Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
School of Languages, Literatures and Cultural Studies
School of Business
BUSINESS STUDIES AND A LANGUAGE DEGREE PROGRAMME
SENIOR SOPHISTER CASE WRITING GUIDELINES
2014-15
The submission of a Case Study is a formal requirement of TCD for all BBS
(Language) candidates. IT IS A NON-COMPENSATABLE COMPONENT OF
YOUR DEGREE.
The project requires that you conduct in-depth research on a firm and
its environment and use the data, which you collect during the JS and
SS years, to complete a major case writing project in the target
language. The firm, which you select, will be based in the country of
your target language. This project will be linked to and supported by
the Senior Sophister Strategic Management module BU4501, which
you are required to take. This module will provide the core business
academic support for both case writing and analysis. At the beginning
of the academic year a number of case writing seminars will be run by
Dr Padraic Regan with a view to developing case writing skills.
The material covered in BU4501 will direct and facilitate the structure
and content of the case writing project. An assessment link between
the case and the BU4501 course will be achieved through an oral
presentation of the case in English.
THE PURPOSE OF CASE-WRITING IS:
- TO CONNECT THEORY WITH APPLICATION AND TO TEST
YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF THEORY: the case study gives
you an opportunity to relate the theory that you have learned
on the course to a specific business or management setting in
the practical world, to demonstrate your ability to evaluate the
existing literature in a critical way and to relate this knowledge
to ‘real world’ unstructured situations;
- TO PROVIDE EXPERIENCE OF STUDYING A REAL LIVE
BUSINESS ORGANISATION with a view to understanding its
strategic situation;
- TO DEVELOP DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYTIC SKILLS:
the case study gives you hands-on experience of
identifying/sourcing, gathering and making sense of data
about a firm and its strategic situation, its macro-environment
and industry environment;
- TO PROVIDE EXPERIENCE OF WRITING UP RESEARCH
DATA in a coherent, analytic and focused manner and draw
conclusions within the framework of a significant business
project in your target language.
- TO DEMONSTRATE THAT YOU CAN DERIVE
CONCLUSIONS THAT ARE RELEVANT TO THE BROADER
BUSINESS CONTEXT, thus showing your ability to analyse
more generally business and management problems.
LENGTH AND LANGUAGE
i. The final complete case in the target language should not
exceed 10,000 words, not including the bibliography, footnotes,
exhibits and/or appendices (See PRESENTATION below). This will
comprise two elements: the case study/narrative (7,500 words)
and a thematically-driven case analysis (2,500 words).
Students who do not adhere to these word limits by more than 10%
will be penalized at the discretion of the examiners.
Students are also required to write a 500-word abstract in the target
language. This will not be included in the word count.
NOTE: Students should write their case directly in the foreign
language and avoid translating from English into the target language.
ii. Oral Presentation of the Case in English. This will comprise a 10minute PowerPoint presentation on your case study followed by up to
15 minutes of questions. The presentation should contain a synopsis
of the case narrative and provide a thematic analysis of your case. It
should limit its focus to the material contained in the thematic analysis.
iii. Strategic Analysis of the written case in English, which should
not exceed 3,000 words. This forms part of the assessment for
Strategic Management: BU4501.
PRESENTATION
Students must follow the Clear Print guidelines available at
http://www.tcd.ie/disability/accessibility/accessible_info/clear_print.php
The target-language case should comprise the following elements:
Title-page: Giving title, name of author, name of supervisor and year
of submission.
Table of Contents: Listing introduction, chapter and section headings
and bibliography, appendices with the page numbers on which each
starts.
Abstract: Setting out briefly (no more than 500 words) the objectives
and scope of the case.
Text:
This will comprise 2 elements: a case study/narrative (7,500
words) and a thematically driven case analysis (2,500 words) and
will be set out in chapters and sections using titles and subtitles,
divided as most appropriate to the material being used and the
challenges being presented. These must be listed in the Table of
Contents. Footnotes should be used where appropriate. If exhibits are
included, they must be linked and referenced clearly to the main text.
Tables and charts should be clear and, where possible, integrated in
the text.
