ITIL® v3 Foundation Exam Top Tips - Part 2: During the Exam

1. Allow yourself enough time to prepare everything you need before the examination starts. Make sure you have your pencil and candidate number with you.
   • Check that you have filled in your details on the examination sheet before the exam begins.
2. Don’t panic, stay calm and take your time. You have 60 minutes to answer 40 multiple choice questions, which means you have 1½ minutes per question. This is plenty of time.
   • But keep one eye on the clock and avoid spending too long on any one question. If you are not sure of the answer, place a mark next to it and move on. You can come back to this later if you have time.
   • Some questions are straightforward and the obvious answer is the right one. Don’t over-think it, but make sure you read each question carefully so you answer what is being asked.
   • Don’t be put off by hard questions early on in the exam. There are tiers of difficulty within the examination, from simple questions to ones that challenge your understanding.
3. Make sure you mark your answers clearly on the answer sheet, according to the instructions and examples given to you by your invigilator or proctor. Exam papers are usually marked using a scanner feeding into a template, so ensure there is no scope for the system to misinterpret your answer.
   
4. Eliminate the options you know to be incorrect. This makes it easier for the right answer to jump out at you.
   • Pick out key words in the structure of the question, e.g. not, could, must, incorrect, best, most, main, guarantee as these will also help indicate the correct option.
5. Ensure you consider and answer the question from an ITIL perspective rather than your personal experience. For example, within ITIL, the Facilities Manager works on IT facilities, such as data centres, servers, networks etc. It doesn’t mean a Business Facilities Manager, who sorts out the lifts, photocopier or toilets.
   
6. If you have time, go through your answers at the end to make sure you didn’t miss a question, and that you didn’t mark your answers against the wrong questions. It pays to check.
   • But be wary of changing answers you have already marked, as gut instinct is often right. Only change an answer if you are sure you have made a mistake.
7. And, finally, remember:
   1. The 4 Ps are People, Process, Product and Partners
   2. ITIL is not a standard
   3. ITIL is best practice
   4. ITIL is vendor-neutral
   5. ITIL is non-prescriptive

Read the other posts in our series.

ITIL® v3 Foundation Exam Top Tips - Part 1 - How to Prepare.

ITIL® v3 Foundation Exam Top Tips - Part 3: After the Exam

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