1. This is a long exam.   Your mother would have good advice for you about this:  "Get a good night's sleep." (Avoid hangovers! - Celebrate after!)   "Eat a good breakfast."  And bring a snack and something to drink (non-alcoholic, preferred!).

2.  It's a paper-based test.  It's not adaptive.  You can go back to earlier questions.

3. Questions are weighted.  Harder questions are worth more points. Easier one are worth fewer points  - If you have to get a question wrong, try to make it an easy one - you lose fewer points. Don't leave any blanks. Answer everything!

4. Always read the entire question and all the answers before choosing the right one.  There may be more than one "right" answer, but there is one "best" answer and that's the only one you get points for.

5.  Make 3 passes through the test.

      First pass: Answer the easy questions.  Read the question and the answers, if you know it answer it, if not make a mark on the test booklet and come back.  Go as fast as you can without being careless.  Only answer if you know you're right.

      Second pass:  Go back to the questions you didn't answer, and try to figure out the answer.  If you can, answer it. If not, save it for pass 3.

      Third pass:  Answer all the remaining questions - even if you have to guess.

Remember this is multiple choice and you don't lose points for wrong answers.

The beauty of this approach is that at the end of the first pass, you can check the remaining time, and budget it across the remaining questions.   

6.  This is an endurance test!  The other great thing about the multiple pass approach is you don't get tired on the first pass.  Answering easy questions is, well, easy.  You won't start to get tired until you have to start working to figure out the answer.

For official test info check with ISC(2): www.isc2.org//cissp/default.aspx

Here's a link to ISC(2)'s candidates information: www.isc2.org/cib/default.aspx

For practice questions, try www.cccure.org

1. This exam is a paper-based exam.  It's one of those fill-in-the-circle type tests. You can write in the test booklet, but should not mark the answer sheet anywhere other than directed.

2. There are 250 multiple choice questions.  Usually there are 4 choices.  Of those answers, one is "best", but more than one might be "right".  Always choose the answer that ISC(2) thinks is the best answer.

3.  There is a 6 hour time limit. For most people this should not pose a problem.  Many people finish within 4 hours, but there are no extra points for finishing early!

4.  The exam covers an extremely broad range of Information Security topics - the common body of knowledge (CBK).  It is vendor and technology neutral