The case narrative presents the strategically interesting themes and
events which the company has faced/is facing and places these within
their internal and external context.
The thematic analysis should address the following points:
1. What are the key strategic themes that emerge in the case
(these may relate to environmental and industry context,
competition, markets, or be intra-organisational relating to
resources and competencies)?
2. How might the company respond to the strategic challenges
presented?
The thematic analysis should make use of the data presented in the
case narrative, but it must adopt an evaluative and analytic
approach. It should not simply repeat information presented in the
case narrative. It must draw on theoretical models presented in
BU4501.
Summation and questions posed: Summarising the events and end
state of the case and the challenges posed. Developing a series of
questions that reflect the strategic challenge(s) posed by the case.
Bibliography: Listing all primary and secondary sources
consulted. It should follow the conventions used in the target
language.
The case should be typed, preferably using a word-processing
package, with 1.5 spacing on one side only of good white paper (A4).
The work should have a 4cm left hand margin and a minimum of 2cm
should be used for top, bottom and right. The typing should be
reasonably consistent in the length of line and the number of lines per
page. The pages should be numbered consecutively. A binding (e.g.,
spiral plastic) is required. However good the typist, significant errors
may occur, especially in a foreign language. It is the responsibility of
the candidate to proof-read the final draft and the final case
study, paying special attention to the transcription and referencing of
quotations. It follows that arrangements for typing should not be left to
the last minute.
Quotations: Layout of quotations differs according to length and target
language conventions.
• Short quotations (less than about 40 words) should be enclosed
within quotation marks and run on with the main text.
• Longer quotations should be indented and single spaced, starting on
a new line, without quotation marks.
Quotations should be in their original language and, where necessary,
a translation or paraphrase in the target language (French, German,
Russian, Polish or Spanish) should be given in a footnote.
ALL QUOTATIONS, EITHER DIRECT OR INDIRECT, MUST BE
FULLY REFERENCED.
APPROACHING THE WORK ON CASE WRITING
The following framework may act as a guide:
A. During the Junior Sophister year, from January onwards
 Select a business/commercial organisation whose origin lies in
the country of your target language. This should be done during
the second half of the Junior Sophister year. The firm
concerned should be substantive enough and have sufficient
profile to provide data for case writing purposes;
NB. Companies featuring in the attached list can only be
chosen after a period of 3 years has elapsed.
• Engage in an initial process of data collection on the company,
its industry and its macro environment (e.g., statistics from official
and professional bodies, academic journals, trade journals,
databases, business and economic press, annual reports of the
company). Much of this data will ideally be in the target
language;
• Define the issues that you wish to examine in terms of a question
or questions;
 Submit the report form on or before the agreed deadline
 Prepare a progress report to be submitted to the relevant
language department by the first teaching day of your Senior
Sophister year.
B. During the Senior Sophister year
For the case narrative:
• Ensure that you have a clearly defined focus in the narrative
 Review your data (primary and secondary sources of data) and
engage, if necessary, in further data collection in order to deal
fully with the topic/questions to be investigated
• Finalise the structure of your case narrative
For the thematic analysis
 Identify the academic literature that relates to the topic and
analyse it in order to identify what it has to say about the
question/s that you wish to answer. Consider contrasting
viewpoints adopted by different theorists and drawing on different
(relevant) models to explain your findings, e.g., Pestel.
• Analyse the data or information in order to reveal what it has to
say about the issues being examined;
• Draw conclusions by linking the analysis with the theory. How
does your own analysis explain events when compared with the
explanations in the literature? Does it confirm the literature or is it
at variance with it? Have you discovered anything not revealed or
covered by the literature?
 Don’t forget to make recommendations.
Assessment of Case
The case is assessed on four dimensions:
Content (target language version): 25%; Language 50%; MT
Oral Presentation: 10%; English Language Presentation: 15%.
CONTENT (TARGET LANGUAGE VERSION) (25%)
The content of the case narrative and thematic analysis will
include assessment of:
 The quality and originality of the case study;
 The general breadth and depth of the reading and research
underlying the case;
 The analytical challenge presented to the reader:
o How well does the case test the reader with respect to the
key question(s), decision(s) or issue(s) posed by the case?
o How well does the case make use of qualitative,
quantitative and graphical data in creating the analytical
challenge?
