‘Tis the season of final exams, group projects, presentations and mental breakdowns. A lot of times the struggle of studying for exams or writing papers does not compare to the struggle of working in a group. Whether it’s for your final capstone class, an elective or anything in between, group projects can be daunting. No matter what school, class or teacher, group projects seem to have the same set of students. Here are the 5 types of people you encounter during every group project:
The Control Freak
We all hate to admit it, but if it were not for this annoying person, the project would barely get done. This is the “I’ll just do it person” whenever people are trying to decide who wants to step up for certain responsibilities. This is the person who declares making final corrections and most certainly makes deadlines throughout the group project. They are seen as the “leader” of the group by the teacher, they are honest with peer evaluations and probably email the teacher personally just to chat.
The False Hope
We
all know the person who loves to say they’ll do this or do that but never
actually produces anything. This person always says they can do it but you
never actually receive that person’s part. When asked about the project, your
response is always, “almost done, just need Johnny’s part.” Johnny is false
hope. Don’t be like Johnny. (Sorry to anyone named Johnny).
The Clueless One
This person is most likely one of the most dedicated. They are in every class and make it to every meeting. But, they have no clue what is going on. When working together, they always ask, “What can I help with?” But you know they cannot do anything right and you will have to re-write whatever they give you anyway.
The Disappearing Act
Classic role. I honestly believe that if there is a group project with at least four people, one person will do zero work. This person skips class often, “can’t” make any of the group meetings and makes you wonder if they are still in your group or not. They never answer the group chat, contribute nothing and show up at the end to stand next to you during the presentation asking what slide they should talk about.
The Chill One
This is the one everyone aspires to be and you are thankful when you find out they are in your group. This is the “normal” kid in the group. They do their work, come to the meetings and are prepared for the final presentation. This is the person you text outside of the group chat to talk about all the other group members. You both know each other on social media and you both know each others friend's group but never really talked before. After the project, this is the only person you say “hi” to in passing around campus.
Is it bad I had exact people in mind while writing this?
