Finally passed my TTS exam after two attempts — here's what worked

by Mike_T 505 views3 replies
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Mike_TOP
May 27, 2026

So I just got my results back yesterday and I actually passed this time. Honestly wasn't sure I would after failing by 4 points in March. The TTS exam caught me completely off guard the first time — I figured my years in translation work would carry me through, but the theoretical sections on terminology management and localization workflows were brutal. I barely touched a TTS practice test before attempt number one, which was a huge mistake.

This time around I gave myself eight weeks and actually followed a structured TTS study guide instead of just reviewing my own project notes. The difference was night and day. I focused heavily on CAT tools, quality assurance processes, and the ISO standards sections since those are where I bled points the first time. Did practice questions every single day, usually 20-30 minutes in the morning before work.

For anyone preparing right now: don't skip the exam tips about time management. I had to force myself to move on from questions I wasn't sure about — second-guessing killed me in round one. Happy to answer questions if anyone's in the middle of studying.

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rachel_s
May 28, 2026
Congrats! I'm sitting mine in six weeks and this is exactly what I needed to hear. I've been using practice tests but honestly haven't touched the ISO standards material at all yet — going to rearrange my study schedule tonight. Did you find any particular resource helpful for the localization theory sections, or was it mostly drilling questions and reviewing your notes?
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Mike_T
May 28, 2026
Two attempts is so common with this one, you're not alone. I passed on my second try too. The thing that shifted it for me was slowing down on the scenario-based questions. They're testing whether you understand the WHY behind terminology decisions, not just what the answer looks like on paper. Once I stopped treating it like a vocabulary test my scores on practice runs jumped almost 12 points.
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Mike_T
May 28, 2026
Eight weeks is the sweet spot honestly. I tried cramming into four and paid for it. Give yourself at least that long, front-load the hard theory sections, and save the last week just for timed practice runs. Your brain needs the retrieval practice more than more new content at that point.

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