 The conceptual challenge presented by the case;
 The presentational challenge presented to the reader:
o How well does the writer structure the information?
o How creative and appropriate are headings/subtitles used
to guide the reader?
o How creative and effective is the use of tables, figures,
charts and graphs?
• LANGUAGE (50%)
The following aspects will be taken into account:
• grammatical accuracy,
• lexis,
• style and register,
• structure and transitions.
• MICHAELMAS TERM ORAL PRESENTATION (10%)
A 10-minute presentation will be made to the target language
supervisor(s) during week 10 of MT and will be centred on the
following issues:
1. Company profile and reasons for choosing the company;
2. Progress in data collection and organisation of
materials/information;
3. Overview of data analysis;
4. Assessment of your progress to date.
Marks will be awarded for content, presentation skills and quality of the
language used.
• ENGLISH LANGUAGE PRESENTATION (15%)
PowerPoint presentation of 10-minutes’ duration in English. Students
will present a synopsis of their case narrative and the thematic
analysis. The presentation will be assessed by Dr Regan and the
language supervisor. Presentations will take place during Week 1 of
the Revision Period (i.e., the week immediately following the end of
Hilary Term).
MANDATORY DEADLINES
Deadlines must be adhered to by all students. Permission for
extensions will only be granted in exceptional circumstances and
following a meeting with the student concerned (and their tutor if they
so wish). Penalties will be applied for not meeting the mandatory
deadlines and this will affect your process mark (see below).
1 DAY 1 OF MICHAELMAS TERM 2014 (Monday, 22 September
2014):
Progress report in the target language to language supervisor
This will consist of a work content and timeline plan for
Michaelmas term along with details of preliminary work
undertaken during the JS year (1,000 words).
2 WEEK TEN OF MICHAELMAS TERM 2014:
A. Presentation in the target language to supervisor (10minute PowerPoint presentation) centred on the following
issues:
1. Company profile and reasons for choosing the company
2. Progress in data collection and organisation
3. Overview of data analysis
4. Assessment of your progress to date
3 FRIDAY OF WEEK 12 OF MT Submission of a draft version of a
section of the case narrative (1,000 to 1,500 words).
3 FRIDAY OF WEEK 8 OF HILARY TERM 2015 BY 12 NOON
(Friday, 6 March 2015)
Submission of the case in the target language – 2 copies to the
relevant language department (and an additional one for yourself).
You must also submit an electronic version of the case using an antiplagiarism package to be specified by the language coordinator.
4 MONDAY OF WEEK 11 OF HILARY TERM 2015 BY 12 NOON
(Monday, 23 March 2015)
Submission of the strategic analysis of the case (written in
English). This will account for 20% of the assessment on the
strategic management course BU4501. Two copies to be
handed in to the Business School. Further details on length
from Dr Regan.
**SUBMISSION DATE**:
FRIDAY IN WEEK 8 OF HILARY TERM 2015 by 12 noon
• Final version of case in target language
Two copies must be submitted to the Department of Germanic
Studies/French/Russian & Slavonic Studies/Spanish, including a
signed declaration of authorship, and you should retain a third one for
yourself. You must also submit an electronic version of the case to the
language supervisor via a plagiarism detection package. Further
information will be provided.
MONDAY OF WEEK 11 OF HILARY TERM 2015 BY 12 Noon
Strategic Analysis in English
Two copies should be submitted to the School of Business Studies
PENALTIES FOR LATE SUBMISSION
Final Case Study
The final case must be submitted according to the Submission
Procedures of the respective language departments and, in the case
of the Strategic Analysis, of the School of Business (See Handbooks).
Penalties for late submission of the written case: Up to one week’s
lateness will incur a penalty of 10 marks. Cases submitted after one
week will not be marked.
Any application for an extension must be made via the student’s
College tutor.
Presentations
Students who do not submit their slides for the Michaelmas term
presentation (Week 10, MT) in the target language by the specified
deadline will receive a 5-mark penalty.
