work assignment in english

Understanding Assignments

What this handout is about.

The first step in any successful college writing venture is reading the assignment. While this sounds like a simple task, it can be a tough one. This handout will help you unravel your assignment and begin to craft an effective response. Much of the following advice will involve translating typical assignment terms and practices into meaningful clues to the type of writing your instructor expects. See our short video for more tips.

Basic beginnings

Regardless of the assignment, department, or instructor, adopting these two habits will serve you well :

• Read the assignment carefully as soon as you receive it. Do not put this task off—reading the assignment at the beginning will save you time, stress, and problems later. An assignment can look pretty straightforward at first, particularly if the instructor has provided lots of information. That does not mean it will not take time and effort to complete; you may even have to learn a new skill to complete the assignment.
• Ask the instructor about anything you do not understand. Do not hesitate to approach your instructor. Instructors would prefer to set you straight before you hand the paper in. That’s also when you will find their feedback most useful.

Assignment formats

Many assignments follow a basic format. Assignments often begin with an overview of the topic, include a central verb or verbs that describe the task, and offer some additional suggestions, questions, or prompts to get you started.

An Overview of Some Kind

The instructor might set the stage with some general discussion of the subject of the assignment, introduce the topic, or remind you of something pertinent that you have discussed in class. For example:

“Throughout history, gerbils have played a key role in politics,” or “In the last few weeks of class, we have focused on the evening wear of the housefly …”

The Task of the Assignment

Pay attention; this part tells you what to do when you write the paper. Look for the key verb or verbs in the sentence. Words like analyze, summarize, or compare direct you to think about your topic in a certain way. Also pay attention to words such as how, what, when, where, and why; these words guide your attention toward specific information. (See the section in this handout titled “Key Terms” for more information.)

“Analyze the effect that gerbils had on the Russian Revolution”, or “Suggest an interpretation of housefly undergarments that differs from Darwin’s.”

Additional Material to Think about

Here you will find some questions to use as springboards as you begin to think about the topic. Instructors usually include these questions as suggestions rather than requirements. Do not feel compelled to answer every question unless the instructor asks you to do so. Pay attention to the order of the questions. Sometimes they suggest the thinking process your instructor imagines you will need to follow to begin thinking about the topic.

“You may wish to consider the differing views held by Communist gerbils vs. Monarchist gerbils, or Can there be such a thing as ‘the housefly garment industry’ or is it just a home-based craft?”

These are the instructor’s comments about writing expectations:

“Be concise”, “Write effectively”, or “Argue furiously.”

Technical Details

These instructions usually indicate format rules or guidelines.

“Your paper must be typed in Palatino font on gray paper and must not exceed 600 pages. It is due on the anniversary of Mao Tse-tung’s death.”

The assignment’s parts may not appear in exactly this order, and each part may be very long or really short. Nonetheless, being aware of this standard pattern can help you understand what your instructor wants you to do.

Interpreting the assignment

Ask yourself a few basic questions as you read and jot down the answers on the assignment sheet:

Why did your instructor ask you to do this particular task?

Who is your audience.

• What kind of evidence do you need to support your ideas?

What kind of writing style is acceptable?

• What are the absolute rules of the paper?

Try to look at the question from the point of view of the instructor. Recognize that your instructor has a reason for giving you this assignment and for giving it to you at a particular point in the semester. In every assignment, the instructor has a challenge for you. This challenge could be anything from demonstrating an ability to think clearly to demonstrating an ability to use the library. See the assignment not as a vague suggestion of what to do but as an opportunity to show that you can handle the course material as directed. Paper assignments give you more than a topic to discuss—they ask you to do something with the topic. Keep reminding yourself of that. Be careful to avoid the other extreme as well: do not read more into the assignment than what is there.

Of course, your instructor has given you an assignment so that they will be able to assess your understanding of the course material and give you an appropriate grade. But there is more to it than that. Your instructor has tried to design a learning experience of some kind. Your instructor wants you to think about something in a particular way for a particular reason. If you read the course description at the beginning of your syllabus, review the assigned readings, and consider the assignment itself, you may begin to see the plan, purpose, or approach to the subject matter that your instructor has created for you. If you still aren’t sure of the assignment’s goals, try asking the instructor. For help with this, see our handout on getting feedback .

Given your instructor’s efforts, it helps to answer the question: What is my purpose in completing this assignment? Is it to gather research from a variety of outside sources and present a coherent picture? Is it to take material I have been learning in class and apply it to a new situation? Is it to prove a point one way or another? Key words from the assignment can help you figure this out. Look for key terms in the form of active verbs that tell you what to do.

Key Terms: Finding Those Active Verbs

Here are some common key words and definitions to help you think about assignment terms:

Information words Ask you to demonstrate what you know about the subject, such as who, what, when, where, how, and why.

• define —give the subject’s meaning (according to someone or something). Sometimes you have to give more than one view on the subject’s meaning
• describe —provide details about the subject by answering question words (such as who, what, when, where, how, and why); you might also give details related to the five senses (what you see, hear, feel, taste, and smell)
• explain —give reasons why or examples of how something happened
• illustrate —give descriptive examples of the subject and show how each is connected with the subject
• summarize —briefly list the important ideas you learned about the subject
• trace —outline how something has changed or developed from an earlier time to its current form
• research —gather material from outside sources about the subject, often with the implication or requirement that you will analyze what you have found

Relation words Ask you to demonstrate how things are connected.

• compare —show how two or more things are similar (and, sometimes, different)
• contrast —show how two or more things are dissimilar
• apply—use details that you’ve been given to demonstrate how an idea, theory, or concept works in a particular situation
• cause —show how one event or series of events made something else happen
• relate —show or describe the connections between things

Interpretation words Ask you to defend ideas of your own about the subject. Do not see these words as requesting opinion alone (unless the assignment specifically says so), but as requiring opinion that is supported by concrete evidence. Remember examples, principles, definitions, or concepts from class or research and use them in your interpretation.

