Writing a Case Study Report

Last Updated: April 28, 2024

Writing a Case Study Report

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Case study reports are often tasked by professors at school for their students to do as part of the requirement for their subject and as part in earning a big grade in their subject. Oftentimes, students find this task tiresome and some even get confused on how to do it, even if the professor already taught them on how to do it. You may also see formal report examples & samples

Writing a case report for school is a practice for students who will eventually work in fields such as companies and organizations, and they have to make their own case report; but this time with no guidance from a professor. Their job productivity will reflect in these reports as these are required by their heads. In case if you forgot or don’t know how to write a case report; here are some helpful tips for you on how to do it. You may also check out marketing report examples

What is a Case Study?

According to the Collins Dictionary, a case study is a written account that gives detailed information about a person, group, or thing and their development over a period of time. It is also an act of analyzing one or more particular cases or case histories with a view to making generalizations. Depending on your professor, you have a wide variety of topics to write a case study of. You can write about business, social sciences, medicine, education, etc. You may also see sample activity reports

Now that you already got the gist of what is a case study is all about, it’s time for preparing to do it. Take note that this task does not finish only on one day. It takes time, focus, and patience to do it.

Preparing the Case Study

Before you begin writing, follow these steps to help you prepare and understand on how to make a case study:

Choosing a topic you want to make a case study out of can be tricky but most professors offer you a certain topic on what case study should you tackle. Assuming you already have a topic, the first thing you need to do is to read and examine the case thoroughly. Take notes, highlight relevant facts, and underline the underlying key problems. You may also like examples of business report

Next is to focus your analysis. Make it specific. Identify two to five key problems. Ask questions pertaining as to why do they exist? How do they impact a certain field/organization/company? Who is responsible for them? Once you’ve got them answered (your answers may serve as an initial one since you are still going to analyze further) it’s time for the next step. You may also check out performance report examples

1. Identify the problems

In your initial analysis you already identify the problems, issues, risks  inherent in the case or topics. Do further research by reading to uncover the background information of the said topic, the communication processes that are or were occurring, relevant strengths and weaknesses of the organization, people involved, and activities that relate to the case. In your notes, take down notes of the causes and consequences of the problems highlighted in the case and also your preliminary ideas for solutions that you come up earlier. You may also see technical report examples & samples

Prepare yourself to discover more problems and solutions as you continue your analysis of the case. or topic. Review course readings, discussions, textbooks, notes outside research notes and documents, statistics, interviews, and your experience. This will help you uncover more possible solutions in your case study. You may also like management report examples

2. Apply some analysis tools

There are many tools available for analysis but you must first evaluate which tools would best apply to your assessment of the problems you’ve discovered. You can ask for some help by discussing the options with your colleagues and professor. You may also check out service report examples

3. Schedule your writing time

Prepare a schedule for writing and editing the sections of your case study report. Allow some extra time just in case you find some sections difficult to write. Begin by writing the sections you feel most confident about. Your case study should consist of preliminary sections (executive summary, introduction) and supplementary sections (conclusions, reference list and appendices). These sections are usually prepared last. A good technique for you to start writing your report is to begin with their conclusions or the methodology.

4. Analyze your audience

When writing your case study report in your course, it is often intended for an imaginary person so you need to make sure that your language and style suites some certain kind of person. In the academe, you need to make your language more suitable to academic matters.  Audience definition helps you decide what to include in the report based on what the readers need to know to increase their knowledge about your subject. You may also see book report examples & samples

5. Document your results and ideas

It is also important that you have a complete set of notes that will be useful to refer to when writing your case study report. Record your findings and your own thoughts on the case. Don’t forget to also clearly document any testing or specifications that relate to your investigation of solutions as well. Don’t forget to also select the best solution. Consider the strong supporting evidence; the useful pros, and cons: Do you think this solution is realistic? You may also like what should be in an executive summary of a report?

6. Finalizing the Case

After you have written the first draft of your case study, read through it to check for any gaps or inconsistencies in content or structure. Is your thesis statement clear and direct? Have you provided solid evidence? Is any component from the analysis missing? Do this by taking clear notes, which include the information gathered and your thoughts about the usefulness of this information. Review your notes to decide what important information to include in the report. You may also check out visit report examples & samples

Once you have gathered enough necessary information, start writing the final draft of your case study. It should include these following sections:

1. Introduction

  • Identify the key problems and issues in the case study.
  • Formulate and include a statement, that summarizes the outcome of your analysis. Make it brief.

2. Background

  • Put the necessary background information, relevant facts, and the important issues.
  • Include that you have researched the problems in this case study. You may also see recruitment report examples

3. Alternatives

  • Outline possible alternatives (if necessary)
  • Explain why some alternatives that were tried and tested were rejected
  • Put what are the reasons of constraints

4. Proposed Solution

  • Provide some specific and realistic solution
  • Explain the reason this solution was chosen
  • Support this solution with solid evidence (based on your text readings, discussions, lectures, research and anecdotes.) You may also like how to write a progress report

7. Form conclusions

Conclusions are drawn from your analysis and assessment of the situation. You usually consider the desirable objectives.

8. Make Recommendations

Recommendations exist to know what action should be taken to minimize the problems being investigated. Recommendations usually require a detailed action plan for implementation of a solution for future events or scenarios. Don’t forget to also consider the limitations of your recommendations based on your testing of solutions and original assumptions that had to be made in the case. You may also see quality report examples

  • Discuss specific strategies for accomplishing the proposed solution.
  • Recommend further action to resolve some of the issues.
  • Also clearly detail out on what should be done and who should do it?

Once you’ve formulated the important sections of your cases study, check the content of your report. Check if your writing flows and that your ideas are supported and plausible. Make sure that all your figures and tables communicate a clear message. Show a colleague your visuals to check how they will be interpreted or ‘read’.

9. Proofread and edit

The final stage of making a report is to proofread and edit it. It will clear out wrong grammar, punctuation marks and make the content of your report smooth and clear. Here are some proofreading and editing strategies that work well:

  • Take a break. Allow yourself some time between writing and proofreading. It will help you allow you some distance from what you have written, so you can return to your paper with a fresh mind. You may also like free report examples & samples
  • Read out loud. Reading what you wrote out loud to yourself can help you catch both grammatical errors and awkward organization or development of ideas.
  • Asking a friend or family member to read your paper will give you a new perspective on your writing. Also, a fresh reader will be able to help you catch mistakes that you might have overlooked. You may also check out employee report examples & samples
  • Reread the assignment guidelines once again to make sure you’ve followed the given format.
  • Check each section of the report, including your summary, introduction and conclusion for content and structure. Note changes to make in the sequence of sections. You may also see financial report examples
  • Highlight changes you wish to make within sections. Look closely at transition sentences, figures and tables, referencing sources and formatting.

Now that you’re done with your case study report, the proofreading and editing is done, it’s time to pass your report. Congratulate yourself for a job well done. Don’t forget the lessons you’ve learned in this report as this will help you in your future academic career. You may also like sales report example & samples

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