Excel for Absolute Beginners · Session 5
Move from two simple answers to smarter Excel decisions. Learn how Nested IF checks conditions step by step, then use that thinking to build Grade, Stock, Payment, and Student Grading systems.
Simple IF gives two answers. Nested IF gives many answers.
Lesson at a Glance
Before You Begin
Sessions 1–4 already gave you the foundation: cells, rows, columns, formulas, functions, ranges, the Fill Handle, larger tables, sorting, and Simple IF.
Session 5 builds directly on those skills.
← Review Session 4: IF StatementsWatch · Learn · Practise
Use the video for the guided demonstration, and keep this written lesson open whenever you want to slow down, revisit a formula, or understand the logic more deeply.
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In Session 4, Excel learned its first decision. A Simple IF statement asks one question and chooses between two possible answers.
=IF(D7>=41,"Pass","Fail")One question. Two possible answers. That is a Simple IF statement.
See the Problem First
Pass or Fail works because there are only two possible responses. But real-life decisions often have more possibilities.
Two possible answers.
Five possible answers.
Four possible answers.
Three possible answers.
The Simple IF formula is not wrong. The problem has changed. When the problem changes, our thinking must also change.
Meaning Before Mechanics
It allows Excel to check several conditions one by one and return different possible answers.
Do not think of Nested IF as one frightening long formula. Think of it as a sequence of small decisions written together in Excel language.
Think Like Excel
Suppose a student has an average of 45. Excel does not guess the grade. It checks one condition at a time.
Build It Slowly
Now we translate the Grade rules into Excel language. We will build the formula one decision at a time.
=IF(D7>=81,"A"If D7 is 81 or above, return A.
,IF(D7>=61,"B"If the first check is false, Excel continues.
,IF(D7>=41,"C"Now Excel checks the next boundary.
,IF(D7>=21,"D"If this check is true, return D.
,"E"))))If none of the earlier conditions is true, E is the remaining answer.
=IF(D7>=81,"A",IF(D7>=61,"B",IF(D7>=41,"C",IF(D7>=21,"D","E"))))If the average is 81 or more, give A. Otherwise, if it is 61 or more, give B. Otherwise, if it is 41 or more, give C. Otherwise, if it is 21 or more, give D. Otherwise, give E.
Why so many brackets? They are not random. Each closing bracket simply closes one IF function that was opened earlier.
Logic Matters
Excel follows the order we give it. It stops at the first TRUE condition. That means a badly arranged Nested IF can return the wrong answer even when every individual condition looks reasonable.
=IF(D7>=21,"D", ... )If D7 is 90, the very first condition is already TRUE. Excel could return D and stop.
=IF(D7>=81,"A", ... )For this Grade System, checking the highest grade first keeps the categories correct.
Excel does exactly what we tell it to do, in the order we tell it to do it.
There is no single magic order for every Nested IF formula. The order must follow the logic of the problem.
Excel checks a student's Average and returns A, B, C, D, or E.
=IF(D7>=81,"A",IF(D7>=61,"B",IF(D7>=41,"C",IF(D7>=21,"D","E"))))Check for A first. If not A, check B. If not B, check C. If not C, check D. If none matches, return E.
75 is not 81 or above, but it is 61 or above. Excel therefore returns Grade B.
Different table. Different answers. Same Nested IF thinking.
In this problem, checking zero first gives the clearest logic. If there is nothing available, Excel should immediately return Out of Stock.
=IF(D8=0,"Out of Stock",IF(D8<50,"Low Stock",IF(D8<100,"Okay Stock","Full Stock")))If quantity is 0, show Out of Stock. Otherwise, if it is below 50, show Low Stock. Otherwise, if it is below 100, show Okay Stock. Otherwise, show Full Stock.
50 is not less than 50, so Excel continues. It is less than 100, so Excel returns Okay Stock.
Nested IF can compare one cell with another, not only a cell with a fixed number.
Here Excel checks the Paid Amount in D8 and compares it with the Amount Required in C8.
=IF(D8=0,"Not Paid",IF(D8<C8,"Partly Paid","Fully Paid"))If nothing has been paid, show Not Paid. Otherwise, if the Paid Amount is less than the Amount Required, show Partly Paid. Otherwise, show Fully Paid.
The person has paid something, but the Paid Amount is still less than the Amount Required.
Now the skills you learned separately begin working together inside one worksheet.
Some columns contain information we type. Other columns contain answers Excel calculates or decides. This is the difference between a table that stores information and a system that responds to information.
=ROW()-3Quick refresher: creates the serial number from the worksheet row.
=SUM(D4:F4)Adds the three subject marks.
=AVERAGE(D4:F4)Calculates the student's average.
=IF(H4>=81,"A",IF(H4>=61,"B",IF(H4>=41,"C",IF(H4>=21,"D","E"))))The Average now becomes the information Excel uses to decide the Grade.
=RANK(G4,$G$4:$G$23,0)Compares the student's Total with all the other totals.
The Remark formula does not check the original marks. It checks the Grade that Excel has already decided.
=IF(I4="A","Outstanding",IF(I4="B","Very Good",IF(I4="C","Average",IF(I4="D","Weak","Very Weak"))))If Grade is A, return Outstanding. If B, return Very Good. If C, return Average. If D, return Weak. Otherwise, return Very Weak.
Change the original subject marks and watch the connected columns respond. Total, Average, Grade, Position, and Remark can all update automatically because the formulas are linked.
Troubleshoot Calmly
A wrong result is information. It tells you there is something to check. Work through the formula calmly instead of starting again blindly.
Excel may stop at a condition that becomes TRUE too early.
Text answers such as "A" or "Low Stock" need quotation marks.
Every IF function you open must eventually be closed.
Make sure Excel is checking the cell that actually contains the value you mean.
For example, > and >= do not mean the same thing at a boundary.
Confirm the first formula works before using the Fill Handle.
Guided Practice
Do not only read formulas. Predict what Excel should return. The goal is to train the thinking that sits behind the formula.
81 qualifies for the first condition: 81 or above.
99 is below 100, but not below 50.
The Paid Amount is not zero and is not below the Amount Required, so the final answer applies.
Before the Assignment
Think clearly, and Excel becomes powerful.
Independent Practice
Your assignment practises Nested IF in two systems: Grade System and Stock Status System. The workbook gives live feedback so you can correct mistakes and retry.
The goal is not speed. The goal is understanding. A high score is good, but understanding why your formula works is even better.