What do we mean by instructions?

Levels 1-3

Level 3 example:

1.1 Define the purpose of…

Here, ‘define’ is the command verb. All you would be required to do to answer this task is accurately and clearly state the purpose of the thing (process, organisation etc.) under scrutiny. 

So, to use a simple example, “Define the purpose of a team.” The main focus point of your answer will be as simple as “To bring people together to work towards a shared goal”. There would be no need to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of working in a team over working individually – that would be triggered by a completely different verb!

• A degree – At least a 2:1 undergraduate degree (sometimes a 2:2 is accepted), preferably in a relevant subject (i.e. business, management or leadership).
• Post-graduate work experience as a manager – However, this isn’t always needed, which can be an important difference for younger aspiring managers looking to decide between CMI or MBA, as they can take some MBA courses immediately without having to work their way into management first. 
• An entrance exam – The two most common are GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test) and GRE (Graduate Record Examinations). Both tests are designed to examine a graduate’s analytical, writing, quantitative, verbal and reading skills and cost between £128 and £225 in the UK. 
• References – Commonly, at least one professional reference is needed from a current or recent supervisor who can describe your skills and examples of when you excelled. Sometimes academic references can be a substitute. 
• An up-to-date CV.
• An admissions essay – For example, the London Business School requires you to write about what you intend to do with what you learn on the course. 

Levels 4-6

Levels 4-6 are where the tasks begin to move up a notch as the CMI essays ask learners to provide evaluation or analysis, conduct research or develop a specific type of plan.

Level 5 example:

1.1  Evaluate TWO (2)…

With an action verb such as “evaluate”, to successfully answer this task, you will need to do more than provide a simple explanation. In your answer, you should firstly consider the strengths and weaknesses and/or the similarities and differences of the two things you have been asked to evaluate. After you’ve done this, you must then discuss and contrast your points to come to a well-reasoned judgement or conclusion.

So, “Evaluate team working over individual working as a means of achieving a goal” should begin with a discussion on the benefits and disadvantages of both, e.g. opportunity to collaborate, varied skill sets, conflict etc., closing with an overall conclusion as to which form of working is best or possibly just best in specific circumstances. For example, given the talent pool and collaboration opportunities within a team, and the lack of motivation and isolation that can manifest when working individually, team working is the best method of working, particularly to achieve large-scale goals.

Levels 7-8

The CMI essays for Levels 7 and 8 are typically the hardest and most complex tasks CMI sets. The requirements often ask learners to develop a specific type of proposal or strategy, which may involve the need to ‘select’ and ‘appraise’ certain elements. 

Generally, these types of assignments require you to take an initial idea, evaluate it (as outlined earlier) and then propose your preferred outcome. You need to ensure all points are well supported with reputable evidence that you have gathered from your research. We have a whole section on this later…read on to find out more!

CMI has a complete list of these command verbs with explanations as to how they should be interpreted. We recommend you take some time to familiarise yourself with these – especially those appearing in the tasks you’re going to be facing. 

However, just responding in a theoretical fashion to the task requirements is often not enough. CMI may state in the assessment booklet, most notably for levels 4-8 but occasionally at lower levels too, that it expects you to apply what you’ve learnt to your own workplace, a workplace you know well or one you have researched. So, you need to make sure you do this, otherwise you’re unlikely to pass.

CMI assignment help top tip: Where required, clearly apply each point that you make to your team, your organisation or the organisation you have chosen as your example. This may be in the form of evidence of an event or occurrence, how the point could be applied or the difference it would have made if it had been employed!

Let’s look at an example to show you what we mean. In an assignment on the importance of communication for good leadership the following comment could be made:

Application example

Leaders who cannot communicate effectively will struggle to convince teams to follow them as they may not competently explain how to complete objectives or be persuasive or supportive enough to gain buy-in. 

Effective communication can take the form of…. 

I and other leaders in my organisation use a variety of communication methods to build rapport, praise successes and explain the rationale behind plans.

• Request meetings with managers or colleagues so that you can ask relevant questions
• Utilise any mentors you may have
• Explore company intranets, policy documents or handbooks 
• If you’re referencing an organisation that you’ve researched  – think in advance of how you’re going to do this, e.g. will the use of a search engine be enough?  Don’t leave this to the last minute, in case you find you can’t use the example that you were anticipating; otherwise, you could find yourself with no material to include.

