Perhaps more so than with any other academic undertaking, you must resist the urge to procrastinate at all costs with group projects. The first thing you and your team should do is make sure you understand the goals of the project, i.e., what your professor wants. If there is any disagreement or confusion about what the assignment is, you will be very happy to be able to visit or email your professor shortly after you got the assignment, rather than having to admit you didn't get started until the eleventh hour.



How Will Your Project Exceed the Requirements?

With luck, everyone in your group was paying attention the day the project was assigned. If you don't have to seek clarification on what the assignment is, you can begin to talk about how you will fulfill it. Whatever your project is, there probably is not just one answer to the questions the assignment raises, or your teacher would not have given it. Dare to be great. Think big.

Think Small: Break the Project Into Its Constituent Parts

Once you understand what you want to do, the next step is to envision how you will transform yourselves from a bunch of people sitting around looking at each other to a crack commando squad of presenters with a polished and fascinating presentation on the project due date. The answer is baby steps.

Define The Roles Within The Group.

The reason the group should spend time focusing on taking a major assignment and breaking it down into manageable parts is that eventually you guys are going to get up from your meeting and you each will be responsible for something. Before you leave your meeting, everyone should know what part they are going to play in getting an A in your group project. Tasks should be specific, clear to everyone, and matched to people's strengths when possible. Maybe your project requires (among other things) a poster and a financial analysis, and you have an accounting major and a painter in your group. Clearly, you should assign the poster to the painter and the spreadsheet to the accountant. Group project, when everyone will get a single grade based on the combined efforts of the team, is no time for a business major to try her hand and fail at art.

Don't Be Afraid of Seeming Bossy

Unless you're told all the time that you're bossy, that is. A secret in the group project world is that even though it's a group effort, usually someone's in charge. To ensure your best grade, maybe you should consider taking on this role. Don't tell your teammates, "Hey, I'm in charge, here," but quietly keep things humming. Make sure everyone understands their roles. Suggest you all set up your next meeting before you leave the first one. This way, you can check in on the progress of what people have agreed to do. Your teammates aren't stupid, and they might feel that you're trying to check up on them, but you can put it on yourself. Tell them: "I'm a procrastinator. I need to meet face to face with you guys to keep myself accountable." Keep in mind that your professor, and not your teammates will be grading you.