), and
License (the end user license agreement, or EULA).

Setup allows you to set your exam date (Set Exam Date), change
the font size of the text in the study questions (Options - Font
Size), and view or change your software installation information
(Install Code).

The Exit link allows you to exit the review program.

1052 Personal Professor


1052.01

The Personal Professor, the default method of study, is the easiest review
method to use. The Personal Professor automatically chooses what you
should study next, based upon your strong and weak areas from previous
study sessions. The Selection Status defaults are the criteria selected by the
Personal Professor based upon your needs.

1052.02

The Personal Professor provides the following:

Ongoing diagnosis of your strong and weak areas

Automated study with built-in tracking of your performance

Self-tailored study sessions based upon individual needs and


examination criteria

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1052.03

The Personal Professor will do the following:

Prepare you for the examination in the fastest way possible

Guide you to review weak areas when necessary

Save time by planning your study sessions for you

Set your Selection Status defaults for your next session

1052.04

The Personal Professor saves you the time normally spent getting
organized, guides you to the content you most need to study, and forces
you to concentrate on the exam material that you do not know. The
Personal Professor incorporates the use of all the review functionality
when appropriate.

1052.05

If you prefer to design your own method of study, select Customize from
the Study Session panel of the dashboard. See section 1080, Customize
Sessions, for information on the options available.
Note: Even if you plan to use only the Personal Professor, read
Reports and Tools (section 1070) and Customize Sessions (section
1080) to understand the benefits of all the review tools.

1052.06

To begin using Personal Professor, click Personal Professor on the


Study Session panel:

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In the Study Session dialog box, click Start to begin the study session:

The Personal Professor will default to 30 questions or approximately one


hour of study. Part of your success on the actual exam is to remain focused
during the exam. Your endurance capabilities are very important, so if you
have the time, build your endurance by studying longer sessions. By using
the Session Duration drop-down menu, you can modify your study
session by number of questions or by time (e.g., 90 minutes).
1053 Set Exam Date
1053.01

The CISA Practice Question Database assists you in developing your


personalized study plan through the Set Exam Date functionality. On the
dashboard, click on the text Days Until Test in the Performance panel or
select Set Exam Date from the Setup drop-down menu in the upper
right corner.

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1053.02

Next, in the Exam Date dialog box, select your examination date and
choose the days of the week you have available for study.

The program calculates how many hours per day you need to study to
achieve your goal of passing. You may change your study plan in the
Exam Date dialog box as often as you wish to modify your study
schedule.
1053.03

Your Progress Reports and the hours display on the Performance panel
of the dashboard will tell you how much computer time you have spent.

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1060 Answering and Studying Questions


1061 Question Screen Options
Each study session consists of several review questions with multiple-choice
responses. You can answer questions using your mouse or your keyboard.

The Submit Answer button is in the top left corner of the question screen (if
you are using your mouse). You must select your answer onscreen and then
press ENTER or click Submit Answer for the software to score you. To select
your answer by keyboard, type the appropriate letter for your choice (e.g., A, B,
C, or D) and press ENTER. If you do not choose an answer choice and click
Submit Answer, an error message will ask if you wish to proceed without
answering the question. Then, the answer will be displayed but the question will
be marked as incorrect.

On the actual exam, you will occasionally be forced to guess on an answer. Use
the Guess and Mark Wrong button to practice your guessing technique. The

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software will mark you wrong on the question even if you answer it correctly.
This will ensure that you review this question later in your study.

The Task Statement button opens a PDF document listing the CISA Domains
with Task Statements.

The Acronyms button opens a PDF document listing acronyms used in the
questions.

Click the End Session button to quit the session and save scores for
study up to the current question.
At the lower right corner of the screen, the software keeps track of
your progress in the study session.

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1062 Answer Screen Options


The answer screen provides a variety of resources to help with your
understanding of the question, answer, and concepts behind each question.

The original question with the response options is displayed in the upper
window. The lower window contains the explanation for the correct and incorrect
answers. A question that has been answered correctly will include a green bar
across the screen. A question that has been answered incorrectly will include a
red bar across the screen. A question where you have selected the Guess and
Mark Wrong option will have a yellow bar across the screen.

