Do you prefer to work alone or work in a team?

When I was in college, I had experiences in both formats of assignments. In both ways, we learn during the completion of an assignment. However, as far as I'm concerned, I prefer to work in a team rather than alone. In fact, I think that I learn more from working in a team for a few reasons.

Firstly, working alone is more prone to errors. Before starting an assignment, the team members get an opportunity to clarify the objectives and the intended structure of the assignment. During the discussion, our misunderstanding can be corrected and our shortcomings can be pinpointed. Take me as an example. I once mistook the direction of an assignment. If it had not been for my teammates who reminded me, I would not be able to find out my blind spots, which could threaten my score as a result.

Secondly, teamwork educates me on the importance of collaboration in addition to competition. In fact, how to be a good team member is just like how to be a good colleague in a company. Only through cooperation can we achieve greater competitiveness. As a result, teamwork experience actually benefits our future careers more. For example, after I graduated from college, my first job is to build software for a high-value customer. The software was so sophisticated that I wouldn't be able to meet the deadline without cooperating with other fellow engineers.

Lastly, working in a team also teaches me how to be responsible. A big assignment is split into small parts of which every member is responsible for one. Everyone's contribution is indispensable for the completeness of the assignment. Working in a team is utterly different from working alone because your irresponsibility may nullify your teammates' efforts. In my own experience, I have to admit that working in a team actually puts more stress on me because I know the consequences of irresponsibility.

To sum up, working in a team for an assignment is a better way of learning. For one thing, our teammates can point out our shortcomings and bias. Moreover, we learn the value of collaboration which is equally important as competition. Most importable of all, we develop a sense of responsibility that will benefit our entire life.