Parker Smith

AP Lang

Mrs. Tomei

May 6, 2020

Group Discussion

To prepare for our group discussion, we annotated and revised our notes on each of the

articles to ensure that we were well versed on our topics. I was well prepared for a group

discussion because I made sure to take notes and write down possible questions I might have.

Some of the rules we set were: no interrupting during someone's turn, no outbursts, and no one

is allowed to leave the room during the discussion (we take this seriously). Most of the rules

were followed except the “no interrupting” rule because one person didn’t know someone else

was still talking. I presented my viewpoint with great confidence because I strongly supported

one historian while I disagreed with another. Because I believed that my historian presented a

better argument, I spoke reactively instead of proactively. This led to the other members trying

to dispute my refutations. I was very successful in listening and responding to the other group

members because I waited my turn before expressing my opinions. I used evidence which I got

directly from the articles to express my viewpoints and to refute some claims made by the other

members. When someone disagreed with me, I used evidence from the article to support my

views and explain why my opinion had a stronger support.

The other participants used evidence from their articles to support their viewpoints and

made some valid arguments like how some historians had biased points of view. There was one

case where one of the participants unknowingly quoted something from their article which

supported my viewpoint instead of theirs. This influenced the person after they made that

mistake and decided to change their argument to against their original viewpoint. When

someone disputed my viewpoint or claim, I waited my turn to peacefully and respectfully dispute

their perspective. I used a formal tone and correct grammar when I spoke to the other members
because this would help reinforce my viewpoint because speaking formally and being

grammatically correct shows that you care about your topic and that you wont change sides

easily. Many of the participants used a few hand gestures like moving your hands in purposeful

motions in hopes of getting the others to pay attention to you. We maintained eye contact

throughout the discussion to keep a steady flow of active attentiveness. All of us spoke in a

moderated but assertive voice which made the other members want to pay attention to what you

have to say. The group responded very well to problems that arose and came to a meaningful

conclusion where we each agreed and/or respected each other's viewpoints. The group

discussion was very effective at giving each of us a chance to express our opinions about a

certain topic.