The Go to Next Question button takes you to the next question. Do not

leave the screen until you are finished studying the current question.

The Glossary button provides a glossary of auditing/information


technology terms to support your study. This is a good remedial tool. You
can also look up content term definitions on the dashboard (main screen)
by selecting Glossary on the Tools drop-down menu (see section 1074).

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The Task Statement button opens a PDF document listing the CISA
Domains with Task Statements.

The Acronyms button opens a PDF document listing acronyms used in


the questions.

The Print Question button prints a copy of the question, response


options, and explanation.

Click the End Session button to quit the session and save scores
up to the current question.

In the lower left corner of the screen, the question database number and
the job practice task statement number associated with the question are
displayed. For your reference, a complete list of task statement numbers
and descriptions is accessible via the Task Statement button at the top
of the screen. Please be aware that if you are using the CISA Review
Manual as a study aid, the task statement numbers DO NOT correspond
to the content numbering sequence used in the printed review manual.

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1070 Reports and Tools


1071 Progress and Reference Reports
1071.01

The Progress Report and Reference Report are accessed from the Reports
menu in the upper right corner of the main screen (dashboard). The
Reference Report can also be accessed from the Study Session panel,
and the Progress Report is available from the Progress by Domain
panel.

1071.02

Progress Report
Progress Reports provide you with the following:

The accumulated results of all your study sessions

Reports on what you have completed in your study plan, so you


know what is left to be accomplished before the examination

Valuable statistics. Key items are:


o
o
o
o
o

Average and trending scores


Number of questions that have not been seen
Number of questions that have not been answered correctly
Score in individual categories
Total and average time spent per question

A realistic status on your readiness for the examination

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You can view the Progress Report broken down by content outline
categories (CISA Domains) by clicking Summary Report in the upper
left corner, or you can view your report by subcategories (Task
Statements) by choosing Detailed Report. In the lower left corner, click
Print if you wish to print out a copy of the report. Click Done at the lower
right corner to return to the dashboard.

1071.03

Reference Report and References


The Reference Report feature, accessed on the dashboard in the Reports
drop-down menu in the upper right corner or from the Reference
Report button in the Study Session panel, generates a report based
upon the results of your study sessions that shows you the Task Statement
areas you should focus your study on.
By clicking the selections at the top of the report, you may see a Reference
Report for the following:

All questions
New questions
Missed last time seen
Trouble questions
Last x number of sessions

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A listing of the CISA Task Statements and Acronyms can be accessed from
the References text link on the right side of the reports menu bar. (These
documents can also be accessed from the Tools drop-down menu in the
upper right corner of the dashboard by selecting References.) You may
also print out a copy of the report by clicking Print in the lower left corner.
Click Done at the lower right corner to return to the dashboard.

1072 Session Results


1072.01

After you end a study session, the Session Summary Report gives you
the specific score for the session just completed.
Note: These scores will automatically add to your overall cumulative
history, which is presented in your Progress Report.

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There are four options for this screen:

Review All: Review all questions from this study session.

Review Missed: Review the questions you missed in the study


session. It is especially helpful to review when you have scored very
low in a session. Do not worry if you choose not to review these
questions, since the software has noted that you have missed them
and in future sessions will have you attempt them again.

Print: Prints out a copy of the Session Results.

Done: Completes this study session and returns to the main screen
(dashboard).

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1072.02

Sessions Results for previous study sessions can be accessed from the
dashboard through the Reports menu in the upper right corner or from
the Sessions Results button in the Study History panel:

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1072.03

The cumulative Session Report will present a list of your past study
sessions. Click on a session under the first column (Date) to access the
results of that particular session:

By clicking on the selections at the top of the report, you may view all of
your study sessions or select the number of previous sessions you wish to
see.
1072.04

Another way to see the results of previous study sessions is through the
graph in the dashboards Study History panel. The study history graph
shows the results of the most recent five (5) study sessions. The numbers
on the left indicate the percentage of questions answered correctly in each
session. Click the point (circle) in the graph to see the Session Summary
Report for that particular session:

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1073 Course Contents


1073.01

You can access the CISA Domain/Task Statement outline with the number
of questions for each Domain and Task Statement. From the upper right
corner of the main screen (dashboard), click Tools and select Contents
from the drop-down menu, or click the Contents button at the bottom of
the Progress by Domain panel.

