It’s a myth that floats around grammar schools and higher education authorities. Almost all of these respected establishments will tell you that you must start an exam essay with an introduction. Here, Cordie Director and former CIPS senior examiner Ian Thompson, explains why this is not always the case for CIPS exams. In fact it could just be a waste of your time.
Consider the following exam quandaries:
How many marks will a CIPS examiner award for an introduction?
Does the CIPS mark scheme set aside a portion of marks for an introduction?
Is it possible that CIPS examiners deduct marks for not starting with an introduction?
“These are all valid questions, but they are based on a misunderstanding of exam assessment. The CIPS assessment team does not work this way and so you need to take a more fundamental approach to writing your essays in a CIPS exam.”
At CIPS Level 4, many of the Constructed Response exam questions start with a command to “Explain FIVE advantages of…” or to “Describe FIVE factors for…” or possibly to “Discuss FIVE risks with…” These questions almost always have a 25 mark allocation and so CIPS has been totally clear as to what they want and how they will assess your response.
Being asked to write about FIVE things for 25 marks has an implicit mark scheme built into the question. Logically, CIPS will award five marks for each thing that’s written about. They can’t (and won’t) award more, or less.
So where does this leave room for an introduction?
Unfortunately, it means that any introduction is unlikely to score marks. Put another way, all the time and effort that goes into an introduction is probably wasted, because it is not picking up marks.
But…
It’s often at this point that students give me push back on this way of thinking. Their argument is that they’ve always been told to do this in the past - which may be highly relevant for other types of essay or other subject areas.
The clue is always embedded within the exam question. The command for a description of five things has not asked for some kind of introductory statements prior to the five descriptions. The examiner just wants five descriptions, and so they will only give you marks for those five descriptions.
“Exam marking is transactional. Examiners awards marks for valid points that address the question in accordance with their Mark Scheme. They do not award extra marks for superfluous text.”
So when could an introduction be valid?
While these points are mostly true for CIPS essay exams, there are incidents when an introduction can be helpful.
For sure, if writing an introduction helps to settle an exam candidate’s nerves and gives them the opportunity to ease into their answer, then there are some benefits, provided the introduction is brief and “on point”.
Occasionally at higher assessment levels (particularly Levels 5 and 6) the question commands a more in-depth evaluative response. For example, a question might command: “Assess the application of…” Here, an introduction has an advantage and could even be awarded marks if giving relevant information.
How do I use an introduction to score marks?
As long as you are addressing the question requirements there is the potential to score marks. This only applies to higher levels and broader exam commands, such as assess, analyse, evaluate, interpret and so on.
One recognised method is to use your introduction to define a key term or concept that the question is testing you on. This definition automatically gains credit with the examiner and demonstrates your understanding of the underlying theoretical concepts.
It also helps to avoid “waffle”!
Conclusion:
So in conclusion, you have to take a critical look at the question that the examiner has set you. If it is a transactional question simply demanding five things, then avoid unnecessary introductory waffle and just give the examiner what they want: …five things!
In other words, don’t waste time on an introduction.
However, at the higher levels, if you are being asked for a broader assessment of a concept in application, then using an introduction to define a concept can help immediately rack up the marks and avoid beating about the bush.
If you have any questions about this post or how examiners work, or even the CIPS policies on assessment, then do please get in touch. Cordie has a highly experienced team that has vast assessment experience with CIPS across all of the levels.
We can help dispel myths and ensure you maximise your potential to get the highest mark possible in your CIPS exams!