• assess —summarize your opinion of the subject and measure it against something
• prove, justify —give reasons or examples to demonstrate how or why something is the truth
• evaluate, respond —state your opinion of the subject as good, bad, or some combination of the two, with examples and reasons
• support —give reasons or evidence for something you believe (be sure to state clearly what it is that you believe)
• synthesize —put two or more things together that have not been put together in class or in your readings before; do not just summarize one and then the other and say that they are similar or different—you must provide a reason for putting them together that runs all the way through the paper
• analyze —determine how individual parts create or relate to the whole, figure out how something works, what it might mean, or why it is important
• argue —take a side and defend it with evidence against the other side

More Clues to Your Purpose As you read the assignment, think about what the teacher does in class:

• What kinds of textbooks or coursepack did your instructor choose for the course—ones that provide background information, explain theories or perspectives, or argue a point of view?
• In lecture, does your instructor ask your opinion, try to prove their point of view, or use keywords that show up again in the assignment?
• What kinds of assignments are typical in this discipline? Social science classes often expect more research. Humanities classes thrive on interpretation and analysis.
• How do the assignments, readings, and lectures work together in the course? Instructors spend time designing courses, sometimes even arguing with their peers about the most effective course materials. Figuring out the overall design to the course will help you understand what each assignment is meant to achieve.

Now, what about your reader? Most undergraduates think of their audience as the instructor. True, your instructor is a good person to keep in mind as you write. But for the purposes of a good paper, think of your audience as someone like your roommate: smart enough to understand a clear, logical argument, but not someone who already knows exactly what is going on in your particular paper. Remember, even if the instructor knows everything there is to know about your paper topic, they still have to read your paper and assess your understanding. In other words, teach the material to your reader.

Aiming a paper at your audience happens in two ways: you make decisions about the tone and the level of information you want to convey.

• Tone means the “voice” of your paper. Should you be chatty, formal, or objective? Usually you will find some happy medium—you do not want to alienate your reader by sounding condescending or superior, but you do not want to, um, like, totally wig on the man, you know? Eschew ostentatious erudition: some students think the way to sound academic is to use big words. Be careful—you can sound ridiculous, especially if you use the wrong big words.
• The level of information you use depends on who you think your audience is. If you imagine your audience as your instructor and they already know everything you have to say, you may find yourself leaving out key information that can cause your argument to be unconvincing and illogical. But you do not have to explain every single word or issue. If you are telling your roommate what happened on your favorite science fiction TV show last night, you do not say, “First a dark-haired white man of average height, wearing a suit and carrying a flashlight, walked into the room. Then a purple alien with fifteen arms and at least three eyes turned around. Then the man smiled slightly. In the background, you could hear a clock ticking. The room was fairly dark and had at least two windows that I saw.” You also do not say, “This guy found some aliens. The end.” Find some balance of useful details that support your main point.

You’ll find a much more detailed discussion of these concepts in our handout on audience .

The Grim Truth

With a few exceptions (including some lab and ethnography reports), you are probably being asked to make an argument. You must convince your audience. It is easy to forget this aim when you are researching and writing; as you become involved in your subject matter, you may become enmeshed in the details and focus on learning or simply telling the information you have found. You need to do more than just repeat what you have read. Your writing should have a point, and you should be able to say it in a sentence. Sometimes instructors call this sentence a “thesis” or a “claim.”

So, if your instructor tells you to write about some aspect of oral hygiene, you do not want to just list: “First, you brush your teeth with a soft brush and some peanut butter. Then, you floss with unwaxed, bologna-flavored string. Finally, gargle with bourbon.” Instead, you could say, “Of all the oral cleaning methods, sandblasting removes the most plaque. Therefore it should be recommended by the American Dental Association.” Or, “From an aesthetic perspective, moldy teeth can be quite charming. However, their joys are short-lived.”

Convincing the reader of your argument is the goal of academic writing. It doesn’t have to say “argument” anywhere in the assignment for you to need one. Look at the assignment and think about what kind of argument you could make about it instead of just seeing it as a checklist of information you have to present. For help with understanding the role of argument in academic writing, see our handout on argument .

What kind of evidence do you need?

There are many kinds of evidence, and what type of evidence will work for your assignment can depend on several factors–the discipline, the parameters of the assignment, and your instructor’s preference. Should you use statistics? Historical examples? Do you need to conduct your own experiment? Can you rely on personal experience? See our handout on evidence for suggestions on how to use evidence appropriately.

Make sure you are clear about this part of the assignment, because your use of evidence will be crucial in writing a successful paper. You are not just learning how to argue; you are learning how to argue with specific types of materials and ideas. Ask your instructor what counts as acceptable evidence. You can also ask a librarian for help. No matter what kind of evidence you use, be sure to cite it correctly—see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial .

You cannot always tell from the assignment just what sort of writing style your instructor expects. The instructor may be really laid back in class but still expect you to sound formal in writing. Or the instructor may be fairly formal in class and ask you to write a reflection paper where you need to use “I” and speak from your own experience.

Try to avoid false associations of a particular field with a style (“art historians like wacky creativity,” or “political scientists are boring and just give facts”) and look instead to the types of readings you have been given in class. No one expects you to write like Plato—just use the readings as a guide for what is standard or preferable to your instructor. When in doubt, ask your instructor about the level of formality they expect.

No matter what field you are writing for or what facts you are including, if you do not write so that your reader can understand your main idea, you have wasted your time. So make clarity your main goal. For specific help with style, see our handout on style .

Technical details about the assignment

The technical information you are given in an assignment always seems like the easy part. This section can actually give you lots of little hints about approaching the task. Find out if elements such as page length and citation format (see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial ) are negotiable. Some professors do not have strong preferences as long as you are consistent and fully answer the assignment. Some professors are very specific and will deduct big points for deviations.

