Student Guide to the Case Method: Note 4—Preparing a Written Case Report

Case analysis is an effective tool for teaching, learning, and most importantly, practising the art and science of management. The case method immerses students in real-life situations, allowing them to develop their business skills by analyzing realistic situations, applying business theories and tools, and making substantiated recommendations for a course of action. However, working with cases is a pedagogical approach that is unfamiliar to most new business students and often inadequately understood by advanced students.

The Case Guide Series introduces students to the case method and, in discrete notes, walks them through the tasks that are typically involved in case assignments: analyzing a case, discussing cases in class, writing case reports and giving presentations (individually and in groups), and writing case exams. A final note introduces students to the most common business tools used for case analysis. This field-tested series is best used as a complete package to orient students to the case method, but each note also stands on its own and can be used to supplement other course materials.

Preparing a Written Case Report: When students are asked to prepare a written case report, either individually or as part of a small team, the emphasis is on organizing their analysis and findings in a written report that effectively communicates those findings to the reader. Note 4 of the Case Guide Series orients students to the qualities of effective and useful reports in academia and in business, and provides students with a time-tested format and approach to writing a case report.