CIPD Level 7 Assignments: How to Structure Your Answers
The CIPD Level 7 Advanced Diploma in Strategic People Management is the highest level of CIPD qualification, equivalent to a postgraduate degree. With 1200 Total Qualification Time hours across eight units, this qualification demands strategic thinking, critical analysis and the ability to synthesise complex information from multiple sources.
Understanding the Level 7 Assessment Requirements
At Level 7, the CIPD expects you to demonstrate:
Reformulation of knowledge: to create new approaches in complex, multi-factor contexts
Critical analysis, interpretation and evaluation: of complex information to produce modified conceptions
Understanding of wider contexts: and current developments in people management
Understanding of different theoretical and methodological perspectives:
Specialised skills: to conceptualise and address problematic situations
Design and undertaking of research: to inform or produce change
Critical evaluation: of actions, methods and their short and long-term implications
The key distinction at Level 7 is the expectation of original, strategic thinking. You're not just applying existing frameworks—you're critically evaluating them and proposing contextualised solutions.
The Level 7 Qualification Structure
You'll complete eight units in total:
Four Core Units:
- 7CO01: Work and Working Lives in a Changing Business Environment (15 credits)
- 7CO02: People Management and Development Strategies for Performance (15 credits)
- 7CO03: Personal Effectiveness, Ethics and Business Acumen (15 credits)
- 7CO04: Business Research in People Practice (15 credits)
Three Pathway Units (HR route):
- 7HR01: Strategic Employment Relations (15 credits)
- 7HR02: Resourcing and Talent Management to Sustain Success (15 credits)
- 7HR03: Strategic Reward Management (15 credits)
Plus One Optional Unit from choices including Advanced Employment Law, Advanced Equality Diversity and Inclusion, Managing People in an International Context, or Wellbeing at Work.
Breaking Down the Core Units
7CO01: Work and Working Lives in a Changing Business Environment
This unit examines major long-term environmental developments affecting work and employment.
Key assessment areas:
- Assessing globalisation and its significance for work and employment
- Critically evaluating technological trends (AI, automation, remote working)
- Evaluating social and demographic trends (population ageing, changing attitudes)
- Appraising long-term economic trends and their implications
- Analysing change management from a people perspective
- Evaluating flexible working and organisational resilience
- Proposing initiatives for ethics, wellbeing, CSR and EDI
Structuring tip: Draw on current affairs and emerging research. Level 7 expects you to engage with contemporary debates, not just established theory.
7CO02: People Management and Development Strategies for Performance
This unit focuses on how people management creates strategic value.
Key assessment areas:
- Explaining objectives of people management in contemporary organisations
- Evaluating alignment of people practices with organisational strategy
- Analysing how people strategy supports organisational performance
- Critically evaluating data analytics and technology in people management
- Evaluating the work and impact of people professionals
- Debating how people practice is organised and structured
- Examining people management challenges across different sectors
Structuring tip: Demonstrate strategic awareness. Show how operational people practices connect to and enable organisational strategy.
7CO03: Personal Effectiveness, Ethics and Business Acumen
This unit covers professional credibility, ethical practice and commercial awareness.
Key assessment areas:
- Developing personal and professional credibility
- Demonstrating business acumen and financial literacy
- Applying ethical principles to complex people management dilemmas
- Influencing stakeholders at senior levels
- Building and sustaining professional networks
- Contributing to organisational decision-making
Structuring tip: Use reflective practice at a sophisticated level. Analyse your own effectiveness using theoretical frameworks and demonstrate continuous professional development.
7CO04: Business Research in People Practice
This unit develops your research capability for the profession.
Key assessment areas:
- Designing a research proposal addressing a people practice issue
- Critically evaluating research methodologies and methods
- Conducting primary and/or secondary research
- Analysing and synthesising research findings
- Presenting evidence-based recommendations
- Demonstrating research ethics and integrity
Structuring tip: This unit often culminates in a substantial research project. Apply rigorous methodology and demonstrate clear links between your findings and recommendations.
