Certification Exam Exam preparation: step by step

Step 2. Buying a study guide

study guides for oca java se exam
Written by Mushfiq Mammadov

The next step after choosing exam is buying the best/optimum study guide to prepare for this exam. Choosing the right book is very important, otherwise you may fail and waste your time. The book should cover all exam topics, explain topics precisely, provide you with questions and code samples similar to question style of actual exam and should not confuse reader with extra unnecessary topics, in other words the chosen book should correctly reflect the actual examination process.

 

Study Guides for OCA Java SE 7 (1Z0-803) exam
 

Study Guide

Author(s)

1 “OCA/OCP Java SE 7 Programmer I & II Study Guide (Exams 1Z0-803 & 1Z0-804)” Kathy Sierra, Bert Bates
2 “OCA Java SE 7 Programmer I Certification Guide: Prepare for the 1ZO-803 exam” Mala Gupta
3 “OCA Java SE 7 Programmer I Study Guide (Exam 1Z0-803)” E.Finegan, R.Liguori
4 “Oracle Certified Associate, Java SE 7 Programmer Study Guide” M. Reese Richard
5 “Oracle Certified Associate, Java SE 7 Programmer Exam (1Z0-803) Complete Video Course Simon Roberts

The first and the second books are rated highly by readers and now the most of exam takers who have successfully passed the OCA SE 7 exam note that they used these books for preparation. Therefore it is recommended to choose one of these two books. There is a full mock exam at the end of Mala Gupta’s book. In addition, there are two mock exams regarding OCA in K.Sierra & B.Bates’ book (should install Practice Exam Software for this).

 

Study Guides for OCA Java SE 8 (1Z0-808) exam
 

Study Guide

Author(s)

1

“OCA: Oracle Certified Associate Java SE 8 Programmer I Study Guide: Exam 1Z0-808” J.Boyarsky, S.Selikoff

2

“OCA Java SE 8 Programmer I Certification Guide” Mala Gupta

3

“OCA Java SE 8 Programmer I Exam Guide (Exams 1Z0-808)” Kathy Sierra, Bert Bates

4

“OCA Java SE 8 Programmer I Study Guide (Exam 1Z0-808) (Oracle Press)” E.Finegan, R.Liguori

5

“A Programmer’s Guide to Java SE 8 Oracle Certified Associate (OCA)” K.A.Mughal, Rolf W Rasmussen

6

“OCA Java SE 8 Programmer I (1Z0-808) Complete Video Course Simon Roberts

When I prepared for exam I used the first book. Actually, I had hesitated a lot to make decision to choose this book. At first I decided to take OCA SE 7 exam and planned to buy Mala Gupta’s “OCA Java SE 7 Programmer I Certification Guide: Prepare for the 1ZO-803 exam” book. But then beta version of OCA SE 8 exam was released and I changed my decision. There was only one study guide regarding OCA SE 8 by Jeanne Boyarsky and Scott Selikoff at that time. The book was new and there was no review in Amazon or forum about this book. I did not have an alternative choice, so I bought this book. The book was better than I expected. I really loved this book.

There is online material of this book and there are three practise exams in it. I have written about this book in detail in my exam experience.

Now this book is “best seller” in Amazon. In short, you may buy this book without hesitation and start preparing for exam.

You can look at reviews in Amazon for other study guides.

 

See All Steps

About the author

Mushfiq Mammadov

4 Comments

  • I have just occasionaly found your blog, it is indeed very useful Mushfiq. Thanks for tips.

  • Thanks for your time and effort Musfiq. Wish to add a suggestion if there is a review column on each of the book then it would be easier for starters to choose a book among many and others can also provide their feedbacks on each book.

    • You are welcome, Mohammed. It is a good suggestion, thanks. According to I added the Amazon links of each book in the table. Anyone can look at reviews by clicking links. In addition, I have written some notes about the quality of books in article.
      P.S. After your suggestion I changed the book rows and re-ordered them as Amazon ratings.

Leave a Comment


The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.

 

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.