And you’re off. You’ve got loads to say, points to make, and examples at the ready, and those gems of thoughts just keep coming. You’re feeling confident that this is going to be a good one. A definite pass first time with praise abounding!

And then, you realise that you’re only halfway through your answer and already 16 pages in. How many words did they say was the maximum?

Sticking to the tight word count can be the hardest thing for some people to do. Every task in the assessment booklet will have the required word count listed next to it.  CMI gives a 10% allowance. So, if the total word count for your assignment is 1,500, your answer can be 150 words over or under this word count.

CMI assignment help top tip: Writing everything you want to and then cutting bits out is likely to prove very difficult and cause issues for the flow of the assignment. Instead, make sure you plan your answers effectively, including how many words to allow yourself per point, to guarantee that you come in within the word count.

This brings us quite neatly to the next point.

Level 5 example

Guideline word count: 1,100

1.1 Explain the benefits of coaching and mentoring

1.2 Outline two models used for either coaching or mentoring in the workplace 

1.3 Evaluate the above models with respect to individuals, teams and the organisation

CMI assignment help top tip: When deciding on word count allocation, start by considering the command verbs.

In the above example assignment, there are three different command verbs – Explain, outline and evaluate.

So, as an example, you could split your 1,100 words word count like this:

Planning example

1.1 Explain the differences between coaching and mentoring (200 words) 

• Define coaching (20 words)
• Define mentoring (20 words)
• Explain differences (160 words). 

You could even break this down further as a maximum of 8 points of 20 words each and select your top eight. Possibly keeping a ninth in the wings in case you manage to come in under 160 words on the other eight and have one that ideally you’d really like to include. 

1.2 Outline two models used for either coaching or mentoring in the workplace (200 words)

• Model 1 (100 words)
• Model 2 (100 words) 

1.3 Evaluate the purpose of the above models with respect to individuals, teams and an organisation (700 words)

• Advantages and disadvantages of Model 1 with respect to:
  • Individuals – 100 words
  • Teams – 100 words
  • Organisation  – 100 words
• Advantages and disadvantages of Model 2 with respect to:
• • Individuals – 100 words
  • Teams – 100 words
  • Organisation – 100 words
• A conclusion drawing all the points you’ve made together determining which is better in which situation (100 words)

CMI assignment help top tip: 

• Make a list of all the points you would like to make under each heading. 
• Go through and mark the ones that you think are most important. 
• Rank these from most important to least. Write about them in this order. This way, you’ll ensure that the key points have been included if you haven’t got enough words left for every one.

CMI assignment help top tip: Keep checking the word count of each small section.  Once you hit the limit, stop and review what you’ve written. 

Be strict with yourself. Have you stayed on track? Just made the point in your list? Not tried to squeeze in a bit extra here and there? And, what about your writing style? Tight and to the point or verbose and repetitive? – let’s consider this last issue next.

So, given the strict word count allocated to CMI essays, it is crucial that you use a very direct and succinct writing style. Let’s take a look at a sentence to show you what we mean:

Sentence example – long version

“Managers, no matter how skilled, sometimes struggle to be leaders because leadership requires a different set of skills to management, and managers may not always possess these different and specific skills.”

What’s the key point we’re trying to make? Basically, due to the different skills involved, a good manager won’t necessarily make a good leader. So, let’s just say that:

Sentence example – succinct version

“Managers often struggle with leadership because different skills are required.”

Succinct and straight to the point, and, more importantly, 21 words shorter. That’s a whole additional point you could now include. 

It’s also worth noting that the marker isn’t going to be swayed by the accuracy with which you can put clauses and punctuation together to build long, flowing sentences or your use of sophisticated vocabulary. They want to see relevant points clearly made and evidenced (where required) – so give them what they want!

CMI assignment help top tip: Make your paragraphs short and easy to read – one point per paragraph is Astranti’s golden rule!

Write for the marker

Writing an answer that is well-thought-out and clearly explained makes it easy for the marker to appreciate the breadth and depth of your understanding and to decide if you have adequately answered the requirement of the task. 

Let’s look at what we mean by this:

CMI assignment help top tip: Ensure that you clearly signpost the criteria being addressed. Re-use the actual wording of the criteria to do this if possible.

CMI essays are not graded in the traditional way of marks per point you make. Instead, your essay is simply assessed as ‘pass’ or ‘refer’ (fail) depending on whether or not you have demonstrated that you meet the requirements listed in the assessment criteria. So, the trick is to make your points really obvious!

