How case study answers are marked: levels and the four elements

CIMA case study answers are not marked by counting points. Since the 2026–27 exams, CIMA's published marking guidance describes a levels-based approach: each part of your answer is placed at a level, and the level decides the marks.

This article explains how that works, what markers judge a level on, and what moves an answer up. It is our own guide, written from CIMA's published blueprints and marking guidance. For the detail, read the current exam blueprints and the post-exam materials on the CGMA Study Hub.

You may have read elsewhere that answers are marked on four competencies: technical, business, people and leadership. That was the case study model for the earlier syllabus. It is not how CIMA marks the case study exams now.

Who marks the real exam

CIMA's case study exams are marked by trained human markers, with standardisation and moderation behind them. Every candidate sits one variant of the exam, and CIMA scales the results so that variants of different difficulty can be compared.

Traits and levels

Each section of the exam is one task, split into sub-tasks. Each sub-task shows a percentage: its share of the section's time, and its share of the marks.

The marking guidance breaks each sub-task into one or more traits. A trait can be a topic ("the flexible budget"), a counted item ("first recommendation", "second recommendation") or one side of an argument ("advantages", "disadvantages").

Each trait is marked at Level 1, 2 or 3, with its marks spread across the three levels in roughly equal bands. On a 6-mark trait, for example, Level 1 might be 1 to 2 marks, Level 2 3 to 4 and Level 3 5 to 6. An answer with nothing worth rewarding on a trait scores 0: CIMA calls this "no rewardable material".

The marker reads the whole answer first, then places each trait at the level that fits it best. An answer doesn't need to meet every criterion of a level to be placed there. On a borderline, it goes at the top of the lower level or the bottom of the higher one. The marker then picks a mark inside the level, and gives the top mark when the answer convincingly meets it.

The four elements

A level is judged on four elements. The names are the same at every level, but CIMA words them a little differently at Operational level than at Management and Strategic level.

• Technical understanding. Do you use the right knowledge correctly, and explain what it shows? At Operational level this moves from "some" understanding with gaps, to "reasonable", to "good". At Management and Strategic level, Level 3 means meeting the technical demands the task implies.
• Communication. At Operational level, this is about clarity and detail. At Management and Strategic level, it means answering what the task actually asks. A clear answer to a different question doesn't communicate well.
• Use of the information. Do you draw on the facts and figures in the pre-seen and in the new information for the task? Restating them adds nothing; using them to support a point does.
• Application to the scenario. Is each point about this company, in this situation, now? At Management and Strategic level, CIMA looks for a logical, realistic response.

Notice what isn't on the list. Presentation, the format you choose (email, memo, report or briefing notes) and word count are not marking elements. A clear layout with a heading for each sub-task still helps, because it makes your answer easy to follow, but nobody gives marks for the layout itself.

Marks are given, not taken away

CIMA's guidance says marking is positive. You are rewarded for what you show and not penalised for what you leave out. The indicative answers are not the only valid ones: other sensible approaches earn credit, and the top level doesn't need every point a model answer makes.

There is one hard rule. An answer that doesn't address the requirement of the task earns no marks, however good it is in itself. A well-learned paragraph about equity finance earns nothing if the sub-task asked about debt. This is why pre-prepared answers do so badly.

What moves an answer up a level

CIMA's examiner reports for the 2026 exams describe the same habits again and again.

• Follow the verb. Discuss means depth applied to the scenario. Justify means explain why. Interpret and analyse mean adding something beyond restating the figures. Recommend means making a choice: answers that simply discuss both options, without choosing, stay lower.
• Say how and why. "This will improve decision making" is an assertion, not a reason. Say how it will, for whom, and what changes as a result.
• Apply the knowledge. Naming a framework without using it on the company's problem stays at a lower level. Generic study-text points are credited only once they are tied to the scenario.
• Fewer points, in more depth. Good answers develop a small number of issues properly rather than listing many. Where a sub-task asks for a set number, such as two risks, give that number and develop each one.
• Answer every part. Each part of a sub-task usually has its own trait. Leaving one out leaves its marks on the table.

Figures in a written answer

CIMA's tasks don't require specific calculations. Where figures help, use them to support a point or reach a decision, and say what they mean. Short workings are fine. A number on its own, with no comment, does little for any of the four elements.

How the result is reported

Your result has three parts:

• a pass or fail;
• a scaled score from 0 to 150, where 80 or more is a pass;
• feedback by core activity, saying whether you met the passing standard in each one.

There is no minimum in any one core activity. The pass or fail is for the exam as a whole. There is no merit or distinction, and CIMA doesn't publish how raw marks convert to the scaled score.

A worked check

Take a sub-task from an invented scenario: explain to the production manager what this month's materials variances mean, and one likely link between them.

An answer that gets to Level 3 would:

• explain what each variance shows in plain words, with the figures from the task (technical understanding, and use of the information);
• tie the link to the trigger, such as a cheaper fabric supplier causing more waste (application to the scenario);
• stop once both parts are answered, because the sub-task asks for meaning and one link, not a recommendation (communication: it answers what was asked).

How we mark practice answers

Our marking follows CIMA's published approach: each part of your answer is placed at Level 1, 2 or 3, judged on the same four elements, with feedback by core activity. Practice answers are marked automatically against our marking scheme, a sample is moderated by a CIMA-qualified (CGMA) moderator, and you can query any mark. You see a practice estimate on the 0 to 150 scale, with the pass line at 80, and your raw marks beside it.

It is an estimate to help you improve, not a CIMA score and not a prediction of your result. You can read more about how our marking works and how we check it.

Put it into practice

Write an answer to a task in your pre-seen company and see which level each part reaches, and why. You get your marks in about a minute, with your own answer rewritten to the next level up and the reason for each change.

Your first task is free, with no card needed. To see what each level involves, go to the Operational, Management or Strategic page.