Usually, the page length tells you something important: The instructor thinks the size of the paper is appropriate to the assignment’s parameters. In plain English, your instructor is telling you how many pages it should take for you to answer the question as fully as you are expected to. So if an assignment is two pages long, you cannot pad your paper with examples or reword your main idea several times. Hit your one point early, defend it with the clearest example, and finish quickly. If an assignment is ten pages long, you can be more complex in your main points and examples—and if you can only produce five pages for that assignment, you need to see someone for help—as soon as possible.

Tricks that don’t work

Your instructors are not fooled when you:

• spend more time on the cover page than the essay —graphics, cool binders, and cute titles are no replacement for a well-written paper.
• use huge fonts, wide margins, or extra spacing to pad the page length —these tricks are immediately obvious to the eye. Most instructors use the same word processor you do. They know what’s possible. Such tactics are especially damning when the instructor has a stack of 60 papers to grade and yours is the only one that low-flying airplane pilots could read.
• use a paper from another class that covered “sort of similar” material . Again, the instructor has a particular task for you to fulfill in the assignment that usually relates to course material and lectures. Your other paper may not cover this material, and turning in the same paper for more than one course may constitute an Honor Code violation . Ask the instructor—it can’t hurt.
• get all wacky and “creative” before you answer the question . Showing that you are able to think beyond the boundaries of a simple assignment can be good, but you must do what the assignment calls for first. Again, check with your instructor. A humorous tone can be refreshing for someone grading a stack of papers, but it will not get you a good grade if you have not fulfilled the task.

Critical reading of assignments leads to skills in other types of reading and writing. If you get good at figuring out what the real goals of assignments are, you are going to be better at understanding the goals of all of your classes and fields of study.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Make a Gift

English EFL

4 key points for effective assignment writing.

Methodology

By Christina Desouza

Writing an effective assignment is more of an art than a science. It demands critical thinking, thorough research, organized planning, and polished execution. As a professional academic writer with over four years of experience, I've honed these skills and discovered proven strategies for creating standout assignments.

In this article, I will delve into the four key steps of assignment writing, offering detailed advice and actionable tips to help students master this craft.

1.    Start With Research

In-depth research is the cornerstone of any high-quality assignment. It allows you to gain a profound understanding of your topic and equip yourself with relevant data, compelling arguments, and unique insights.

Here's how to do it right:

●       Diversify Your Sources

Don't limit yourself to the first page of Google results. Make use of academic databases like JSTOR , Google Scholar , PubMed , or your school's online library. These resources house a plethora of scholarly articles, research papers, and academic books that can provide you with valuable information.

●       Verify Information

Remember, not all information is created equal. Cross-check facts and data from multiple reliable sources to ensure accuracy. Look for consensus among experts on contentious issues.

●       Stay Organized

Keep track of your resources as you go. Tools like Zotero or Mendeley can help you organize your references and generate citations in various formats. This will save you from scrambling to find sources when you're wrapping up your assignment.

1.    Prepare Assignment Structure

Creating a well-planned structure for your assignment is akin to drawing a roadmap. It helps you stay on track and ensures that your ideas flow logically. Here's what to consider:

●       Develop an Outline

The basic structure of an assignment includes an introduction, body, and conclusion. The introduction should present the topic and establish the purpose of your assignment. The body should delve into the topic in detail, backed by your research. The conclusion should summarize your findings or arguments without introducing new ideas.

●       Use Subheadings

Subheadings make your assignment easier to read and follow. They allow you to break down complex ideas into manageable sections. As a rule of thumb, each paragraph should cover one idea or argument.

●       Allocate Word Count

Assignments often come with word limits. Allocate word count for each section of your assignment based on its importance to avoid overwriting or underwriting any part.

1.    Start Assignment Writing

Writing your assignment is where your research and planning come to fruition. You now have a robust foundation to build upon, and it's time to craft a compelling narrative.

Here's how to accomplish this:

●       Write a Gripping Introduction

Your introduction is the gateway to your assignment. Make it captivating. Start with a hook—a surprising fact, an interesting quote, or a thought-provoking question—to grab your readers' attention. Provide an overview of what your assignment is about and the purpose it serves. A well-crafted introduction sets the tone for the rest of the assignment and motivates your readers to delve deeper into your work.

●       Develop a Comprehensive Body

The body of your assignment is where you delve into the details. Develop your arguments, present your data, and discuss your findings. Use clear and concise language. Avoid jargon unless necessary. Each paragraph should cover one idea or argument to maintain readability.

●       Craft a Convincing Conclusion

Your conclusion is your final chance to leave an impression on your reader. Summarize your key findings or arguments without introducing new ideas. Reinforce the purpose of your assignment and provide a clear answer to the question or problem you addressed in the introduction. A strong conclusion leaves your readers with a sense of closure and a full understanding of your topic.

●       Write Clearly

Use straightforward sentences and avoid jargon. Your goal is to communicate, not to confuse. Tools like Hemingway Editor can help ensure your writing is clear and concise.

●       Use Paraphrasingtool.ai

Paraphrasingtool.ai is an AI-powered tool that can enhance your assignment writing. It reformulates your sentences while preserving their meaning. It not only helps you avoid plagiarism but also enhances the readability of your work.

●       Cite Your Sources

Citations are a critical part of assignment writing. They acknowledge the work of others you've built upon and demonstrate the depth of your research. Always include in-text citations and a bibliography at the end. This not only maintains academic integrity but also gives your readers resources to delve deeper into the topic if they wish.

1.    Review and Proofread The Assignment

Reviewing and proofreading are the final but critical steps in assignment writing. They ensure your assignment is free from errors and that your ideas are coherently presented. Here's how to do it effectively:

●       Take a Break

After you finish writing, take a break before you start proofreading. Fresh eyes are more likely to spot mistakes and inconsistencies.

●       Read Aloud

Reading your work aloud can help you identify awkward phrasing, run-on sentences, and typos. You're more likely to catch errors when you hear them, as it requires a different type of processing than reading silently.

●       Use Proofreading Tools

Digital tools like Grammarly can be your second pair of eyes, helping you spot grammatical errors, typos, and even issues with sentence structure. However, don't rely solely on these tools—make sure to manually review your work as well.

