So I passed AZ-305 last week on my third attempt and I genuinely thought I was never going to get through this exam. First two tries I scored 692 and 701 — both just under the 700 passing mark — and I was ready to give up on the Azure architect path entirely. The problem wasn't that I didn't know Azure, it was that I kept confusing which solution to recommend in scenario questions. Like I'd know both Azure Service Bus and Event Hubs exist, but under exam pressure I'd second-guess myself on which fits the use case.
What finally worked: I stopped watching video courses and started grinding scenario-based AZ-305 practice tests every day for three weeks. Two hours minimum, then reviewing every wrong answer and writing out WHY the correct answer was right in my own words. That review step is what I was skipping before.
Also built a one-page study guide of decision trees — like a flowchart for storage scenarios, one for networking, one for identity. Anyone else have study materials or exam tips that helped them differentiate between similar services? That was my biggest pain point and I'm happy to share what I came up with.