group papers

Ugh. I feel your pain. My program also liked group papers/projects (although there were plenty of papers that were independently done). Just keep your fingers crossed and hope for the best in terms of group members.

We would usually try to divide up the work into independent portions so each of us could essentially work on our own mini paper, on our own time, without having to wait on group members to complete any of their work before working on our own part. Get creative about how to break the work up and make sure everything is being covered. Combine work and tweak for consistency when everyone is done. Set hard deadlines for when everyone needs to have their part(s) done.

Does your school provide a school-wide email service through Gmail or Microsoft?

If so, a good way to collaborate is to use Google Docs or Microsoft Word Online through that service.

Both programs allow you to "share" your document to other people and have them edit the paper simultaneously. It's a good way to keep track of who's doing the work and what is being contributed.

Best of luck!