Students who do not submit their slides for the English-language
presentation (Revision Week 1) by the specified deadline will be
penalised as follows:
2 marks will be deducted for submission up to 24 hours late.
4 marks will be deducted for submission up to 48 hours late.
6 marks will be deducted for submission up to 72 hours late.
8 marks will be deducted for submission up to 96 hours late.
Any application for an extension must be made via the student’s
College tutor.
SUPERVISION
The case writing assignment will be supported by both the relevant
language department and the Business School. Language supervision
will be provided through engagement with students during their Senior
Sophister year. The language supervisor provides guidance on
conventions regarding presentation, referencing, and on language
(stylistic and structural issues). The language supervisor will also
support students in refining their data collection and in progressing
through the data analysis and write-up stages. Business content input
will be provided through the Strategic Management Module BU4501
and also through the provision of a number of special case writing
seminars by the School of Business.
MEETING YOUR LANGUAGE SUPERVISOR
The precise modalities of supervision will be defined by each language
department. In general, language supervisors should expect to meet
with each student on 1 occasion during each term. Additional
meetings can take place subject to agreement with the student that
such meetings would be necessary and fruitful. The onus is on
students to attend these meetings and to keep their work on
schedule. The initial meeting should focus primarily on the research
process and expectations regarding the nature of the case study.
Group meetings may be appropriate. In addition, there may be a joint
supervision session between the language supervisor, the BU4501
lecturer, and the student.
WARNING
The language and content of the case must be the student’s own
work. Editing and/or re-writing by a native speaker is strictly
prohibited.
Any discrepancy between the standard of the language in the case
and of other submitted work will be investigated and, following
consultation with the external examiner, may be taken into account in
determining the final grade. The student may also be invited to a viva
voce with the external examiner and the supervisor.
Copying from a book, article, website or any other source, extensive
paraphrasing of a single work are not acceptable practices.
Plagiarism (i.e., dishonestly representing an author’s view as your
own) is a disciplinary offence against College regulations and carries
severe penalties. Short quotations are acceptable, even desirable, but
must be acknowledged by means of appropriate reference giving
author, title of work and page number. Similarly, all paraphrasing must
be acknowledged in the text and appropriately referenced in the
bibliography.
The following declaration must be included and signed when
submitting your case study:
“I declare that this case study, either in whole or in part, has not been
submitted as an exercise for a degree at this or any other university.
I declare that this case study is entirely my own work except where
duly acknowledged. I further declare that any materials directly cited as
quotations/extracts from other works have been fully referenced in the
text of the work and that all sources used in the preparation of this
work have been listed in the Bibliography.
I have read the statement on plagiarism in the Undergraduate
Handbook of the Department of Germanic Studies/French/Russian and
Slavonic Studies/Spanish and understand that it is an offence that may
result in expulsion from the University.
I agree that the libraries of the Departments of Germanic Studies,
French, Russian and Slavonic Studies, Spanish and of the School of
Business Studies library may lend or copy this case study upon
request. “
Signed : ........
Date : .........
GRADING CRITERIA
The aim of these guidelines is to capture the main features of
performance at different degree class levels. These descriptions
should be taken as indicative rather than prescriptive: assessment of
degree classes is multi-dimensional and excellence in one dimension
can compensate for weakness in another. Submitted work that is
poorly presented or inadequately referenced is likely to be penalised by
(at least) a class unless defects are outweighed by exceptional quality.
The content of the case narrative and thematic analysis is assessed
on the basis of the following:
 originality and creativity in choice of target and topic(s)
 quality of data gathered and presented
 comprehensiveness and accuracy of narrative derived from the
data
 integration of a range of materials
 leveraging of the design opportunities presented by the data and
literatures
 evidence of wide reading
 insight into the theoretical opportunities and issues presented by
the case
 originality of overall exposition or treatment.
