In this guide
Use this material to examine your own work. Confirm current requirements, forms and dates with IStructE before applying.
Draw in proportion and add the dimensions needed to price the structure. The drawings do not have to be to scale.
"For estimating purposes" sets the level of finish
That phrase tells you what is enough. Somebody should be able to take off quantities and price the structure. They do not need construction information.
So: grids, dimensions, member sizes, levels, foundation extents, and the stability system clearly identified. Not: reinforcement detailing, bolt schedules or setting-out to millimetres.
This is liberating under time pressure, and candidates who draw to a construction standard run out of day.
What to draw, in order
- A general arrangement plan with grids and dimensions, member sizes marked, and the stability elements clearly distinguished.
- A section through the building or bridge showing storey heights or clearances, the frame, and the foundations.
- A foundation plan, which candidates forget and which the instructions specifically require.
- Elevations where they are needed to convey the scheme: routinely for bridges, selectively for buildings.
- The critical details.
Use the shortcuts the instructions permit: a part plan where the structure is symmetrical, one plan representing several identical floors. Say what you are doing (*"typical floors 2–5"*) so the marker knows it is deliberate.
Proportion is the thing candidates get wrong
Not-to-scale does not mean not-in-proportion. A 6 m span drawn the same length as a 15 m span makes the scheme unreadable and suggests you have not thought about it. Sketch light guidelines first and keep relative lengths honest.
Freehand is acceptable throughout, and the Institution's preparation guidance illustrates freehand sections that carry vertical heights and horizontal dimensions and nothing else. That is the standard: legible, dimensioned, proportionate.
Practical technique
- Practise drawing schemes under time pressure: the preparation guidance recommends exactly this, including practising with coloured pens.
- Different building sizes need different techniques and drawing scales to present clearly in the time available. Work out yours in advance.
- Draw the plan before the section, and take the section from it.
- Label everything. An unlabelled member is a member the marker cannot credit.
- Number your A3 graph paper sheets as instructed so the answer pack stays in order.
The order to draw in
- 01
General arrangement plan
Grids and dimensions, member sizes marked, and the stability elements clearly distinguished from the rest. Use a part plan where the structure is symmetrical, and say that is what you are doing.
- 02
Section
Storey heights or clearances, the frame, and the foundations. Take it from the plan you have just drawn.
- 03
Foundation plan
Specifically required by the instructions, and the one candidates most often omit. Quick, once your column loads are estimated.
- 04
Elevations, where they earn their place
Routinely expected for bridges; for buildings, only where they are needed to convey the scheme.
- 05
The critical details
A minimum of three, selected because your scheme depends on them.
Drawing under time pressure
Look for
- Keep relative lengths honest: not to scale still means in proportion
- Dimension everything an estimator would need
- Label every member and every grid
- Use one plan for several identical floors, and say so
- Draw freehand if that is faster for you: it is explicitly acceptable
Watch for
- Draw to construction standard when estimating standard is asked for
- Detail reinforcement or schedule bolts
- Leave the foundation plan until last
- Draw a 6 m span the same length as a 15 m one
- Forget to number the A3 graph paper sheets as instructed
Official sources
Selected publisher pages were rechecked in September 2026. Other source records were last checked in July 2026. Open the latest official document before relying on a requirement.