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1073.02

In the Contents dialog box, you can view the number of questions in each
Domain (category) and Task Statement (subcategory). If you wish to
create a customized study session with questions from specific Domains
and Task Statements, see the Selected categories information in
section 1082.05, Categories.

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1074 Glossary
1074.01

The glossary provides easy-to-use reinforcement of terms, definitions, and


concepts. You select what you want based upon your needs.

1074.02

Use the onscreen Glossary tool to select a term from those that appear on
the screen to enhance the learning process. The glossary is available from
the main screen (dashboard) through the Tools menu in the upper right
corner. The glossary terms are also accessible during study sessions.

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1080 Customize Sessions (Including Practice Exam)


1081 Self-Guided Study
1081.01

1081.02

Self-guided study, or customized study, provides access to questions by:

All Categories: Generates questions according to the CISA exam


outline specifications.

Trouble Categories: Accesses your weak areas once they have


been defined by the software.

Selected Categories: Allows you to choose the areas you wish to


study in a session.

Customize gives you the capability to see questions by:

Those missed last time seen


New questions
Question number
Trouble questions (questions seen but not answered correctly)
All questions, whether previously seen or not

1081.03

Customize also allows you to determine the length of your study session,
either by number of questions or time allowed, and uses the same
Glossary, Reference Report, Progress Report, and other tools as the
Personal Professor default method.

1081.04

You may also take a Practice Exam, which presents questions in the same
number and time format as the actual CISA exam (see section 1082.06).

1082 Customizing Sessions (Including Practice Exam)


1082.01

You can choose self-guided study by clicking the Customize button in the
Study Session panel of the dashboard (main screen):

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We recommend that you use the Customize method only under special
circumstances. One such instance is if you are taking a review class that
references the CISA Practice Question Database for homework
assignments. You might use this method if you do not have enough time
before the exam to utilize the Personal Professor.
1082.02

Clicking Customize will take you to the Customized Session dialog


box.

Select from the options available (described below) and then click Start to
begin your customized study session. If you decide to let the software
develop your study sessions for you through the Personal Professor, exit
the Customized Session dialog box by clicking Cancel, return to the
main screen (dashboard), and click on Personal Professor in the Study
Session panel for the easiest, fastest way to study.

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1082.03

Session Duration

The Session duration drop-down menu allows you to determine the


length of each study session by selecting either the amount of time or the
number of questions to work.
This time option enables you to fit long and short sessions into your
schedule at your convenience.
By Number of Questions
Enables you to work short and long sessions, from 5 to 200 questions.
Many users like to set a daily goal of a certain number of questions to be
worked.
By Time
Enables you to work short and long sessions based upon your schedule,
from 5 to 120 minutes (2 hours). You can still take advantage of the
software features regardless of the length of time you decide to use. We
encourage you to attempt to study every day, even if it is only for 15
minutes.
Note: The software translates time into a specific number of questions,
e.g., one (1) question equals two (2) minutes.

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1082.04

Questions Selected From

The Questions selected from drop-down menu provides the flexibility


to allow you to create study sessions to funnel your study to your weak
areas:
New questions
Accesses questions you have not seen before. If you choose self-guided
study, we recommend using this option until you have worked at least 35%
of the questions in the database. You should see every question one time
before sitting for the examination, but you also should review previously
viewed questions that you have answered incorrectly.
Missed last time seen
Enables you to see questions that were missed the last time you worked
them in previous sessions. It is a good idea to go back over missed
questions at least once every 60 questions. The Personal Professor will
automatically take you to this option.
Trouble questions
Trouble questions are questions answered incorrectly more than 50% of
the times attempted.
All questions
Generates questions regardless of whether you have seen or missed them
previously. Once you are ready for the examination, use this option as a
daily drill up to the examination.
By number
When you want to review a particular question, this option enables you to
access the question quickly.
Warning: The By number option provides quick access only and is
not intended to be a study session.

