Do you prefer studying individually or in a group?

           On account of the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic dragging people into hell and death, government implemented Movement Control Order (MCO) as a preventive measure as soon as possible in order to prevent more citizens from being infected as well as fighting against COVID-19 pandemic effectively. Nevertheless, learning should never cease since one's wisdom comes from education and learning. At present, there is a hotly-debated topic that often divides opinion of both studying individually and in group. Taking everything into consideration, as far as I am concerned, I would prefer studying in group to studying individually. By and large, the reasons why I consider studying in group as my learning method is that group studying can improve learning spirits, relax our minds and bring us numerable conveniences.

            From my point of view, I’m absolutely certain that one of the crucial benefits brought by group studying is the improvement of learning spirits. So far as we know, many a study revealed that the environment will unconsciously affect one's learning efficiency. It is a common belief that we may have a lower learning spirit when studying individually at home for some reason or other. Not only that, we will also feel a sense of loneliness in the event of studying alone for a long time. However, we will have a higher learning spirit when studying with friends in group because the situation of studying together with others in the same place and at the same time is quite beneficial for us to study attentively and vigorously. If someone starts to feel tired or wants to give up studying, the others in a group can encourage him with full affection and attention. In short, it goes without saying that studying in group can effectively increase our learning spirits and abstain from procrastination through encouragement and motivation, which helps us get one more step closer to success.

            On top of that, studying in group, without any doubt, can reduce test anxiety and make our studying process be on a platter. It is deeply believed that group studying is relatively relaxing and efficient as compared with studying individually. When studying alone for a long period of time, loneliness will come to haunt us, then we may easily be stressed out and unable to concentrate on our studies. On the other hand, while studying in group, we must have an opportunity to get along with our friends face-to-face; by this, we can interact and communicate with each other as well as sharing our feelings instead of bottling up negative emotions. Needless to say, this may gently calm our minds, thereby providing continuous inner power for us to study well. As the saying goes, “kill two birds with one stone,” studying in group not only relaxes our minds, but also nurtures friendships among group members quietly in the dark. Briefly, another advantage if we study in group is that we are not always feeling stressed out during the very monotonous and draining studying process.

           Last but not least, there is no doubt that group studying really brings us multitudinous convenience. In such a learning method, we can ask our friends directly if there is any question that cannot be solved ourselves and this way is more efficient to help us understand something intricate. In addition, study groups are a great environment to promote discussion. By taking part in discussion towards a topic in group, we may receive numerous viewpoints from others which help us understand the topic and reach our own conclusion. Furthermore, we can also compare our class notes with others to clarify some essential concepts and fill the gaps later. Once in a while, we attempt to teach knowledge and concepts to other group members and this may help us reinforce our mastery of those knowledge and concepts to a degree. Since everyone has his own individual talents and unique insights, joining a study group makes learning much more efficient, fulfilling and enjoyable ——two heads are better than one. As a result, when it comes to convenience and learning efficiency, group studying is undoubtedly considered as the best studying manners.

            In a nutshell, there are a lot of benefits brought by group studying. Weighing up both sides of the argument, in my way of thinking, studying in a group helps us increase learning spirits, reduce test anxiety and also bring us uncountable conveniences. Along with development of the times and progress of society, the lives of all the people in such a fascinating world have been greatly changed than before. As the pace of people’s lifestyle speeds up, our living pressure is getting heavier; hence, we have to carry out group studying as a relaxing studying method. Overall, there is a saying going like this, “If a man empties his purse into his head, no man can take it away from him, an investment in knowledge always pays the best interest,” beyond all dispute, education is always being considered as one of the most essential part of our lives' journey, so we ought to invest our precious time in studying. Before the end of this essay, I would like to send you a poem on once begun:

If a task is once begun,

Never leave it till it’s done.

Be the labor great or small,

Do it well or not at all.