A Complete Guide of Case Study Format for Students
Writing a case study is an important skill for college students, and it requires good writing and analytical skills. It's also necessary to organize your work efficiently to avoid getting messy, leading to errors and other problems.
Creating a solid case study is no easy feat. Unfortunately, many of the ones we see online are boring and just not as valuable as they could be.
Therefore, when you start writing the case study, do in-depth research and gather meaningful data that makes your case study attention-grabbing.
However, for a good case study, you need to write it in a proper format. Therefore, continue reading this blog and know how to format your case study according to your academic discipline.
Contents
Importance of Case Study Format
The formatting style of your case study can either make it or break it. The correct format is necessary because it covers the key information. Make sure you use the correct format to create successful, quality work that is well received.
However, you must know how to format your case study according to the requirements set by your institute. The most commonly used formats are:
- APA case study format
- MLA case study format
But some institutes use a different referencing style, such as Chicago and Turabian.
Also, keep in mind that professors pay great attention to formatting. Therefore, If you do not format them correctly, this can affect your grades significantly.
How to Format Your Case Study?
Writing a case study is not as simple as it seems. It takes time and dedication because there are many steps involved in writing one successfully. You need to complete several stages before writing your own, like choosing the topic and doing research (qualitative or quantitative).
When composing a case study, make sure you follow proper formatting because you cannot write a good one without it.
Therefore, here is a case study format for your ease.
Let’s discuss them in detail.
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Title
You need to create an engaging title for your work. However, don't make it a long sentence; keep it brief and simple.
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Subtitle
This section needs to elaborate on the accomplishment briefly.
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Executive Summary
Executive summaries are essential for any case study, as they give the reader a concise overview of all relevant information. These should be no more than one page and include key elements or highlights from your entire paper. Also, it helps the reader to get an idea about the entire case study and its main elements.
There are two main approaches that most researchers use to write a case study executive summary.
- Write in the form of bullet points.
- Write it in short paragraphs.
Therefore, you can choose anyone that suits your needs and requirements.
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Introduction
Unlike a research paper, the introduction section of the case study is not just there to introduce your report. It must also state the key problem in detail with clarity and precision.
The introduction section of a case study must be written so that any layperson can read and understand it well. Therefore, the reader should know three things after reading the introduction:
- What is it about?
- What are the key areas discussed?
- What benefit do they get from it?
In your introduction, you should include the following points. However, be sure only to add relevant information and be as precise as possible when writing it.
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Analysis
In this section, you have to examine the problem in detail. Also, keep the following points in mind when writing the analysis section.
- Start with considering the main problem and its critical areas.
- Present the cause and effects.
- Give a meaningful conclusion of your analysis.
Therefore, include these in your analysis and highlight every single portion.
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Alternatives and Decision Criteria
This section of the case study format discusses two key areas.
- 1. Alternatives: Alternatives are like a roadmap for the problem solver. It provides insight into how to address problems.
- 2. Decision criteria: It is important to note that it's a decisive factor that we must meet to solve the problem at hand. It must be written simply and easily so the reader understands it.
When you write this section, clearly mention these two sections and avoid writing obscure details.
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Recommendations and Implementation Plan
In this section of the case study format, you are expected to discuss a few recommendations for solving identified problems. The recommendations and implementation plan should include a few things must, which are the following:
- Implementation plan
- Important parts of the implementation plan
- Overall cost
- Plan to recover the failure
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Conclusion and References
It is the most important part of your case study because it summarizes all your findings and suggests what to do for things not to happen again. In some cases, instructors tell you that this isn't necessary. However, including these statements at the end helps leave an impression with readers who are scanning through quickly.
Here are a few major things that you should add in your conclusion section.
- Summarize the entire case study
- State the importance of findings
- Few concluding sentences that help the reader what they have learned from this
Also, keep the conclusion section brief and attention-grabbing.
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Citing Sources
Because of a universal rule, you must cite any idea or expression that is not yours and is presented by someone else. At the end of your case study, you need to list all citations used to avoid plagiarism. Different universities have different formats of citation, so consult your professor first and then write it.
Case Study Format Examples
When you are writing the case study for the first time and don't have an idea of the formatting guidelines, don’t worry. Instead, look at the below-mentioned examples that can help guide your way to completing this task as professionals do.
Case Study Format for MBA Students
Case Study Format Template
Case Study Format for Business
Case Study Format APA
Case Study Format Marketing
Sample Case Study Format
Nursing Case Study Format
Medical Case Study Format
Family Case Study Format
Tips for Writing the Case Study
The following are the tips that help you in writing the case study without any mistakes.
- Understand your teacher requirements.
- Follow the proper citation format.
- Get help from professionally written examples.
- Focus on your analysis.
- Provide specific and realistic solutions.
- Identify the key problem and main issues.
- Proofread it before submitting it.
- Write relevant facts about the product or service.
- Gather solid evidence to draw the reader’s attention.
- Give some background information.
- State the thesis statement clearly.
- Mention alternative solutions and recommend further action.
- Focus on the case study research specific strategies.
- Use the case study template for help.
- Focus on case study analysis.
- When writing a business case study, write something about your customer.
- Make your case study easy to read.
- Get customer opinion from social media for your case study.
- Look at some real-life examples.
- Make your case study easy to find.
- Use good formatting elements.
- Include real numbers to make the case study strong.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How long is a case study?
You must be concise and to the point when writing a case study. Most are between 500-1500 words in length, so you'll need to cut out unnecessary details or phrases that don't help your argument.
What is the purpose of a case study?
The purpose of the case study is to do extensive research on a specific issue. Also, identify the main factors, processes, and relationships.
What is the key problem in the case study?
The key problem in the case study is to identify the real problem, pay attention to the missing underlying issues. Also, discuss the solution to a problem.
