The 80 Method
How to prepare for a CIMA case study: six steps
The case study pass line is 80 out of 150. The 80 Method is how Eighty Marks gets you ready for it: build knowledge, then apply it under the clock in longer and longer sittings.
Step 01
Learn
A five-minute lesson on each syllabus topic, written through your pre-seen company, with a worked example and a check question.
The technique
Worked examples first, then fading support
When a topic is new, studying a worked example tends to help more than struggling alone. As you get better, the support is taken away so you do more of the thinking yourself.
Step 02
Drill
Short quizzes on theory, applying it to your pre-seen and exam technique. Each question comes back on a spaced schedule, sooner if you miss it.
The technique
Retrieval practice and spaced repetition
Recalling something from memory strengthens it more than reading it again, and spreading the same practice over days tends to beat cramming it into one session.
Step 03
Section
One timed section of tasks set in your pre-seen, marked following CIMA's published marking approach, in about a minute.
The technique
Mixed practice with quick feedback
Tasks from different topics in one sitting make you choose the right approach each time, as the exam does. Feedback soon after an attempt, on what to change next, is one of the more reliable ways to improve.
Step 04
Half mock
Two timed sections back to back on the exam-style screen: 90 minutes, or 2 hours at Strategic.
The technique
Practise the way you will be tested
Memory tends to work best when practice matches the conditions of the test. Writing against the clock, on a similar screen, builds the habits you need on the day.
Step 05
Full mock
Every timed section in exam order, 3 hours (four sections at Operational and Management, three at Strategic), with a running storyline through the pre-seen.
The technique
Deliberate practice at full length
Improving a skill takes focused attempts at the whole task, just beyond what you find easy, with feedback on each. A full mock tests stamina and timing as well as content.
Step 06
In-depth review
A slower review of a finished mock: marks for each requirement, your answer annotated, timing and structure notes, and a 7-day plan.
The technique
Specific feedback you act on
Feedback helps most when it says where you are, where you are going and what to do next, and when you act on it straight away. The 7-day plan turns the review into practice.
Who marks your answer
Every answer is first marked automatically by AI against this scheme. You can query any mark: an independent second marking looks at it first, then a CIMA-qualified (CGMA) moderator if it doesn't settle.
The studies above are mostly from schools, universities and laboratories, not CIMA exams. They show what tends to help people learn and remember. They don't promise a result, and how much any one technique helps varies from person to person.
The steps are a guide, not a fixed order. If you already know the theory, start at the drills or a section. Your week-by-week plan moves you along as your marks improve.
Our marks follow CIMA's published 2026–27 marking approach. They are a practice estimate to help you improve, not an official CIMA mark or a prediction of your result.
Start at step one, free
One task in your pre-seen, marked and rewritten to the next level up. No card needed.