Disclaimer: I do not give professional or personal advice. Before making significant decisions, ask an adult or trusted friend.

I can’t be the only one who’s been short-ended by a group project, but I’ve certainly dealt with more than enough in my school career. This last one has pushed me over the edge—not to mention my poor father—and I’ve decided to address the issue.

First, nothing now bothers my father more than group projects. Partially because he detests how they work: A group of students who are more often than not randomly paired and must depend on the others to complete their portions of a larger project that will take many tearful hours for one unfortunate and powerless student to complete on one’s own. The other part of “partially” is that he knows that I am always the unfortunate and powerless student who must spend many tearful hours to complete the project.

Secondly, from all of these terrible experiences I have had from group projects, I have learned how to protect myself from these situations and, if worse comes to worse, I have learned how to deal with nasty situations I find myself squarely in the middle of. Thus, I have decided to impart my endless wisdom with you. You’re welcome.

1. To avoid awful situations with groups, begin your project with an “aware” note. When the teacher gives the assignment and at the end asks if there are any questions, raise your hand and ask a hypothetical question: “If two people of my group of four don’t complete their parts of the project, do I present a half-baked project or do you want me to do their parts as well?” Depending on how your teacher responds, you can plot out your plan of attack on your project. More likely than not, your teacher will encourage you to present the project as is. Your lazy group members won’t be your burden anymore, and if they try to be, just quote your teacher from day one.
2. If you are concerned about your group right off the bat—say one of your group members is a particularly lazy person—approach the teacher early and express your concerns. With any luck, you could get a position of power in your group. Even if you don’t get direct permission from the teacher, try to get a leadership role in your group.
3. Try your hardest to get your group’s presentation onto Prezi. Many students like to complain that Prezi is too confusing or hostile toward users, but that’s a bunch of malarkey. Prezi is beautiful and just as simple as PowerPoint; it is a true group project maker. All of your teammates can be on the same page at the same time, literally watching each other work. No matter what happens, at least you’ll be sure you know what’s done. Nothing’s worse than worrying a project is unfinished because of miscommunication.
4. Speaking of miscommunications, make sure you get everyone’s e-mails on the first day. Your ability to contact everyone is essential, and it’s possible that you won’t see a team member until the day of the presentation (something that just recently happened to me). Hope for the best; plan for the worst.
5. If you are already in a nasty situation, don’t panic. Again, contacting your teacher should be your first priority. If things go down the toilet, make sure he or she knows your situation so you aren’t pinned for the irresponsibility of your teammates. No time is too late, so even if it’s the night before the presentation, give your teacher a heads-up so they know what to expect from your group.
6. Just focus on your part. Don’t panic and try to get your group’s part of your presentation or project together. Make sure you have a spotless section and you’re confident in your part. If there are any parts of the presentation that are extremely important, either be certain that it’s being done or, if you’re really worried, throw it together.
7. Do everything you can to contact your inactive team members. Even if it turns unfruitful, you can include in your report to your teacher how many times you tried contacting your group. No one can say you didn’t try.
8. No matter what happens, do not cave in and do your group members’ work for them. This is by far the worst thing you can do; it shows people that they can walk all over you and get a good grade in return. Your good grade. This might seem outlandish, but even if your teacher gives you a less than satisfactory grade, stand your ground and keep your partners’ jobs out of your workload. If your teacher is sensible, which they probably will be, as long as you make them aware of the situation they will respect your standing up for yourself and will understand your group’s deficiencies.
9. If all fails and your partners really did fail in doing their parts, present your part without fear. Assuming you’ve contacted your teacher, he or she will understand your situation and won’t be able to blame you for your group’s short comings. Just produce what you have confidently and let your teammates boil.

These tips might seem a bit overboard or perhaps a bit ruthless, but if you get stuck in teams that you can’t place your trust in, this is definitely the best way to keep everyone accountable for their actions. Again, and I can’t seem to stress this enough, don’t ever do your group members’ work for them. This is not only a sign to your classmates that you’re easily stepped on, but it’s a sign of disrespect toward yourself.

This technique of standing up for yourself might not always work out, and you might make a few enemies, but in the long run, you’ll feel better. The only regrets that I’ve ever experienced haven’t been all the things I’ve said, but all the things I neglected to say.