The unofficial student’s guide to smashing group assignments

Do you hear that? The collective groan of students everywhere cracking a peek at their course profiles for the new semester and seeing those dreaded words: group assignment. Ugh, shudder away friends, but don’t run screaming over to unroll yourself from the course just yet.

Yes, group assignments can be little better than hell on earth, but there are a few ways you can cope with this burden – or better yet, ways you can excel. Read on to be enlightened on the unofficial ways you can smash your group assignment straight into earning that elusive HD.

Have more than one way to contact each other

I know you’ve all promised each other to check your emails regularly, but let’s be real, there’s going to be at least one member of your group who conveniently goes MIA a week before the big assignment is due. Grab phone numbers, create a Facebook group and chat, heck, even get their home addresses and the pub they most frequently grace. Just as long as there is more than one point of contact available to you when the inevitable happens. Your group will probably think you’re some kind of stalker to start with, but they’ll thank you later.

Put yourself in the shoes of the best tutor/lecturer you’ve ever hard

When it comes to presentations, literally nobody in the room wants to spend a minimum of twenty minutes listening to your group summarise a lecture they’ve all just spent one to two hours half paying-attention to. Get creative, go wild, and if all else fails imagine you’re the best tutor or lecturer you’ve ever had. What made this tutor or lecturer so engaging? Once you pinpoint that, it’s a cakewalk to inject a little liveliness into your presentation.

Interpretive dance is always an option

Really can’t find a way to keep your presentation entertaining? You know how everybody jokes about interpretive dance being a legitimate method of presenting? Do it. At least no-one will be able to say you weren’t creative. Bonus points for the number of artistically flailing arms you can get away with.

Ask each group member what they would prefer to work on, but keep it balanced

Your group project will be a lot easier if everyone is working on an aspect they would most like to be working on. That being said, make sure everybody has an equal work load to keep the group dynamic balanced.

Breezed through your section of the assignment and see that a fellow group member is struggling? Be honest and offer to help out your team mate by taking on some more work or working through their problem together. You’re all in this together, so you might as well make the most of it.

Check in regularly to see if everything is progressing smoothly

Even with the best intentions, it’s easy to let group communication slip with the onslaught of other assignments you’re juggling. But it really is going to be to your advantage to regularly check in with each of your group members to ensure they are on track. This way you can work out any problems with plenty of time to spare. Best to avoid the night-before-the-due-date panic that just stresses everybody out.

Graphics are your friend

There isn’t anything better than a creative PowerPoint to keep the crowd engaged. Go nuts with images, graphs and infographics to ensure that your audience continues to absorb the point your group presentation is trying to make. Plus, graphics totally make it look like you’ve researched the heck out of your topic, which is never a bad thing. Don’t worry fam, you’ve got this.

Shannon Coward

Shannon Coward is a third year Bachelor of Journalism and Bachelor of Arts student at the University of Queensland. She enjoys period dramas, doughnuts and a good nap. 

Image: Kaospilot Outpost Cape Town, Flickr Creative Commons license