Dear MJ

Thanks for the marking and advice. I see your advice on understanding the question – how do I develop this? Is there a technique which can help? Many thanks!

Best regards
Mimi

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Good day Mimi

CIMA does not set out questions to be ambiguous. Most case study requirements are quite clear and to the point. The problem sometimes happen when:

• students identify the requirements correctly but then proceed to write everything they know about the topic (this is sometimes referred to as a brain dump); or
• students do not understand what the exact requirements are but continue to talk about topics that they think deal with the issues (sometimes referred to as waffle)

To keep on point and focused, I’ve found that most students would write down the requirements as they identify each from the question. Normally, once identified and noted, these tasks are used as headings.

For a visual look at this, let’s take the following excerpt from an old MCS exam variant (May 2015 variant 1). You will note that the requirement is clear “draft a report on…”:

So for above, whilst planning your answer, you would have had to make a first rough heading of “negotiation strategy over strike threat” (first task) and second rough heading of “change management issues” (second task). And then you proceed to fill these “task headings” with all your key points. The key points will pace your time and at the same time, keep you focused on the ideas you want to touch on.

I hope this helps you. Try and practise some more mocks. This should help you hone in on understanding the requirements better.

Good luck!

Your tutor
MJ

Links to Astranti’s OCS mocks, MCS mocks, and SCS mocks.