Thank You For Arguing Seminar: Self and Group Evaluation

Name: Rayan A
Working effectively and successfully within a group work situation involves meeting many
criteria, some of which are listed below:
- Use of class time
- Listening skills
- Cooperating
- Contributing ideas
- Recording ideas
- Preparing resources and visuals for presentation
- Attending group work sessions (in, and perhaps out of, class)
Based on the criteria above and whatever other criteria you see fit, provide details about how
you and each of your group members contributed to the preparation of this assignment.

Group Work

Yourself: Rayan
I made my part of the script in the first debate, which I do admit was quite long and got really
rushed when I was saying it. My redemption I think was that I polished Kabir’s part a little, so it
balances out. I prepared some stuff for the second debate, which was nowhere near what other
people doing response had prepared, but I knew it would be more than enough anyways. I
ended up talking for about 22 seconds because the other person took up too much time, even
though I told them I needed a minimum of 40 seconds. I’ll also add that everything I said in the
second debate was made up right there too. I think I did good overall, probably high 80’s from
past experience with marking.

Member #1 : (name) Sahara Suggested Mark: R Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4

Had good body language, talked to the jury, used visuals and some statistics (we don’t talk
about the mistake). Rebutted points effectively and made the opposition’s points seem
completely irrelevant. She also did all of her work early and was responsible with her work.I’d
say at least a 92.

Member #2: (name) Muskaan Suggested Mark: R Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4
Had limited time in the first debate for the response, so I don’t know how well that could've
gone. For the second debate, I’m just gonna copy what I wrote for Sahara’s second debate, cuz
that’s what I found. She had good body language, talked to the jury, used visuals and some
statistics. I’d say at least 88.

Member #3 : (name) Kabir Suggested Mark: R Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4

Was able to get his point across clearly in the first debate, but didn’t talk to the audience (aka
the jury). Unfortunately he wasn't able to prove himself in the second debate because he was
absent that day. But he did his fair share of work and helped me a bit with the opening
statement for the first debate. Overall I’d say he deserves at least an 88.

Member #4: (name) Saroj Suggested Mark: R Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4
He did a pretty good job with the first debate in rebuttal and did amazing in the conclusion of the
second debate. I don’t know how much of the preparation he did with his partners, but there
were no complaints against him, so I’m guessing he did whatever he was supposed to do. I’d
say he deserves at least a 94.

Member #5: (name) Aadit Suggested Mark: R Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4
I think Aadit was pretty effective in his introduction for debate 1 and his response in debate 3
was pretty good. I don’t like the fact that he exceeded the time I allotted for him. I told him I need
40 seconds to get in the new unscripted stuff. I ended up with 22 seconds, which was just
enough for the first point. He did all of his work and was done preparing for his stuff early. He
was a bit harder to collaborate with but his work was good. For example, for our response we
didn’t coordinate at all until our work periods during the debate.

Member #6: (name) Rajvi Suggested Mark: R Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4
I have no idea what she did to be honest. I think she did response in the first debate, and I think
it was pretty good, but not as effective as it could have been. I don’t really know how to make
what she did better, and I didn’t work with her at all, so I have no idea what she did in terms of
her preparation. Only including what I do know what she did, I’d giver her a 90 or so based on
Ms. Ravishankar’s marking.

Member #7: (name) Aaryn Suggested Mark: R Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4
He and Parth worked together well I’m pretty sure, and I remember them working together on
the conclusion for the first debate. That was a really good conclusion, with a banger of an
ending. The best part was that the opposition had no chance to rebut the ending quote, which I
think Aaryn and Parth capitalized on very well. I don’t know what he did in debate 3.

Member #8: (name) Parth Suggested Mark: R Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4
He and Aaryn worked together, and I remember them working together on the conclusion for the
first debate. That was a really good conclusion, with an awesome ending. The best part was
that the opposition had no chance to rebut the ending quote, which I think Aaryn and Parth
capitalized on very well. I don’t know what he did in debate 3 either.

All members contributed equally to this assignment: Agree OR Disagree

If you disagree, explain:

Your Presentation
What aspects of your presentation were good?
The presentation was usually fine if it were a traditional debate, the slideshow was good, the
group working together during the work periods was good. I liked how we had fairly smooth
transitions between speakers, and we didn’t have massive pauses of confusion. We also used
up almost all of our time, which I think is good. Our rebuttals and responses were mostly
reactive and really did a good job of pointing out flaws in their arguments/presentation as well as
actually negating their point.

What aspects of your presentation were not good?

I don’t like how I rushed my introduction, and sometimes the split of a part ended up with one
person talking for barely any time because the person before them was hogging all of it. Our
first debate used no visuals. There was always one section that didn’t do as well that ended up
costing us the debate.

How could you have improved? What might you change to make future seminars better?
We could have used more visuals, made sure that people split their time more evenly, and not
have so much to say and make sure that no weaker section that could cost us a debate next
time.
Other Presentations
1. Overall which presentation was the strongest? Why?
I’m going to be honest Mr. V, I don’t know. Mentally, I haven’t been the same since
school started. I’ve been spacing out a lot more recently, and sometimes I get overwhelmed by
hearing so many voices at once. Maybe it’s more like sensory overload, I don’t know. Like
during lunch today I was with a bunch of people at a table in the library studying for the bio test ,
and I was hearing (and comprehending words) 5 conversations at once. But I couldn’t like get
myself to do anything other than exist. It was kind of like I couldn’t make a decision on what to
do, no because of indecisiveness or something like that, but because it was kind of like I lacked
the ability to think. Wait, maybe that’s why I was understanding 5 conversations at once. Cuz all
that space that’s occupied by thoughts was empty, it was instead absorbing more information. I
really don’t know. Do you see a pattern yet? Lot’s of “I don’t knowing.” Back to reflecting, it’s
kind of like I sort of understand what’s happening and what the future will be, but I’ve kind of just
given up while still having drive. Does that make sense? I really don’t know. That’s a big reason
why I’ve gone from trying to control the future as best I can (9th/10th grade) to more just taking
it as it comes and figuring out what to do on the spot. I don’t even like regularity that much
anymore, and I have no idea why, but what I do know is that I don’t know a lot, even about
myself. Like in TYFA terms, I used to mostly be in level two of brain thinking, where lots of
thinking and reflection is happening. Now it’s more of a muddle between the Homer Simpson
state and the critical thinker state. Either way, lot’s of stuff going on in my head, and I’m trying to
sort all of it out.
I know this isn’t the place to vent, but I think that whole uhh spiel kind of explains why I
don’t know what group did best. When I write like the way I just did, I try to be genuine and let
my emotions control what I write. I wonder why I space out like that though, because I don’t
seem to be capable of thought during those moments, which is really trippy. To be honest
though, I think I need more sleep.