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1082.05

Categories
The Categories drop-down menu allows you to select your study based
on your individual needs by selecting all categories or those where you
have had more difficulty or where you want to focus your study:

All Categories
This selection provides powerful features for each study session by
generating questions based upon the CISA exam outline. Begin your study
with this option to determine your strong and weak areas. Use your
Progress Report to determine your overall scores. (See section 1071 for
more information on Progress Reports.)
The Personal Professor will keep you in ALL categories until you are
achieving an 85% score in a particular category. Users tend to find
studying all categories less monotonous than studying one category at a
time. In addition, if you study only one category at a time, you may not
finish all of them before the exam date. By studying all categories until
your strong and weak areas are identified, you will be assured of being
exposed to all subjects before sitting for the examination, even if you do
not see all of the questions.
Trouble Categories
This selection enables you to reach questions in categories in which you
have had the greatest difficulty. For users designing their own study
sessions, plan to use this feature at least once a week.
Hint: Use the Questions selected from drop-down menu to choose
the New questions to see any remaining unseen questions in your
difficult categories.

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Selected Categories
This selection is used to study weak areas as shown in your Progress
Report. Live courses that use the CISA Practice Question Database will
normally assign homework by category. This option enables you to choose
specific subcategories. To use this option, choose Selected Categories
from the Categories drop-down menu, and then click the Select link
that appears to the right of the menu:

You may then choose which categories or subcategories you wish to study
by checking the appropriate boxes, and then clicking OK.

For those categories that have subcategories, click on the + box to the
left of the category to expand the selection and check the appropriate
boxes.

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You may also create a study session of specific categories and


subcategories from the dashboards Progress by Domain panel. Click
the progress bar of the category you wish to study, and the same sequence
described above will occur. Review the selections or make any necessary
changes, then click OK to begin the study session.

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1082.06

Practice Exam

The Practice Exam generates questions without answers in a timed


situation, mirroring the experience of taking the CISA examination.
During the Practice Exam, any questions unanswered will be marked
wrong. This method should be used to determine exam readiness and to
practice working within the time frame allotted for the actual exam.
Warning: If you move too quickly through the questions, you are apt
to make careless mistakes. Plan to use all the time you are given on the
actual examination.
To access the Practice Exam, click on Customize on the dashboard (main
screen). In the Customized Session dialog box, click Practice Exam,
then click Start at the bottom of the dialog box to begin the timed test.

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The menu for the Practice Exam questions has the same features as
regular study sessions (see section 1060). You can move back and forth
through the Practice Exam questions at the bottom of the screen. Click on
the question number to go to that question, or click on the 10 buttons to
see questions throughout the Practice Exam.

At the bottom of the screen, the question you are currently viewing is
displayed in black (question 25 in the example above). Questions you have
not seen are displayed in blue. If you have already seen the question but
have not answered it, the question number is in light red (questions 21 and
23 above). If you have already answered a question, its number will appear
in light grey (questions 20, 22, and 24 above). The timer for the exam is in
the upper right corner of the screen.

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1090 Emergency Study Procedures


The reviews default study method (Personal Professor), given your time and
dedication, will help you to pass the exam. If you are absolutely set on taking the
exam and the software indicates that you are not ready, the following suggestions
are from users who have started using their software for the first time with less
than two weeks remaining before the exam:
1. Study in one-hour increments.
2. Once you have an average score of 60% in each Domain, pick the Domain
with the highest weighting and focus your study in that area until you are
averaging at least 85% (weightings are shown below). Once you have
achieved this goal, select the next highest weighted Domain and continue
this process until you have moved through all Domains.
CISA Job Practice Areas by Domain
CISA Job Practice Area

% of Exam

1 The Process of Auditing Information Systems

14

2 Governance and Management of IT

14

3 Information Systems Acquisition, Development and


Implementation

19

4 Information Systems Operations, Maintenance and


Support

23

5 Protection of Information Assets

30

3.

Cramming each day is definitely important. Spend every minute you can
studying.

4.

Your attitude on exam day must be a positive one.

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