Do I really have to?

[Bama Gambler]

I'm reading the Case Studies and in #7 on Page 2 of 3 it says, "summarize how you came up with these estimates in a two page letter...bring your letter to the seminar." Do I really have to write a letter or was this for a prior C7 that was using this as the extended case study?

[uoflcard]

I was thinking the same thing, and I asked a co-worker who attended the Seattle seminar last year. Apparently, we do have to complete this exercise and bring it to the seminar (as an aside, he did his on the plane on the way out.)

[Bama Gambler]

What do they do if you don't do it? You are graded on the final report only, right?

[Katie.]

You are supposed to do it. They recognize that everyone does not do it. You're not graded on your participation in this, but you get more out of it if you actually take the short while of time it takes to do it (yes, I did it). It also got me used to writing again...sure, I write a lot for work, but mostly email snippets, not extended letters and reports. They split you into 3 groups: those who did the letter and have it printed, those who did it but don't have it printed, and those who didn't do it. You pair up with someone in a similar state as you and try to get something out of the exercise. Everyone has a different approach to these exams, and you do what you're comfortable with.

[Bama Gambler]

Thanks Katie.

[Il duce]

I didn't do any of that crap. There was no penalty for not doing so (at least not at my session). We spent maybe 15 minutes on the writeups people did, by getting together in small groups and exchanging papers.

They just split us into random groups and those that had done it shared theirs witht the group. In my group of five, only 2 people had done anything.

At my session the case studies weren't at all related to the extended case study so they weren't really worth spending any time on. I think rather than writing up worthless papers, you'd be better off spending time getting to know the extended case study.

[mad badger]

If you look at it as an exercise is answering the question that is put to you, then it is actually applicable experience for writing your final paper, since it is a point of emphasis in the grading criteria that the paper addresses every issue that is asked in the question. Forget the content -- I had to write something intelligent about international economics, a subject that has literally never come up anywhere in my education or experience -- and just follow the directions. You don't want to be the person who doesn't pass the easiest exam in the sequence because you didn't take advantage of every opportunity to learn how to pass.