Effective assignment writing is a skill that takes practice to master. It requires meticulous research, organized planning, clear writing, and careful proofreading. The steps and tips outlined in this article are by no means exhaustive, but they provide a solid framework to start from.

Remember, there is always room for improvement. Don't be disheartened by initial challenges. Each assignment is an opportunity to learn, grow, and sharpen your writing skills. So, be persistent, stay curious, and keep refining your craft. With time and practice, you will find yourself writing assignments that are not just excellent, but truly outstanding.

Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

Common Writing Assignments

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

These OWL resources will help you understand and complete specific types of writing assignments, such as annotated bibliographies, book reports, and research papers. This section also includes resources on writing academic proposals for conference presentations, journal articles, and books.

Understanding Writing Assignments

This resource describes some steps you can take to better understand the requirements of your writing assignments. This resource works for either in-class, teacher-led discussion or for personal use.

Argument Papers

This resource outlines the generally accepted structure for introductions, body paragraphs, and conclusions in an academic argument paper. Keep in mind that this resource contains guidelines and not strict rules about organization. Your structure needs to be flexible enough to meet the requirements of your purpose and audience.

Research Papers

This handout provides detailed information about how to write research papers including discussing research papers as a genre, choosing topics, and finding sources.

Exploratory Papers

This resource will help you with exploratory/inquiry essay assignments.

Annotated Bibliographies

This handout provides information about annotated bibliographies in MLA, APA, and CMS.

Book Report

This resource discusses book reports and how to write them.

Definitions

This handout provides suggestions and examples for writing definitions.

Essays for Exams

While most OWL resources recommend a longer writing process (start early, revise often, conduct thorough research, etc.), sometimes you just have to write quickly in test situations. However, these exam essays can be no less important pieces of writing than research papers because they can influence final grades for courses, and/or they can mean the difference between getting into an academic program (GED, SAT, GRE). To that end, this resource will help you prepare and write essays for exams.

Book Review

This resource discusses book reviews and how to write them.

Academic Proposals

This resource will help undergraduate, graduate, and professional scholars write proposals for academic conferences, articles, and books.

In this section

Subsections.

EnglishForEveryone.org

Your resource for english worksheets terms of use.

Home | About | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Contact Us

• EXPLORE Random Article

How to Write an English Assignment

Last Updated: December 6, 2021

wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 20 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been viewed 48,544 times.

Writing an English assignment can be troublesome at times. The students lack the proper information which is required to write an assignment. Apart from this there are many more things which are necessary for an assignment writing and such things are highlighted in this article.

• Take second advice from a close friend. Some mistakes you may not see or be used to seeing, and a second opinion can help catch some of the mistakes that you won't see the first time through.

Community Q&A

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://www.openpolytechnic.ac.nz/current-students/study-tips-and-techniques/assignments/step-by-step-guide-to-assignment-writing/
• ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/understanding-assignments/
• ↑ https://www.uq.edu.au/student-services/learning/structuring-your-assignment
• ↑ https://www.uts.edu.au/current-students/support/helps/self-help-resources/academic-writing

About this article

Did this article help you.

• About wikiHow
• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• Do Not Sell or Share My Info
• Not Selling Info

Accessibility links

• Skip to main content
• Skip to main Navigation
• Skip to Search

The Difference Between ‘Task’ and ‘Assignment’

No media source currently available

• 128 kbps | MP3
• 64 kbps | MP3

This week on Ask a Teacher, we answer a question from Ramiro, who is in Brazil.

Could you tell me the difference between a task and an assignment? And how do we use them in our daily life?

Ramiro, Brazil

Dear Ramiro,

As you may know, both task and assignment are nouns describing an activity that you must complete.

A task is something you have to do. An assignment is usually a task that someone gives you to do.

Ways to use ‘task’

A task describes an activity that can be done in your daily life. But you can give a task to yourself, or someone else can give you a task to complete.

Any activity you want to finish can become a task. Think about a day in your life and the responsibilities you have. What are the tasks you must do during your day?

You can have one task or many tasks. For example:

My task today is to feed the cats before leaving for school.

Tasks are often connected to a bigger goal. Here is an example:

Although learning a computer programming language is a difficult task, I will do my best to study it for my future career.

Ways to use ‘assignment’

An assignment means someone is giving you an activity or task to complete.

For example, imagine your teacher says:

Our test is on Friday, so your assignment tonight is to study everything we learned this past month.

Teachers give students assignments every day. But students need to know how to take a big assignment and separate it into smaller tasks. Students might understand this example:

My assignment is to read the whole book. But luckily, I only need to read 10 pages a day.

Ways to use ‘task’ and ‘assignment’ together

Both tasks and assignments are often related to time. For example, we make lists of tasks to better organize our time. For example:

By 12 p.m. today, I need to do the following tasks: take out the garbage, walk my dog and go shopping.

“Task ” and “Assignment” are often used in work situations too. If you ever worked in a job, the boss may say:

Your assignment is to finish all three tasks before the end of the day.

Well, Ramiro, we hope this helps to answer your question.

And to our listeners everywhere, what question do you have about American English? Send us an email at [email protected] .

And that’s Ask a Teacher !

I’m Armen Kassabian.

Armen Kasabian wrote this story for VOA Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. Practice using the words ‘task’ and ‘assignment’ in the comments below

Ways to Use the Word ‘Strong’

The Difference Between Technology and Technique

The Difference between Try and Attempt

• Dictionaries home
• American English
• Collocations
• German-English
• Grammar home
• Practical English Usage
• Learn & Practise Grammar (Beta)
• Word Lists home
• My Word Lists
• Recent additions
• Resources home
• Text Checker

Definition of assignment noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

• Students are required to complete all homework assignments.
• You will need to complete three written assignments per semester.
• a business/special assignment
• I had set myself a tough assignment.
• on an assignment She is in Greece on an assignment for one of the Sunday newspapers.
• on assignment one of our reporters on assignment in China
• The students handed in their assignments.
• The teacher gave us an assignment on pollution.
• Why did you take on this assignment if you're so busy?
• He refused to accept the assignment.
• assignment on

Want to learn more?

