This is the approach I use for all my studying and it seems to work for the majority of my students.
For the CISSP get 1-3 good video courses, 1-2 good books, and do 3-5,000 practice questions before the exam.
• Watch each video class once, watch it without taking notes, and watch the videos at 0.75x-1x speed. If instructor talks very slowly; speed the videos up to 1.25x – 1.5x speed.
• Read the primary book once, read everything, highlight what you think is important or what the book tells you is important.
• Re-watch each video class, take notes, and watch the videos at 1x – 1.25 speed. If instructor talks very slowly; speed the videos up to 1.5x – 2x speed.
• Re-read the primary book or read the secondary book if you have it, read everything, highlight what you know is important.
• Start on practice tests; it is normal for students who pass the CISSP to have completed 3,000 – 5,000 unique practice questions.
The CISSP exam question pool is supposedly over 10,000 questions large and growing. Meaning no practice test engine will ever “be like the exam” and brain-dumps will NOT work.
You need to understand ALL the concepts, be able to explain them, and be able to logic your way through convoluted exam questions.
You need to spend a good deal of time learning to deconstruct questions; what are they really asking here?
Do not worry if you spend 3-5 minutes on a question to begin with, just learn to deconstruct the question.
Deconstruct questions and answers:
• Read the question; spot the keywords (PKI, Integrity, HIPAA) and indicators (FIRST, MOST, BEST), then deconstruct the question; what are they really asking here.
• Once you have deconstructed the question, read the answer options.
• Deconstruct the answer options too if needed.
Normal questions have 2 distractors and 2 possible right answers.
There can also be 4 wrong answers (you then pick the LEAST wrong answer), or 4 right answers (you then pick the MOST right answer).
Do not use the same questions more than once. You will get higher scores, but it will be inaccurate scores; you have seen the questions before.
After each practice test, review the questions you got wrong, read the question explanation. Then re-read the book and re-watch the video topics you answered wrong on the test.
Re-study the topic until you understand WHY the right answer is the right answer, and why you answered it wrong.
Keep doing practice tests until you hit 75-80%+ on all domains on multiple test engines.
The last 2-4 weeks, read 11th hour and re-watch all the videos at 1.5x – 2x speed, this is just to refresh the topics you covered earlier in your studying. At this point you should be be at 75-80% on practice tests.
