“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much” is a quote written by Helen Keller who was an English novelist and poet. So the main question is what is the pros and cons of group work assignment? What does group work means? Based on my search on the internet, Wikipedia.org it shows me that group work brings the meaning a group of people working together temporarily until some goal is achieved. In supporting the effectiveness of a group approach to learning, Gatfield (1999) cites an empirical study conducted by Sorbral (1997) in one higher education setting which demonstrated that the students working in groups achieved a higher grade point average than those working in a control situation involving individual students If this point is viewed from students the temporary goal could be finishing assignments properly in a given time. Based on my view, group work assignment brings more benefits than disadvantages for university students. But despite its benefits, group work can be one of the most stressful, and emotionally exhausting part of a student’s life. According to Burns and Sinfield. “Many students see only problems associated with working in a group. Perhaps because they never get heard in the group, perhaps because they usually do all the work-whatever the problem, group work makes them unhappy.” One of the advantages of doing a group work assignment is that knowledge can be shared among students. By sharing knowledge, one student can generate or gain more ideas compared to students who works alone to complete certain assignments. To obtain knowledge by sharing, a proper group discussion must be done. “Knowledge only grows by sharing. You can only have more for yourself by giving it away to others.” is another perfect quote by Brian Tracy. It shows that there will be no loss of knowledge if it is shared but it only gives you advantage by making you knowing your knowledge better. When one student is better at a certain topic he or she can teach or import the knowledge to he or her group members. This technic is proved to be more successful because student may find it better as their friends explain to them. Students also would not fill shy or scared like in the class to clear their doubts with their friends. Therefore it clearly shows that knowledge can be shared among students is one of the key advantages of group work assignment.

Besides sharing knowledge between students, students become more responsible is another important advantage that can be gained from group work assignment. For some students, sharing project responsibilities with others provides emotional comfort as well as tangible value. Students can allocate tasks based on expertise. One student may take on creative tasks, while another gets involved more in the research and compilation. Spreading tasks among several students can also increase the production efficiency compared with individual projects. In some cases, students may also take on tasks outside of their comfort zone to expand their skills. Group work assignment makes student become a responsible person, by making them responsible it makes people to trust students and gives them good credits. “Responsibility to yourself means refusing to let others do your thinking, talking, and naming for you; it means learning to respect and use your own brains and instincts; hence, grappling with hard work.” is a perfect quote that explains the meaning of responsibility is written by Adrienne Rich who is a poetry. It is also said that group work assignment makes one responsible because it makes sure one completes their task. Responsible is mainly involved of hard working to complete the given task, it is because the group work assignment involves the group member marks as well, it make the student involved responsible for their friends success as well. This shows that if a student takes his task for granted, he is failing his group members too. Hence, group work assignment can truly shape an individuals characteristics in this case, becoming more responsible. Besides advantages, there is also disadvantages in group work assignment. The downside is that work is not evenly distributed among students and free riding in group. If the work is not evenly distributed it would not be fair to all members of the group. This could anger or cause certain members of the group to be dissatisfied. This felling of dissatisfaction can demotivate students and would cause assignment not to be properly done. Besides that, unevenly distributed work could delay certain group members progress as it may be more difficult compare to other member. Talking about free riding, this is when certain members of the group do not contribute yet still gain recognition for the remainder of the group’s efforts. This instigates dispute and irritation to the rest of the group as firstly they must carry out the work the ‘free rider’ has failed to complete, and secondly the free-rider can potentially achieve a high grade without contributing. To sum it up, work is not evenly distributed among students and free riding in group is certainly a downside of group work. As a conclusion, the advantage of group work assignment is knowledge can be shared among students, students become more responsible, and the disadvantage of group work assignment is that work evenly distributed among students and free riding group.