Find out which words work together and produce more natural-sounding English with the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app. Try it for free as part of the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary app.

Free Printable English Worksheets For ESL Teachers

Browse our archive of completely free quality English worksheets and lessons (PDF and Word documents). Download, customize and print the resources, incorporate them in your lessons or assign them as homework to your students.

A Massive Library of Free ESL Worksheets by Category

If you are looking for ESL worksheets for different learning areas, select the matching category. You’ll find assorted lists of worksheets and other materials there, for all levels from beginner to advanced, for all ages from kids to adults.

Reading Comprehension Worksheets

Writing Worksheets

Grammar Worksheets

Listening Comprehension Worksheets

Idioms Worksheets

Phrasal Verbs Worksheets

Noun Worksheets

Vocabulary & Conversation Worksheets

Lesson Plans (coming soon)

Below, you’ll find all our worksheets sorted by student level.

ESL Worksheets for Adults and Teens (Intermediate to Advanced Students)

These are our available worksheets on different topics for higher-level students, like adults and teens. You can download, edit and print them all for free. When you open the worksheets, there is an option to download PDF and Word files.

Intermediate Level (B1-B2)

Esl writing worksheet: opinion essay about video games (intermediate), esl lesson plan: nature & environment (intermediate), esl listening comprehension worksheet: in the kitchen (intermediate), esl listening comprehension worksheet: travel and transportation (intermediate), esl lesson plan: summer activities (intermediate), esl reading comprehension worksheet: studies (intermediate), esl reading comprehension worksheet: global warming (intermediate), esl reading comprehension worksheet: at the workplace (intermediate), esl reading comprehension worksheet: job interview (intermediate), esl reading comprehension worksheet: holiday (intermediate), esl listening comprehension worksheet: school lunch (intermediate), intermediate-advanced level (b2-c1), dialogue/debate worksheet: fast fashion – the true cost of clothes (intermediate-advanced), esl listening comprehension worksheet: technology and relationships (intermediate-advanced), esl vocabulary & conversation worksheet: job interview (intermediate-advanced), esl grammar worksheet, future tenses: traveling (intermediate-advanced), esl writing practice worksheet: newspaper articles (intermediate-advanced), esl writing practice worksheet: creating concise sentences (intermediate-advanced), esl writing exercise: creating complex sentences: las vegas (intermediate-advanced), esl everyday idioms vocabulary exercises (intermediate-advanced), esl vocabulary worksheet: food idioms (intermediate-advanced), esl vocabulary worksheet: idioms & slang (intermediate-advanced), esl reading comprehension worksheet: raising children (intermediate-advanced), esl reading comprehension worksheet: dreams (intermediate-advanced), esl reading comprehension worksheet: giving advice (intermediate-advanced), esl grammar worksheet: phrasal verbs: office & business (intermediate-advanced), esl grammar worksheet: phrasal verbs: dating (intermediate-advanced), esl grammar worksheet: phrasal verbs: sports (intermediate-advanced), illustrated esl lesson packages for kids.

Exclusively available from JIMMYESL: The following bundles include illustrated vocabulary worksheets for various exercises, flashcards, and a certificate of achievement. They’re great to help young learners memorize new vocabulary with fun!

School & Classroom Objects – ESL Vocabulary Worksheets & Flashcards

Shape Names – ESL Vocabulary Worksheets & Flashcards

Body Parts – ESL Vocabulary Worksheets & Flashcards

Esl worksheets for beginners and elementary.

These are the ESL worksheets for young students, and for beginner and elementary level students. Again, you can download all worksheets in PDF and Word format, edit and print them for your lessons. Have fun teaching!

Beginner and Elementary Level (A1-A2)

Esl reading comprehension worksheet: in the restaurant (beginner-elementary), esl reading comprehension worksheet: france (beginner-elementary), esl reading comprehension worksheet: zoo animals (beginner-elementary), esl reading comprehension worksheet: playing football (beginner-elementary), listening comprehension worksheet: the pet competition (elementary), esl vocabulary worksheet: sports activities, action words (elementary), esl reading comprehension worksheet: the world of dinosaurs (elementary), list: prepositions of place: at, in & on (elementary), elementary-intermediate level (a2-b1), esl vocabulary worksheet: weather report & forecast (elementary-intermediate), esl vocabulary worksheet: let’s go shopping (elementary-intermediate), esl grammar worksheet: using articles (elementary-intermediate), esl grammar worksheet: -ed & -ing adjectives: describing feelings & situations (elementary-intermediate), esl vocabulary worksheet: describing people (elementary-intermediate), ideas to create your own esl lesson plans.

Check these ideas for engaging and fun ESL lesson activities, which you can use to create customized worksheets easily. Or browse our full list of activity ideas to find tons of inspiration and materials.

15 Engaging Community Building Activities for the Classroom

ESL Icebreakers: 8 Games & Activities For Students of All Ages

Fun ESL Warm Up Activities & Games for Adults & Kids

12 Fun ESL Speaking Activities for Teens or Adults

17 Fun ESL Vocabulary Games for Adults and Kids

120 Would You Rather Questions to Start an ESL Conversation

How to Make a Lesson Plan for Teaching English (The Definitive Guide)

The Definitive Guide on Teaching English Pronunciation

12 great esl listening activities & games.

150 ESL Conversation Starters and Questions (The Essential List)

33 Sure-Fire Strategies & Activities for Teaching English Grammar

18 Tips on Giving Great English Conversation Lessons for Adults

Discover a treasure trove of esl worksheets at jimmyesl.

Welcome to the ESL Worksheets section of JIMMYESL, where you’ll find an extensive collection of high-quality, printable worksheets designed to enhance your English language teaching experience. Our worksheets cater for students of all levels, from beginners to advanced, and cover a wide range of topics and skills essential for language acquisition.

