Most group projects become difficult when the team assumes everyone has the same picture of the task. Spend the first meeting reading the brief together and agreeing on what the final submission needs to contain.

Choose one place for files and one place for decisions. Write down who owns each part, when a draft is due, and who will combine the work. Give the editor enough time to make the final piece consistent; collecting every section on the submission day is too late.

Keep meetings short and specific. End each one with the next action, the owner and the date. If someone is stuck, ask what they need instead of waiting silently for a deadline to pass.

Before submission, read the whole project as one reader would. Check the argument, references, formatting and instructions. A coordinated final review often matters more than another round of decorative slides.