Battambang Teacher Education College

Subject: Academic Writing

Teacher educator: Sran Louth

Group4
1. Meouy Kongking 2. Phon Phealay
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3. Sing Bunthin 4. Leap Ravy

 CHAPTER 2.12
Working in
groups
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 talking points:

Why work in groups? Dealing with problems

Making group work

successful Points to remember
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Practice 2
 Some university courses expect students
to complete written assignments as part
of a group of four to eight students. This
unit explains the reasons for this, and
suggests the best way to approach group
work in order to achieve the maximum
benefit from the process.
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 Why work in groups?
Read the following text on p. 167. Working in pairs, and without looking back
at the text, decide if the following are true or false.

(a)  All students react positively to the idea of group work.

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(b)  Each group member always receives the same mark.
(c)  Students in groups can normally choose who they work with.
(d)  There are two main reasons for setting group work.
(e)  Most employers look for effective team members.
(f)  Group work at university has no connection to team work in
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companies.
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 THE IMPORTANCE OF GROUP WORK
Students studying in English-medium institutions, especially those from other
cultures, may be surprised to find they are expected to work in groups to complete
some academic assignments. For those who have always worked on their own this
may cause a kind of culture shock, especially as all the students in the group will
normally be given the same mark for the group’s work. In addition, students are
normally told who they will work with, although the group may be able to choose
its own topic with some kinds of project. However, there are important reasons for
this emphasis on group work on many courses.
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 First of all, employers are generally looking for people who can work in a team.
Most managers seek to employ people who are comfortable working in a mixed
group with different skills and backgrounds. So ability to teamwork has become
an essential qualification for many jobs, and this task provides students with an
opportunity to strengthen their experience of working in groups.
Furthermore, working in groups allows individuals to achieve more than they
could by working on their own. A group can tackle much larger projects, and this
applies to most research projects at university, as well as business development
in companies. Finally, by taking part in these activities students are able to
provide evidence on their portfolio and CV that they have succeeded in this
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critical area.
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 Answer
Why work in groups?
(a) F (a kind of culture shock)
(b) F (normally)
(c) F (students are normally told who they will work with) (d) F (3 reasons)
(e) T
(f) F (paragraph 2)
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 02 How to making group work
successful?
Below is a list of suggestions for making your group work successful.
The correct order (1–7) has been mixed up. Working with a partner,
put them into the most logical sequence, using the box below.

• Analyse the task

Get everyone to discuss the assignment and agree on the best
methods to complete it. At this stage it is important to have
full agreement on the objectives.

• Divide up the work fairly, according to the abilities of the members

Your group may include a computer expert or a design genius, so
make sure that their talents are used for the benefit of the task. It is
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most important to make sure that everyone feels they have been
given a fair share of the work.
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 • Make everyone feel included

Nobody should feel an outsider, so make special

efforts if there is only one male student, or one
non-native speaker, for instance. Make a list of all
members’ phone numbers and email addresses
and give everyone a copy.

• Finish the assignment on time

This is the most important test of your group’s

performance. When you have finished and handed
in your work, it may be helpful to have a final
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meeting to discuss what you have all learned from

the task. 9
 • Select a co-ordinator/ editor
Someone needs to take notes about what was
agreed at meetings and send these to all
members as a reminder. The same person
could also act as editor, to make sure that all
the individual sections conform to the same
layout and format. However, you should each
be responsible for proof-reading your own
work.
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• Get to know the other members
Normally you cannot choose who you
work with, so it is crucial to introduce
yourselves before starting work. Meet
informally in a café or similar (but be
careful not to choose a meeting place
that may make some members
uncomfortable, such as a bar).
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 • Plan the job and the responsibilities

Break down the task week by week and allocate

specific roles to each member. Agree on times
for regular meetings – although you may be
able to avoid some meetings by using group
emails. You may want to book a suitable room,
for example in the library, to hold your
meetings.
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 Making group work successful

(This order emphasises personal relations in the team; a more task-

orientated approach is also possible.)

1.  Get to know the other members
2.  Make everyone feel included
3.  Analyse the task
4.  Plan the job and the responsibilities
5.  Divide up the work fairly, according to the abilities of the members
6.  Select a co-ordinator/ editor
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7.  Finish the assignment on time                           

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 Dealing with problems

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 Working in groups of three, discuss the best response to the following situations.
You may choose an alternative strategy to the ones provided.
(a) In a group of six, you find that two students are not doing any work.
Not only do they not come to meetings, they have
not done the tasks they were given at the beginning. Should you . . .
i. Decide that it’s simplest to do the work of the missing students
yourself ?
ii. Find the students and explain that their behaviour is going to damage the
chances of all six members?
iii. Tell your lecturer about the problem?
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 (b) You are the only non-native speaker in the group. Although you
can understand normal speech, the other students speak so fast and
idiomatically that you have difficulty taking part in the discussions.
Should you . . .
i. Tell your lecturer about the problem?
ii. Keep quiet and ask another student in the group to explain decisions later?
iii. Explain your problem to the group and ask them to speak more slowly?
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 (c) One member of the group is very dominant. He/ she
attempts to control the group and is intolerant of the opinions
of others. Should you . . .

i. Explain to that person, in a group meeting, that their behaviour is

having a negative effect on the group’s task?
ii. Tell your lecturer about the problem?
iii. Let them do all the work, because that’s what they seem to want?
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 remember
● Working in groups is an ideal opportunity to make new friends –
make the most of it.
● You may learn a lot by listening to other people’s ideas.
● Negotiation is important in a group – nobody is right all the time.
● Respect the values and attitudes of others, especially people from
different cultures – you may be surprised what you learn.
● Keep a record of your group work experience for inclusion in
your portfolio of personal development (PPD) – to show to
potential employers.
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 5. Practice
Your teacher will put you in groups of 3-4. Together you have one week to research the history
and development of the town or city where you are studying, using the internet, and write a
1,000 word report. Remember to follow the steps listed in (2) above.
Your teacher will assess the report using the following criteria:
Very good Good Satisfactory Poor

Content: how well the different stages of

development are explained and organised

Accuracy and clarity of language and

suitability of style

Integration of individual contributions in

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overall report
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 Thank
you !!!
Do you have any
questions?
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