Comprehensive Categories for Targeted Learning

At JIMMYESL, we understand the importance of targeted learning, which is why we’ve organized our worksheets into comprehensive categories. Whether you’re focusing on grammar, vocabulary, reading, writing, listening, or speaking, you’ll find a wealth of resources tailored to your specific needs. Our categories also include worksheets for different age groups, such as kids, teens, and adults, ensuring that you can find materials appropriate for your students’ developmental stages.

Engaging and Interactive Worksheets

Our worksheets are designed to be engaging and interactive, promoting active learning and fostering a love for the English language. From colorful illustrations and fun activities to thought-provoking exercises and real-life scenarios, our worksheets aim to capture your students’ attention and keep them motivated throughout their learning journey. We believe that learning should be enjoyable, and our worksheets reflect that philosophy.

Flexible Formats for Easy Customization

We offer our worksheets in both PDF and Word formats, allowing you the flexibility to use them in a way that best suits your teaching style and your students’ needs. The PDF format allows you to print the worksheets as they are, ready to be distributed in your classroom. The Word format, on the other hand, enables you to customize the content, adapt it to your specific teaching context, and create personalized learning materials for your students.

Exclusive Lesson Packages for Young Learners

In addition to our regular worksheets, JIMMYESL offers exclusive lesson packages designed specifically for young learners. These packages include illustrated vocabulary worksheets, flashcards, and certificates of achievement, making it easier for you to create fun and engaging lessons that help children memorize new words and concepts. Our lesson packages are a great way to introduce young learners to the English language in a playful and supportive environment.

A Growing Library of Resources

At JIMMYESL, we are committed to continuously expanding our library of ESL worksheets to meet the evolving needs of our teachers and students. We regularly add new materials to our collection, ensuring that you always have access to fresh and relevant content. Our team of experienced educators and language experts works tirelessly to create worksheets that are not only academically sound but also visually appealing and user-friendly.

Explore our ESL Worksheets section today and discover a world of possibilities for your English language teaching. With JIMMYESL, you’ll have all the resources you need to create engaging, effective, and enjoyable lessons that help your students achieve their language learning goals.

Start typing and press enter to search

Why Should I Use Work Assignment in Project Management Software?

• 1.  Project Management Basics
• 2.  Project Management Methodologies
• 3.  Project Management Life Cycle
• 4.  Best Project Management Software
• 5.  Team Collaboration Tips
• 6.  Agile Methodology Basics
• 7.  Agile Project Management Tools & Techniques
• 8.  Project Management Frameworks
• 9.  Resources
• 10.  Glossary
• Advanced Terminology
• Methodologies
• PM Software Features
• Basic Terminology
• Professional Development
• Agile Project Management

The work assignment feature in project management software allows work to be assigned to the appropriate person within the project team. Whether it’s creating a new project or adding in a new task, the work needs to be assigned to a resource for it to be executed.

After all, if the work isn’t assigned to someone, then no one knows who is responsible for ensuring it’s completed. Instead of relying on everyone knowing who’s responsible for what and passing it on to the right person at the right time, you can store all that information inside your project management software.

The work assignment feature can be used for new requests using dynamic request forms . It can also be used for workflows using the auto-assignment feature.

How work assignment request forms work

Dynamic request forms ensure that all vital task information is captured without asking the requester any unnecessary questions. The form questions change based on the information the requester provides as they’re filling it out.

These request forms are designed to automatically modify fields to match request types. One of the available modifications is the automatic assignment of resources based on specific form answers or selections. 

For example, if a request is created to ask for additional product testing, it can be automatically assigned to your lead project tester. This feature ensures that work is always assigned to the correct person, even when the requester doesn’t know who should be responsible.

To use automatic work assignments within request forms, one of your software admins simply needs to tie certain drop-down options or checkboxes to the appropriate work owners when creating the form template.

How auto-assigned workflows work

Auto-assigned workflows automatically assign work to team members when it’s ready for them to begin. This functionality allows users to auto-assign workflow stages. As tasks enter each stage, new assignees are added and automatically alerted to start their work. For example, the work assignment feature will allow you to automatically assign work to your editor as soon as it’s moved to the “content review” stage.

This auto-assignment approach also helps teams deliver faster by preventing rework since tasks will not be assigned until requirements and prior stages are complete. Plus, it reduces the number of tasks visible to each employee, allowing them to better focus on current priorities.

Team members cannot access a task until it’s assigned to them. By reducing the volume of work assigned in the system, you can optimize speed and quality, reduce multitasking , and lower employee stress.

Plus, as the project manager, you don’t need to remember to give people the go-ahead when it’s time to begin the next piece of work. The system will automatically notify everyone for you so that you’re not wasting time trying to contact people, and you don’t need to micromanage their progress.

Auto-assigned workflows can also be useful for larger projects that have separate phases with phase gates . Using this approach, the next phase typically is not approved to start until the gate has been successfully approved. The auto-assign workflow feature allows you to tie work to these phases so that people do not accidentally begin tasks before approval is received. 

To use auto-assigned workflows, you simply need to define each stage of your overall workflow and assign each workflow stage to team members. The system will then automatically send “Start Next Task” alerts to assignees when prior dependencies have been completed, and they can start their work.

Tips on setting up work assignments in project management software

Here are some additional tips on using auto-assigned workflows:

• Use flexible timelines: Work assignments are triggered by stage or phase completion, not by start dates. Therefore, your tasks must have flexible dates. Otherwise, people could be assigned tasks that are ready to go and not start them because it’s not the start date yet.  With flexible timelines, you can time the assignment to occur just before the work needs to start and then empower your team to self-manage and begin assignments as they come in. This means work can start early, if all the predecessors are completed, allowing you to move ahead of schedule and eliminate idle time.
• Use fixed statuses: With fixed statuses, when a user changes a task’s status, they can only choose from certain predesignated statuses. Admins determine which status should have predetermined follow-up statuses, and they choose what the follow-up statuses are. For example, if a task is “In Progress,” users will only be able to change the task to “In Review” or “Completed.” They will not see or be able to select any other status options. This is important, as work assignments are tied to specific statuses. Without fixed statuses, a user could potentially choose a status that does not have an assignee tied to it.
• Monitor workflows and assignments: There are many advantages to work assignments in project management software, but one disadvantage is that work could be automatically assigned to someone who’s not available, such as if a team member is out sick, on vacation, or has left the company.

