MythsHere are a list of commonly held misconceptions to do with the MOUS exams. If you have one to submit, or you want to check if something is a myth or not, please click here to ask. Please note: I realise that the content on this page is applicable for the MOUS exam only. It has been brought to my attention that some companies internal Office exams may have some limitations which are described on this page. However, as this site is only dedicated to MOUS and not general Office testing, I will ignore these other exams. Most "Techs" in a training course do not have the training or certification themselves to be able to assist you with study. The answer for this one is both yes and no. If the instructor is someone who is not a MOUS expert in the subject they're teaching, the chances are they won't know very much about what they're talking about. (There are quite a few exceptions, of course.) Others, and these tend to be the ones who are either MOUS certified or a MOUS Master, will be able to give you plenty of help. Take it on a case-by-case basis, and shop around before committing yourself to a trainer. Remember - you're the customer! Considering there are people out there who earned there Master in Office 97, is there anything out there that says what's so different about Office 2000? Alas, there are no official materials - there is also no exam to upgrade from Office 97 to 2000. Maybe the pressure should be put on Microsoft and Nivo - it seems highly unfair to make everyone pay twice. You may be able to find some content on a web site somewhere (not this one!) but remember it may not be official. When does the allotted time start? As each exam gives you 25 minutes for reading questions and the remaining time for actually doing the exam, here's how it goes: The 25 minute reading-question time begins when the yellow box with the instructions appears for a question. It will finish when you press a key or click the mouse button, but it can be re-started if you click the 'Instruction' button. The actual exam time starts when the other time finishes. Each question is timed, and if you go over the time limit, you will fail that question even if you get it correct. It is true that the exam is timed, however going over what MOUS believes is a reasonable time limit for each question will not fail you on that particular question. However, the exam as a whole is timed. If you go over that time limit, you will fail all the questions that you attempted after the end of the allotted time. You shouldn't use keyboard shortcuts, toolbars or context-sensitive menus during the exam. Some people believe that you should take the 'long way' to do everything - such as using the menu bar instead of a toolbar button. This is completely wrong - in fact, it is a good idea to use them as they save precious time! You lose points every time you consult Help or the Office Assistant. You do not lose marks for asking Clippit (or any other assistant) or looking up something in Help. However, it will affect your time allotted for the exam - so only use it if you have to. If the exam computer crashes, you have to restart from the beginning of the exam / You lose all your points so far. The MOUS software uses sophisticated error-checking to ensure that if the exam computer has to be restarted, the software will pick up where it left off, and keep your score. You may have to do one question again, though - but your time limit will change to allow you time to complete this question. The exams include many trick questions. The exams do not contain trick questions, because they require you to do something rather than answer a question. However, read the question carefully! Some questions may require you to think about what they want you to do. You can return to previous questions. Unfortunately, you cannot go back to a previous question once you click 'Next Task'. The test is adaptive. Adaptive testing is where the computer is continuously attempting to second-guess you, to find what your score is a lot quicker than traditional means. However, this is used in some Microsoft Certified Professional exams - and has just been introduced into MOUS for Office 2000 only. (Microsoft Certified Professional exams are for technicians and application developers.) For more information on Adaptive Testing, see Microsoft's MCP page. When you use the Print Preview command in Excel, you need to close the Print Preview window before continuing. It is basically 'set in stone' that any dialog boxes, toolboxes, help etc that you open, you should close before continuing with the question unless the questions specifically asks you to leave it open. |