Exam Profile 77-887: Word 2010 Expert
- Exam Details / Trouble Spots
- Preparation Hints / Recommended Study Resources
- Exam Objectives / Where to Go from Here
Exam 77-887 is an expert level exam that is designed to test the candidate’s proficiency with Microsoft Word 2010. As one might expect, this exam goes beyond the basics of using Microsoft Word and tests the candidate’s ability to work with the product’s most advanced features.
Exam Details
- Number of questions: Microsoft does not disclose the number of questions on the exam, but many of those who have taken the exam have reported seeing anywhere from 20 to 35 questions.
- Type(s) of questions: Primarily multiple choice
- Passing score: 700 / 1000
- Time limit: Microsoft does not disclose the time limit for this exam, but it is estimated to be anywhere from 60 to 75 minutes.
- How to register: Certiport
Trouble Spots
Even though Exam 77-887 has not gained a reputation for being one of Microsoft’s more difficult exams, this is an expert level exam and it is important not to underestimate it.
For any Microsoft exam, Microsoft creates a pool of potential test questions and then generates several different versions of the exam from the pool of questions. That way candidates who retake the exam after failing it the first time will not see exactly the same set of questions the second time around.
Just as there are multiple versions of the 77-887 exam, some versions have more questions on them than others. By far the biggest thing that candidates have working against them on this exam is that the exam contains relatively few questions compared with other Microsoft exams. In fact, some people who have taken the exam have reported receiving only twenty questions.
The passing score for this exam is 700 out of 1000, which means that candidates must answer at least seventy percent of the questions correctly in order to pass the exam. If an exam contains twenty questions then a candidate could theoretically miss up to six questions and still pass the exam.
It is important to keep in mind, however, that Microsoft has a long history of using weighted exam questions. In a weighted exam, some questions are worth more points than others. Unfortunately, Microsoft does not disclose whether or not the questions on exam 77-887 are weighted. If the questions are weighted, however, then it is conceivable that a candidate might answer all but three or four questions correctly and still fail the exam (if the missed questions carried a lot of weight).
Of course, it is ultimately impossible to know whether or not Microsoft uses weighting for this exam and even if they do, nobody outside of Redmond knows how the questions are weighted. That being the case, the key to passing this exam is thorough preparation.
It is also important to take your time on this exam so as to avoid making any careless errors. Most of the material covered on the exam is not overly difficult, but careless errors can cost you dearly given how few questions may appear on the exam.