Thankfully, dashboards can allow you to easily visualize workflows and pinpoint any issues with assignments. If you know someone is absent, you can see all the work currently assigned to them and decide whether it can wait until their return, or you can reassign it to someone else.

Benefits of work assignment

Without work assignments, requesters must know who the work belongs to and manually assign it to them. This results in more time filling out forms, and it increases the risk of work being assigned to the wrong person.

If you have a large company or new employees, they may not be aware of who’s responsible for each type of work . A task may not find its way to the right person, or it can get stuck in a certain step of the process if it's not appropriately handed off to the correct person at the correct time.

If tasks are not closely monitored and managed, sometimes a request can sit there for weeks with no movement due to it being unclear who’s responsible for it. When the work is then assigned to the incorrect person, time is lost rerouting it. These delays may even cause deadlines to be missed or work to go uncompleted.

Having the ability to auto-route requests to the appropriate person based on project details can solve all these issues. In addition, tying certain workflow statuses to certain team members ensures that tasks are automatically moved to the right person as soon as they’re ready for them.

Further reading

Auto-Assign Workflows to Increase Speed and Simplify Processes

Addicted to Multitasking: The Scientific Reasons You Can’t Stop Juggling Work

Accelerate Your Business With Wrike's New Custom Workflows

Basic Project Management

• Project Charter
• Project Management Stakeholders
• What is a Project?
• Work Breakdown Structure
• Project Objectives
• Project Baseline
• Project Management Scheduling
• Project Management Work Packages
• Project Management Scope
• Scope Creep

Advanced Project Management

• What is PERT?
• Network Diagram
• Risk Management
• Cost Estimation
• Feasibility Study
• Monte Carlo Analysis
• Project Integration
• Cost Management
• PMI Project Management
• What To Do With Certification
• Certification
• Become Certified
• PMP Certification
• Best Certification

Software Features

• Critical Success Factors
• Capacity Planning
• User Role Access Permissions
• Time Tracking
• Budget Tracking
• Request Forms
• Work Assignments
• Version Control
• Dependency Managements
• Project management Milestones
• Project Management Software
• Project Management Tools
• Project Management System
• Gantt Charts

Definition of 'assignment'

assignment in American English

Assignment in british english, examples of 'assignment' in a sentence assignment, related word partners assignment, trends of assignment.

View usage over: Since Exist Last 10 years Last 50 years Last 100 years Last 300 years

Browse alphabetically assignment

• assigned randomly
• assigned risk
• assimilability
• assimilable
• All ENGLISH words that begin with 'A'

Related terms of assignment

• seat assignment
• tough assignment
• writing assignment
• challenging assignment
• difficult assignment
• View more related words

Quick word challenge

Quiz Review

Score: 0 / 5

Wordle Helper

Scrabble Tools

Faculty Resources

Assignments.

The assignments in this course are openly licensed, and are available as-is, or can be modified to suit your students’ needs.

If you import this course into your learning management system (Blackboard, Canvas, etc.), the assignments will automatically be loaded into the assignment tool. These assignments and quizzes come pre-loaded with specific assigned point values. We recommend changing the point values to match your course design .

This course includes a series of assignments associated with most modules, as well as essay assignments that can be included in the course as you see fit. Some instructors assign multiple rhetorical styles, while others scaffold just one or two large essays throughout the course. For this reason, the essay assignments are listed at the front of the course and can be easily moved into the appropriate places within the LMS. The different rhetorical style essays are each split into at least two parts, with one for prewriting and one for the final draft.  They could also be combined into one assignment or split into several smaller assignments; for example, you could divide each essay into a prewriting, drafting, and final draft stage (which is how the argument essay is currently organized).

The “Writing Process—Revising and Proofreading” module also includes a discussion assignment that has students peer review whichever essay is assigned during that module ( Discussion: CARES Peer Review).

• Narrative Essay
• Compare/Contrast
• Illustration Essay
• Cause and Effect Essay
• Argument Essay

The optional “Essay Reflection” Assignment can also be paired with any of the rhetorical style essays listed above.

The assignments can also be broken down into smaller steps or combined/simplified as desired. Remember, these can be deleted, modified, or replaced within your LMS to meet the needs of your students.

• Assignments. Provided by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution
• Pencil Cup. Authored by : IconfactoryTeam. Provided by : Noun Project. Located at : https://thenounproject.com/term/pencil-cup/628840/ . License : CC BY: Attribution

• Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Meaning of assignment in English

Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio

• It was a plum assignment - more of a vacation really.
• He took this award-winning photograph while on assignment in the Middle East .
• His two-year assignment to the Mexico office starts in September .
• She first visited Norway on assignment for the winter Olympics ten years ago.
• He fell in love with the area after being there on assignment for National Geographic in the 1950s.
• act as something
• all work and no play (makes Jack a dull boy) idiom
• be at work idiom
• be in work idiom
• housekeeping
• in the line of duty idiom
• short-staffed
• undertaking

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

assignment | Intermediate English

Assignment | business english, examples of assignment, collocations with assignment.

These are words often used in combination with assignment .

Click on a collocation to see more examples of it.

Translations of assignment

Get a quick, free translation!

