How to Build a GIAC Index That Actually Works
Last March I took my very first GIAC exam, GFACT. Being new to this, I did what everyone does. I searched for the best ways to study, how to prepare. I learned I needed an index but at the time I didn’t yet fully understand why. I looked up what to expect from the exam and because of the agreement everyone agrees to before doing any GIAC exam, there was very limited info out there on that.
I scored 94% for my FGACT exam, but I have to say I got lucky there I think. Because I didn’t fully understand the importance of the index, I just went through the course material, the videos, the audio etc first. Taking some notes, but I definitely didn’t start building my index from the start. I ended up rushing creating an index at the end, after going through all the course material and doing my first test exam without a proper index.
It’s definitely the reason why you should take a test exam or two. It gives you the exam experience and setup before the real thing and honestly, I don’t think I would have passed with such a high score if I hadn’t.
WHY THE INDEX IS THE WHOLE GAME
The open book exam gives you the chance to look things up, verify your answers, search for things you can’t remember. But only if your index works. Because the time limit you have to finish the exam doesn’t allow for you to search and turn pages and reread chapters for one single question. You have 30 seconds to look something up, not 5 minutes.
The timer going down is your one true enemy here. The one you battle only with a good index. You need an index that gives you speed. Speed is the difference between passing or failing.
WHAT I DID WRONG ON GFACT
I had an index… But I literally just created an index like the books would have had (if they came with a standard index). Meaning, I wrote down section names, chapters, subtitles etc and a page number. That’s it. No definitions, no explanations, no alphabetical order, no details, no nothing other than the basic skeleton really of all 3 books.
Building the index after studying was wrong. I did it in a rush, missing details that I wouldn’t have missed if I started indexing while studying. I ended up getting away with it because FGACT is basic information for someone a little familiar with cybersecurity. Someone like me who had already studied for Comptia Sec+ and passed it.
THE LESSON: WHY THAT APPROACH FAILED
That first test exam made me realize why that was wrong. Why everyone hammered on the fact that you needed to create a detailed index, an index that works for you, aka an index you created, not one you found on the internet or another student made for you.
GSEC REBUILD: THE BETTER APPROACH
I did my GSEC exam in May. And for that one I did start indexing from the start. No pressure at the end, no failed test exam, just an index that I added to, fine tuned and perfected using the test exam.
GSEC is 6 textbooks and 2 workbooks. If you don’t have a decent index you won’t succeed. You again, literally don’t have the time to look everything up and answer every question within the allotted timeframe.
THE TEXTBOOK INDEX SYSTEM
So how did I structure my index?
I went through every book, page by page. I listened to the course videos while I was doing house stuff or other things. To be fair, because they were so boring, I had to do something while listening to them or I would have fallen asleep. Once I listened to the video (never really watched the video to be honest), I went through the pages in the textbook related to that part. Had my spreadsheet open and I just started writing everything down. Every term, everything I thought was important.
My index existed of 5 columns, which worked for me:
- The term
- A Definition, an explanation, or an example… something that made me understand what that term was referring to. And sometimes if for example it was a framework, I would just write see full framework book 3 page 77 (for example)
- The third column would have related terms or tools or … any word that is linked to that term, that could either point me in the right direction as in what to look for or just as an extra explanation.
- & 5 – last two columns were the book number and page number(s)
You might be thinking: “Why column 3 or why is it useful?”
Because if they ask me: How tall is a giraffe compared to a cheetah? I can look up giraffe in my index, cheetah is in my index. Animal heights will be in my index, heights will be in my index etc. Every possible word will be there. And I may not find the solution by looking up giraffes, but giraffes will have the “linked term” animal heights in the 3rd column and that way I am still pointing myself to the right place to find the solution.
(Sorry for the abstract question example, but I can’t use literally exam questions.)
I worked through all the textbooks in this way, not worrying about duplicates or structure other than having those 5 columns on every row. If I didn’t understand something, or if I needed another definition or explanation than what was given in the book, I would literally put it in an AI model, whichever you prefer, and I would ask: this term is explained in this way. Can you give me this explanation in 20 words or less, and in a simple, easy to understand way. That’s it. About 95% of the time that explanation it gave me was perfect and I pasted that into my index.
Indexing works as notetaking, which helps you remember things. You will find that once you finish your index, you know 50 – 60% of the information anyway. Doesn’t matter, sometimes in a stressful situation like a timed exam with the clock just going down and down, you forget things… Or you doubt yourself.
And that’s where your index saves you—not because you memorized everything, but because you have a tool that finds answers in 30 seconds, not 5 minutes.
So was I worried my index was “too big”, too many pages? NO never. Because if I had the information in my index, that would mean that most of the time, I didn’t even have to double check in the books. I could pass the exam with only what was in my index… I see too many people worry about their index being 30, 40 or even 100 pages.
Who cares? If it works for you with 100 pages, then that’s amazing. That’s what you do. It beats going through books that are all around 300 pages each. You literally summarized 2400 pages into a 100 page index? Sounds pretty awesome to me.
Once I finished all the textbooks, I put them all together in one spreadsheet. I sorted them alphabetically; one big alphabetical index across all 6 textbooks. I added some “subtitles” A, B, C… til Z. And alphabetical page tabs! To get you to the right letter faster.
I printed my index and used alphabet tabs on the printed (and bound) version. Easy to flip to whatever letter you are looking for.
THE WORKBOOK INDEX SYSTEM
Now GSEC was 6 textbooks and 2 workbooks. Workbooks are lab exercises and their full walkthroughs.
I decided to keep the indexes for those separate. Why? Because a textbooks index is easy to sort alphabetically once you finish all the books. You put them all together, use the sort option in whatever spreadsheet tool you are using and done.
The workbook index I created differently. I did actually use a “normal book index” structure for this. Aka chapter, subtitle, tasks with pages. But I added the tools used under every task and most common commands and some syntax rules if needed plus most common parameters. I created a second part that was alphabetical, sorted by the tool used. And I had a third part, and that part was literally the problems, and the possible solutions.
It would say “merge these pcaps” “encrypt this” “analyze this”. The way it is worded in the workbooks, but also the problems I was given to solve on the test exam.
That’s how the real world works too. You get given a problem, you need to find the solution. It actually helps your brain memorize these things.
During the exam you will get questions you will find hard to remember where in the books this belongs under, what they are talking about. And that’s why I built my index that way.
YOUR RULES: WHAT I’D DO DIFFERENTLY NOW
Here is my advice to you:
- Create your own index, do not use anyone else’s
- Separate your textbook index from your workbook index
- Alphabetical indexes are your friend, with page tabs! Page tabs with abc on the index and I wrote my own page tabs in the textbooks. Every 25 pages I would add a page tab, to make looking for the correct page faster too.
- Indexing helps you retain information, start right away, not after you’ve read through everything for the first time
- Refine your index after every section or chapter test. Use those to find the missing information, and add that to your index.