According to the study of sociology, people belong to two different types of groups that often overlap.

According to the study of sociology, people belong to two different types of groups that often overlap.

Secondary Groups:
These groups are based on a common activity or interest, and they’re typically large and formal. Some examples of secondary groups are college classes, sports teams, book clubs, professional organizations, social organizations, and work. These groups help us get our education, make and spend our money, and use our free time.

Primary Groups:
Primary groups give people a sense of belonging, appreciation, and sometimes love. Family is the first primary group we belong to. Later in life, we also form primary groups with friends or close acquaintances. Members of a primary group spend a lot of time together, know each other well, and provide support for each other.

Primary Groups within Secondary Groups:
Secondary groups don’t always give us the close relationships that we desire, so we often form primary groups inside the secondary groups. For example, a small group of employees at a store might become friends and help each other emotionally and with work. Another example of a primary group within a secondary group is when a few students from an EAP class become friends, study together, help each other with homework, and support each others’ experiences in school.

Next, 5 PARAGRAPH response to one of the following questions:

Think about your experiences in high school (a secondary group). Describe how a primary group of friends helped your experiences within that secondary group.
Think about your experience in any secondary group. Describe how a primary group helped your experiences within that secondary group.

Answer Snippet

A high school experience that a group of classmates assisted me in my learning was when my science class was required to present our science-related projects to another science class. For the science fair presentation, our science class had to present our group’s projects to a different science class. Through this, we would gain experience in public speaking and also answer questions regarding our work. In the course of the project, we were permitted to work in groups comprising three or four people. We required a display board with the information about the project, pictures, or props that depict the experiments, as well as notes on the manner in which we’ll display our work. We were allowed to select the members of our group and mine consisted of me and two great friends. Another crucial requirement for it was each member of the group was required to take part in the formal presentation of their project. …