The Written Case Interview
Most candidates will never encounter a written case interview—it’s a niche format, used sparingly by firms like Bain and BCG in final rounds. If you do get one, consider it an honest preview of consulting life, as consulting starts and ends with PowerPoint.
The verbal case interview simulates a client discussion that (artificially) got compressed into thirty minutes. The written case is closer to what you’d actually do as a client-serving “delivery” consultant (at any level). At some point, you’ll find yourself in an information swamp (a giant deck full of data, charts, and quotes), being asked to produce a clean, executive-level recommendation that makes sense, and of course, with a tight deadline.
Your challenge is to filter through noise, distill key takeaways, and summarize them crisply and quickly. It will help you to have a clear idea of what the question is, and to have a hypothesis against which to frame your final response.
At a high level, the written case follows a predictable format. You’ll receive 20-40 PowerPoint slides packed with information—some of it incomplete, some contradictory, most of it unnecessary. You’ll have a limited amount of time to sift through everything and create a three- to five-slide summary of your recommendation. Then, you’ll present your findings to an interviewer and defend your conclusions.
It may not seem remotely similar to the verbal case interview, but remember this: the skills you need to succeed in a written case are the same ones you’ve already been honing in verbal cases. It’s still about structuring your thinking, prioritizing what matters, and communicating with clarity. The main difference is that, instead of walking through your analysis out loud, you’re translating it into slides - and you’re going to start with your recommendation first.
How to Approach the Written Case: Part 1
The first mistake candidates make is thinking they need to “read” everything before starting their work. This is a trap. With 40 slides in front of you and a hard time limit, you may not reemerge in time if you get lost in the weeds. Your first priority should be understanding the question you’re solving for. It’s often framed vaguely—something like, “How should the client grow revenue?” or “What is the best market entry strategy?” That’s too broad to be useful, so your first move should be to reframe it into something specific. If the client is looking to grow revenue, is the real question whether to increase prices, expand distribution, or launch a new product? Is the company looking for short-term gains or long-term strategic moves? Without a clear version of the question in your head, you’ll struggle to filter through the slides efficiently.
Once you have a clear objective, start skimming the materials. Your goal in this first pass isn’t to analyze anything, but to get a sense of the information landscape. Which slides are purely background? Which contain numbers that will likely require calculations? Which present qualitative insights that could be useful later? Quickly marking slides for later reference can save valuable minutes when you need to pull numbers or quotes to support your argument.
After this initial scan, form a hypothesis. You probably don’t have all the answers yet, but make an educated guess about what the recommendation might be. Maybe it seems like a pricing change will be the best bet, or perhaps a particular market segment stands out as the most promising. Give yourself a direction to start in. Your hypothesis is your filter—it helps you decide which slides matter and which can be ignored.
Hypothesis in mind, you can start building your case. Look at the data you’ve flagged as relevant and ask: does it support or challenge your hypothesis? What assumptions are baked into the numbers? What’s missing? The best candidates don’t just summarize what’s in front of them; they connect the dots, look for patterns, and identify gaps in the analysis.
Your final deliverable—the slides you present—should read like an executive summary. Avoid the temptation to walk through your process step by step. No one cares about how many calculations you did, they just want to know the answer, which better be directly relevant to the recommendation. Everything you’re presenting should be framed around action: what should the client do, and why?
The best slide decks are simple and structured. If you find yourself cramming paragraphs of text onto a slide, rethink your approach. Would you want to look at that slide without knowing its importance at 4:45pm on a Friday when the weekend is beckoning? Make that easy for any reader to know why that slide is important - what’s the takeaway? Use headlines that communicate insights, not descriptions. Instead of a chart that just displays raw sales figures, highlight what those numbers imply. Every slide should make a point.
A common slide title sitting above some line chart may be “Market Trends,” an improved version may read “Growth in Premium Segment Suggests Opportunity to Raise Prices,” and a really satisfyingly informative title may state “Price Increases of 3% in Premium Segment Present Opportunity for ~20% Revenue Growth over Next 3 Years.”
Part 2: Presenting your Case
Once you’ve presented your slides, your interviewer will ask you questions - and they may challenge your conclusions. This doesn’t necessarily mean you made a mistake! It's a test of how well you can defend your reasoning. Expect pushback on assumptions, alternative interpretations of the data, and questions about risks - and be prepared to discuss your reasoning (and that you have considered those things and came to your conclusion because…), to express willingness to accept where you could be wrong (or where your assumptions may turn out to be off), and to elaborate what next steps could be taken to address potential risks.
Your response should be confident, but flexible. If you’ve done your work properly, you should have a rationale for every major point. If an interviewer suggests a different approach, engage with it thoughtfully—what additional data would you need to evaluate that option? Would it change your recommendation, or just refine it? The key is to show that you can reason through ambiguity, not just stick to a pre-prepared answer.
At the same time, be willing to acknowledge gaps. If your interviewer points out a blind spot that genuinely undermines your conclusion, don’t try to double down. A strong candidate knows when to stand firm and when to pivot. Consultants (and all good decision-makers) don’t always get things right the first time—what matters is how quickly they adjust when new information comes in.
Framing a Strong Recommendation
A good written case response follows a structured, logical flow. Start by restating the question in precise terms. Even if it seems obvious, aligning on the problem ensures clarity. Then, lead with your recommendation. Don’t bury the answer—put it front and center so that the discussion stays focused. (This is no different than the suggested Recommendation structure for the verbal case.)
Once the recommendation is clear, explain the key drivers behind it. Support your argument with the most compelling evidence available, whether that’s financial analysis, market trends, or operational insights. Rather than listing every detail, emphasize the factors that most directly influence the decision.
After laying out your rationale, address potential risks. No business decision is without downsides, and acknowledging them shows maturity in thinking. Highlight the biggest uncertainties or challenges, and—if possible—propose ways to mitigate them.
Finally, suggest logical next steps. In most real consulting engagements, an initial recommendation isn’t the final word—it’s a starting point for deeper exploration. Indicating what additional work could strengthen the case signals that you understand how strategy evolves over time.
Final Thoughts
The written case interview is less about writing and more about thinking and communicating with clarity. The core skills—structuring problems, identifying key insights, and articulating recommendations—are the same ones you use in verbal cases. The biggest shift is the medium: instead of explaining your thought process out loud, you’re packaging it into slides.
If you get a written case in your final round, treat it as an opportunity. It’s a real glimpse into what consulting work actually looks like. You’re this much closer to actually making these PowerPoint slides!