How to Structure Level 7 Assignment Responses
Decoding Level 7 Command Words
Level 7 uses the most demanding command words:
Critically evaluate: = Weigh evidence from multiple perspectives, identify assumptions and biases, make a reasoned judgement supported by evidence
Critically analyse: = Deconstruct complex issues, examine relationships and causality, question underlying assumptions
Propose/Recommend: = Develop original, evidence-based solutions justified against alternatives
Synthesise: = Combine information from multiple sources to create new understanding
Appraise: = Make informed judgements about value, quality or significance
The Argument-Evidence-Analysis Framework
At Level 7, every major section should follow this pattern:
- Argument – State your position or interpretation clearly
- Evidence – Support with multiple sources (academic, practitioner, organisational)
- Counter-evidence – Acknowledge alternative perspectives or contradicting evidence
- Analysis – Critically evaluate the evidence, reconcile contradictions, explain implications
- Application – Connect to organisational context and people practice
Critical Thinking at Level 7
The defining characteristic of Level 7 work is sophisticated critical thinking.
What critical thinking looks like:
Questioning assumptions: "While resource-based theory suggests that human capital creates competitive advantage, this assumes a stable business environment that may no longer hold..."
Evaluating evidence quality: "Although the CIPD's research provides practitioner insights, the self-selecting sample limits generalisability to..."
Synthesising contradictory findings: "These conflicting results may be reconciled by considering contextual factors such as..."
Recognising complexity: "A contingency perspective suggests that the effectiveness of this approach depends on..."
Engaging with Academic Literature
At Level 7, your engagement with literature should demonstrate:
Breadth: Draw on diverse sources across disciplines (management, sociology, psychology, economics, law)
Depth: Engage substantively with key texts, not just surface-level citation
Currency: Include recent research and emerging debates
Criticality: Evaluate the strengths and limitations of different perspectives
Recommended Core Texts for Level 7
- Boxall and Purcell: Strategy and Human Resource Management
- Taylor and Perkins: Work and Employment in a Changing Business Environment
- Cameron and Green: Making Sense of Change Management
- Cheung-Judge and Holbeche: Organisation Development
Academic Journals for Level 7
Human Resource Management Journal, International Journal of Human Resource Management, Academy of Management Journal, British Journal of Industrial Relations, Personnel Review, Employee Relations
Grading at Level 7
Unlike Levels 3 and 5 (Pass/Fail only), Level 7 assignments can achieve:
Pass: – Meets all learning outcomes
Merit: – Exceeds expectations in analysis, application or insight
Distinction: – Demonstrates exceptional critical thinking, originality or impact
To achieve higher grades, go beyond meeting criteria to exceeding them, demonstrate original thinking, show sophisticated synthesis across multiple perspectives, and provide evidence of genuine insight or innovation.
Common Mistakes at Level 7
- Undergraduate-level analysis – Description and application without critical evaluation
- Over-reliance on practitioner sources – Academic rigour requires scholarly literature
- Failure to engage with complexity – Oversimplifying nuanced issues
- Weak research design – Methodology must be robust and justified
- Disconnection from strategy – All analysis should connect to strategic implications
- Assertion without evidence – Every claim needs substantiation
- Ignoring ethical dimensions – Level 7 expects ethical awareness throughout
Getting Support With Your Assignments
Level 7 represents the pinnacle of professional HR qualifications. People Study Pro provides:
Intelligent guidance: for each assessment criterion at strategic level
Harvard reference generator: for academic citations
AI writing assistant: to help develop critical arguments
Plagiarism and AI checker: to ensure academic integrity
Curated learning materials: aligned to 7CO01, 7CO02, 7CO03, 7CO04 and all pathway units
Our platform understands the strategic and critical demands of Level 7 and provides tools to support postgraduate-level work.
After Level 7: Chartered Membership
Successfully completing your CIPD Level 7 Advanced Diploma, combined with relevant professional experience, enables you to apply for Chartered Member (MCIPD) or Chartered Fellow (FCIPD) status—the highest recognition of professional credibility in people practice.