For example…

• Suppose one task listed in the assessment criteria was, “Discuss the main features of … You would start your response as. “The main features of … are…” 

Or, let’s say it was “Compare the benefits of both “X” and “Y”. The opening to your answer could begin:  

• “In order to compare the benefits  of both X and Y, a good starting point is….” Alternatively;
• “X and Y are often mistaken as the same thing. However, a comparison of their main benefits suggests that whilst similar they have markedly different benefits….” This is less direct but is referring to “Compare” by using “Comparison”.

Whilst this may seem quite simplistic and possibly slightly unsophisticated, it basically says to the examiner, “Hello, this is me dealing with this particular criteria”. It has the important benefit of making it much easier for the marker to understand the structure of your answer – what you’re attempting to answer where – and, therefore, easier to come to a decision over.

CMI Assignment help top tip: If you’re completing CMI Level 5 or above, you must quote or reference reliable sources to support the points you make to be successful in your CMI essays.

This helps to give your answer credence and demonstrates your research and understanding of the topic. Practically, it also properly attributes material to its source and, therefore, avoids issues of plagiarism, which would definitely bring about a “refer”. (See the upcoming section on referencing for more detail.)

Generally, you need to reference all the places from which you’ve taken information, whether websites, journals or articles. However, it is fair to say that some sources can look more impressive than others!

A perfect source to quote would be any articles written by the person who developed the theory/model you’re discussing. Alternatively, an article by a specialist in the same field who has reviewed the model or theory offering further insights, ideas or opposing viewpoints would be good. Academic articles or those produced by well-known organisations, e.g. Google, National Health Service etc. or professional bodies, e.g. Chartered Institute of Marketing or Chartered Institute of Management Accountants etc., will also carry weight. Why? Well, these will generally contain well-considered arguments, often evidenced by statistics or historical references.   

It’s impossible to tell you how many sources should be included in your answers as this will depend on the nature of your task. But, we would suggest that you aim for quality rather than quantity!

Where can you find useful and reputable sources? 

There are a few options:

Astranti materials

As part of our commitment to providing you with as much help as possible to pass your assignments and become a better manager, if you sign up to a CMI course with Astranti, you will save yourself a whole lot of time and effort! We will provide you with sources and content you can cite in your CMI essays for every module of your CMI course!

CMI Assignment help top tip: When using Google Scholar, if you look for the results with a separate PDF link on the right-hand side or before the title, these are usually articles that you can read in full online with no account.

Do note that using Google Scholar is likely to yield a huge list of articles. This may require more work on your part to identify which are going to prove useful as compared to using the Astranti or Management Direct sources. However, we still recommend it as an option, but possible only when the others haven’t proved fruitful?

Referencing sources perfectly

Referencing is really, really important, but it is one of the things that students can find most difficult and which can potentially cause issues if done incorrectly! 

You must reference any source you use in your CMI essays, no matter how much or how little you use it. If you do not cite your sources, you may be accused of plagiarism (using others’ ideas as your own), which may cause you to fail. So, you need to ensure you know how to reference and how to do it well!

CMI expects you to use either the Harvard referencing system or the British Standard system.

Both referencing systems require you to cite your references twice:

• In brackets in the text, as you discuss the ideas from the source
• In full at the end of your assessment in your bibliography

What’s a bibliography? The bibliography lists all the references used in your answer and should be alphabetically ordered (not the order in which the references appear).

CMI assignment help top tip: Having done so yourself (possibly several times), ask a friend, trusted colleague or family member to proofread your CMI essays to ensure you have successfully fulfilled the requirements – especially that determined by the command verb!

It’s very easy to convince yourself that you have done a good job and have answered the assignment brief perfectly. Getting someone else to check this for you and feedback on the appropriateness of your work could well be the difference between success and failure. 

When you’re confident your CMI essay hits every criteria you’re ready to submit it!

This takes us to part two:

When you’ve finished your CMI essay, there are just a few finishing touches you need to do before you can submit your assessment to CMI. 

As of March 2022, you must include in your submission:

Once you’ve done all of this, your assignment is ready to go! Simply send it to your tutor using the course network, along with your learner statement of authenticity.

… and wait!

If you follow this guidance and put your best work in, we have no doubt you will write great answers to CMI’s tasks and achieve your qualification in no time!

However, if you have found these pages useful, please note that on signing up to an Astranti CMI course, you will have access to our members-only ultimate guide to CMI assignment help, which will provide you with even more hints, tips and advice to write brilliant CMI essays.