First Class Honours I (70–100)
This grade indicates work of exceptional quality. A first-class case
study will demonstrate some, though not necessarily all, of the
following:
Content
Case Narrative
 Excellent knowledge of the subject matter and intelligent
comprehensive understanding of the topic’s wider implications
 Clear evidence of ability to leverage the opportunities presented by
the data
 Independent thought of high quality reflected in an original and
imaginative handling of the subject matter
 Clear evidence of thorough original research
 Excellent knowledge and ability to assess the relevance of the
information from primary and secondary sources
 Rigorous, entirely relevant, excellent structure and organisation with
a very high degree of coherence and cohesion throughout
 (Near-)flawless formulation and persuasively communicated
throughout
 Original choice of topic; original angle on topic
 Comprehensive and accurate narrative derived from the data
throughout
Thematic Analysis
 Incisive analytic ability
 Excellent critical focus on the question/s raised by the case
narrative
 Independent critical response to the primary and secondary sources
 Excellent handling of relevant primary and secondary sources to
support argument
 Rigorous, entirely relevant, excellent structure and organisation with
a very high degree of coherence and cohesion throughout
Language
• Rich, complex and idiomatic language, employing a wide range of
appropriate lexis correctly
• Tone, register and style wholly suited to the chosen task
• Virtually free from grammatical error
• Showing a very high degree of command of the structures of the
language
Second Class First Division II.1 (60 - 69)
This grade indicates a very competent standard of work. A case study
in this range will demonstrate some, though not necessarily all, of the
following:
Content
Case Narrative
 Very good understanding and thorough knowledge of the subject
matter
 Convincing attempt at independent thought reflected in intelligent
approach to the subject matter
 Coherent and clearly focused within a carefully planned framework,
dealing with all aspects of the question
 Convincing attempt to leverage the opportunities presented by the
data
 Convincing attempt at thorough original research
 Generally well organised and structured, but some lack of cohesion
in places
 Generally persuasively communicated throughout, with only minor
flaws in formulation and presentation
 Convincing choice of topic; intelligent approach to topic
 Generally comprehensive and accurate narrative derived from the
data
Thematic Analysis
 Evidence of analytic ability
 Sustained critical focus on the question/s raised by the case
narrative
 Evidence of ability to respond critically to the primary and secondary
sources
 Competent handling of relevant primary and secondary sources to
support argument
 Generally well organised and structured, but some lack of cohesion
in places
Language
• Convincing attempt to use complex and idiomatic language and to
employ a wide range of appropriate lexis with minor errors only
• Tone and register consistently suited to the task
• Some grammatical errors, mostly of a minor nature
• Showing a good degree of command of the structures of the
language with the occasional lapse
Second Class Second Division II.2 (50 - 59)
This grade indicates work of acceptable competence. The case study
will demonstrate some or all of the following:
Content
Case Narrative
 Shows good knowledge of the subject matter, but may be narrow in
frame of reference or superficial
 Generally aware of implications of the subject matter, discusses
some, but not all of the points raised by it; unimaginative approach
 Reliance on limited range of primary and secondary sources
 Limited ability to leverage opportunities presented by data
 Satisfactory organisation and clear presentation of material, but may
omit some material of relevance or contain some which is irrelevant
 Development of ideas effective but uneven, maintains focus on
subject matter, but not always precisely
 May lack rigour; some contradiction and repetition; some
unsupported or inadequately explained points
 Readable, but occasional significant flaws in formulation and/or
presentation
 Suitable choice of topic; conventional approach to topic
 Narrative derived from the data is limited in comprehensiveness and
not always accurate
Thematic Analysis
 Reluctant to engage critically with primary and secondary sources
 Tendency to be narrative or descriptive, rather than analytical
 Limited critical focus on the question/s raised by the case narrative
 Uneven handling of relevant primary and secondary sources to
support argument
 Satisfactory organisation, cohesion and coherence
 May lack rigour; some contradiction and repetition; some
unsupported or inadequately explained points
Language
• Language at an acceptable level of complexity with an adequate but
predictable range of lexis, and with a number of significant lexical
errors
• Makes a number of major grammatical errors, but without impairing
comprehension and communication significantly
• Tone and register not always suited to the task
• Showing some confidence in the command of the language, but with
quite frequent lapses
• Some anglicisms
Third Class III (40 - 49)
A case study in this grade will demonstrate some limited though
acceptable knowledge of the subject matter, but will be too simplistic or
brief, or contain other major weaknesses.
