Free ASE Study Guide

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Free A.S.E. Study Guide
An ASE Study Guide for the Automotive Technician

Effective Study Tips

Start Early

It pays off to start your preparations early. This is important and
helps from being over burdened as test day approaches.
Remember a slow but steady study routine wins the race. Way
too many people fail these exams. Unfortunately there are many
reasons and the most prevalent is "I didn't have time to study".
It's not good to cram in fact you will probably lose your span of
attention after 45 minutes or so anyway. Have you ever read
something and then said to yourself, "What did I just read?". You
may have just drifted away, a symptom of studying too long. If
you have to cram stick with a half hour to forty-five minutes and
then take a ten or fifteen minute break. Don't take on more than
you can handle.

Use Index Cards

College students often use flash cards to help when studying for
an exam. They are especially useful when cramming for an
upcoming test. A flash card is nothing more than a 3" by 5"
index card you can buy at any drug or convenience store. They
usually come in blocks of 50 or 100. Fill out the front or lined part
with a question that you found difficult or answered incorrectly
and fill out the back with the answer. Keep 5 or 6 of these cards
in your car or in your pocket and use them when your caught in
traffic, in line at the grocery store, the parts window, or anytime
you find yourself waiting. The idea is that you use down or idle
time through out the day to study so you may enjoy more of
your quality time at night. Plus you are much more likely to
remember something if you write it down and the repetition
helps to reinforce your memory.

Use the Internet

Use workbooks and the Internet to research anything that
doesn't seem clear or if you have any misunderstandings. If you
come by a word or theory you don't understand, don't just go by
it. When you understand that term everything that follows will be
clear as well. Use the Internet as both an automotive
encyclopedia and dictionary in one. If you type a broad term in
the search pane of a search engine you may be overwhelmed
with information. In fact it's best to narrow your keyword search
term by adding an extra word. Here's an example: A broad
search for the word "crank sensor" will bring up extra and
unneeded information while a narrow search for "hall-effect
crank sensor" will bring up more relevant information. The
Internet is free and an absolute gold mine of information right at
your fingertips. When in doubt do a search. It's easy.

Start With a Question

The best place to begin is with a question. Simply find a question
in one of the preparation books that you felt unsure of or just
plain got wrong. Purchasing a book from Delmar Thomson or
Motor Age is an excellent start. If you are near a computer with
the Internet do a Google or Yahoo keyword search and clear up
your confusion. The multiple choice questions tend to lend to the
use of flash cards. Put the question on one side and the actual
answer on the other. Be sure to omit the wrong choices
presented by the preparation books answers section. Keep things
simple.

In Summary

It's important to start early enough, use the Internet, and index
cards. While some technicians can take all of these tests at once,
they are few and far in between. It often makes sense to take
them in pairs. For Example: Engine Repair and Engine
Performance or Manual Drive Train and Axles and Automatic
Trans/Transaxle. Sometimes you will see the same type of
questions on both tests. It's up to you, the test taker to make
these decisions as only you no what you can handle at this time.
If this is your first test you should check out the testing format
section in the left navigation bar. These tests have a different
format than most and if not read carefully its easy to make a
mistake. I strongly recommend that you use the methods
outlined in this section to greatly improve the odds of you
passing the A.S.E. test the first time - every time.