Content
Case Narrative
 Demonstrates some knowledge of the subject matter, but generally
narrow in frame of reference;
 Satisfactory engagement with the issues, but adopts mechanical
approach; fails to discuss many of the points raised by or see all
implications of the data;
 Some relevant points made, but not always supported by relevant
evidence
 Reliance on very limited range of primary and secondary sources
 Limited ability to organise material; structure lacks coherence and
cohesion
 Lacks rigour and clarity; tendency to unsupported assertions
 Limited ability to develop ideas
 Adequate presentation and capacity to articulate, but with serious
flaws
 Poor choice of topic; simplistic approach to topic
 Narrative derived from the data is very limited in
comprehensiveness and reveals many inaccuracies.
Thematic Analysis
 Descriptive with limited ability to develop ideas
 Inadequate critical engagement with the issues raised by the case
narrative
 Limited ability to organise material; structure lacks coherence and
cohesion
 Some relevant points made, but not always supported by relevant
evidence
 Very uneven handling of relevant primary and secondary sources to
support argument
Language
• Language lacks complexity; some basic knowledge of lexis but lacks
variety and contains frequent and significant errors
• Tone and register frequently not suited to the task
• Frequent and serious grammatical errors, which impede
comprehension and communication
• Limited ability to manipulate language resulting in simple ‘translated’
language which contains many anglicisms
Fail F1 (30 - 39)
This grade indicates insufficient evidence of serious academic study.
Content
Case Narrative
 Demonstrates minimal knowledge of the subject matter with little
reference beyond it
 Content largely irrelevant and disorganized
 Generally naive approach or serious misunderstanding of the
subject matter, misses important implications
 Little or no evidence of use of either primary or secondary sources;
 Structure almost wholly lacking in coherence and cohesion
 Very limited ability to develop ideas; either dogmatic assertion or
over-descriptive summary or both
 Clumsy style; poor articulation and presentation; poorly documented
sources
 Poor choice of topic; ill-conceived approach to topic
 Narrative derived from the data is extremely limited in
comprehensiveness and reveals a significant number of
inaccuracies
Thematic Analysis
 Little or no evidence of reflection or engagement with data
presented in the case narrative
 Little or no evidence of use of either primary or secondary sources
 Structure almost wholly lacking in coherence and cohesion
 Content largely irrelevant and disorganized
Language
• Language is simplistic with very limited knowledge of lexis and very
high level of error frequency in choice and use of very basic words
• Tone and register not suited to the task
• Very frequent and serious grammatical errors, which seriously
impede comprehension and communication
• Very little command of language resulting in simple ‘translated’
language which consists largely of anglicisms
Fail F2 (0 - 29)
Written work in the F2 range will reveal some or all of the weaknesses
noted under F1, but to a greater, perhaps extreme, extent.
Content
Case Narrative
 Virtually no knowledge of the subject matter
 Fails to understand and to address the issues raised by the subject
matter
 Content irrelevant and disorganized
 No evidence of secondary reading or use of primary sources
 Lack of supporting material, sources not documented
 Structure is without cohesion and coherence
 No evidence of logical organization or ability to develop ideas
 Extremely poor articulation and presentation; formulation frequently
incomprehensible
 Very poor choice of topic; entirely uninformed approach to topic
 Narrative derived from the data is unacceptably limited and reveals
a very significant number of inaccuracies
Thematic Analysis
 Fails to understand and to address any relevant issues
 Content disorganized
 No evidence of secondary reading or use of primary sources
 Lack of supporting material, sources not documented
 Structure is without cohesion and coherence
 No evidence of logical organization or ability to develop ideas
Language
• Knowledge and range of lexis so limited that no mark can be
awarded; the level of error frequency in choice and use of even the
most basic words is unacceptably high
• Tone and register not suited to the task
• Frequency and seriousness of grammatical errors mean that
comprehension and communication are impossible
• No command of the structures of the language