Word of the Day

to try to persuade a customer who is already buying something to buy more, or to buy something more expensive

Searching out and tracking down: talking about finding or discovering things

Learn more with +Plus

• Recent and Recommended {{#preferredDictionaries}} {{name}} {{/preferredDictionaries}}
• Definitions Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English
• Grammar and thesaurus Usage explanations of natural written and spoken English Grammar Thesaurus
• Pronunciation British and American pronunciations with audio English Pronunciation
• English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English
• English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English
• English–Dutch Dutch–English
• English–French French–English
• English–German German–English
• English–Indonesian Indonesian–English
• English–Italian Italian–English
• English–Japanese Japanese–English
• English–Norwegian Norwegian–English
• English–Polish Polish–English
• English–Portuguese Portuguese–English
• English–Spanish Spanish–English
• English–Swedish Swedish–English
• Dictionary +Plus Word Lists
• on assignment
• Intermediate    Noun
• Collocations
• Translations
• All translations

To add assignment to a word list please sign up or log in.

Add assignment to one of your lists below, or create a new one.

{{message}}

Something went wrong.

There was a problem sending your report.

Academic Assignment Writing Jobs Let Enjoy Freedom

Monetize your time and efforts

• WritingCreek is a freelance academic writing company which can offer you a trustworthy long-term cooperation.
• A simple application process, continuous career growth, a wide range of disciplines and subjects, are among the benefits of WritingCreek

Get decent freelance job

Simple application process.

Begin earning money in 3 days!

We believe you have all it takes

• Excellent communication skills
• Proficiency in the particular area of study
• Ability to conduct a research
• Original content writing
• Advanced level of English

Continuous career growth

Earn from $ 4 - 12 per page

• 1+ completed orders
• 5+ completed orders
• 80% + Success Rate
• 30+ completed orders
• 90% + Success Rate
• 50+ completed orders
• 95% + Success Rate

Reveal your skillset in academic writing

• Humanities 0 %
• Applied sciences 0 %
• Social sciences 0 %
• Formal sciences 0 %
• Natural sciences 0 %
• Other academic fields 0 %

Share of orders in the system for this branch of science

Some of the latest orders

Find the one that fits your expertise

You must have heard plenty of times about perks of specific jobs allowing to work without leaving your house on a permanent basis. They are true. Freelance occupation lets:

Determine your workload yourself. Due to this factor, you will not face the extreme fatigue when any amount of money for one more task doesn’t represent any interest because all you want to do is to fall asleep for a couple of days. With freelance writing jobs online, you are your own boss. You know how many regular duties you need to fulfill. You know how much time you need to devote to your significant other, your family, friends, hobby, sports, sleep, healthy lifestyle, etc. You are fully aware of how much time you need to spend on anything else but work to be happy. And only you can determine the golden middle!

Set the working hours. Striving to optimization of working process, you can set the hours when you feel like working most of all to focus on your tasks easier. When you have chosen one of the freelance writing jobs online , you are free to set the working hours. It is a very useful prerogative! You don’t have to ask if you can go home earlier today because you need to take your child from school or because you have a competition. You don’t need to provide explanations for being late for 15 minutes at the beginning of the day. You are the boss. Being one of the essay writers or those who accepted an offer of grant writing jobs, you become independent.

Choose tasks yourself. Having joined the team of freelance writers, you are given an opportunity to select your assignments: take the one you like and reject the one that seems not your cup of tea. You will no longer have to deal with a bundle of tasks you’d wish to burn. Freelance writing jobs give you a chance deal only with the tasks that are of interest to you. Thus, you will easily boost your knowledge and skills in professional sphere.

Such is a kind of position we gladly offer to experts in the wide variety of spheres:

• Human and social sciences. We invite for collaboration experts in Sociology, Psychology, Arts, Political science, Economics, Law, Management, Journalism, Pedagogics, Philosophy, Aesthetics, Linguistics, Law, and many other areas belonging to this group. On our website, you will find grant writing jobs to make use of your knowledge.
• Natural sciences. We are looking for freelance writers in Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Geology, Geography, Ecology, and Astronomy. If you have in-depth knowledge in Quantum or Cell biology, Space physics, or Nuclear chemistry (just as well as the rest of domains), and are looking for a position that gives you freedom in organizing your working hours – choose freelance writing jobs at biz.
• Technical studies. We are looking for specialists in Engineering, Informatics, Transport, Telecommunication, Architecture, Technology, Avionics, Food manufacturing industry, Computer science, Electronics, etc. We assume, we need writers specialized in any area of listed studies. Taking grant writing jobs at our website, you take your chance for independence. On our list, we include both the most common and the rarest spheres: from Radio electronics, Electrical engineering, and Modern architecture to Space syntax, Biological engineering, and Sumerian architecture.
• Exact studies. The connoisseurs of this group are always in high demand: due to the difficulties with assignments related to the subjects of this kind, every second student is looking for assistance with exact studies. Choose our freelance writing jobs! Make use of favorable terms of collaboration with a trustworthy website. Freelance experts in Algebra, Mathematical analysis, Geometry, Accounting, Trigonometry, Calculus, Discrete math, and Algorithms, welcome to biz.

Are you still hesitating? It’s high time to speed up your success with freelance writing.

You need to Log in or Sign up for a new account in order to create account

Please enter your email to proceed

By clicking "Continue", you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy. We`ll occasionally send you promo and account related emails.

• Daily Crossword
• Word Puzzle
• Word Finder
• Word of the Day
• Synonym of the Day
• Word of the Year
• Language stories
• All featured
• Gender and sexuality
• All pop culture
• Writing hub
• Grammar essentials
• Commonly confused
• All writing tips
• Pop culture
• Writing tips

Advertisement

noun as in responsibility, task

Strongest matches

• appointment

Strong matches

noun as in selecting or setting apart

• distribution
• apportionment
• appropriation
• assignation
• attribution
• authorization
• consignment
• designation
• determination
• specification
• stipulation

Discover More

Example sentences.

Yariel Valdés González and I faced these challenges while on assignment in South Florida and the Deep South from July 21-Aug.

They’re putting time into decoration just as they would in their physical classroom, and students can interact with the space by, say, clicking on a bookshelf to get a reading assignment.

For now, if the district moves to in-person learning, instruction in Carlsbad will take place on campus five days per week and students may engage in additional independent practices and other assignments at home.

The assignments must also respect the relationships between the elements in the group.

It’s very hard, by the way, to do real random assignment studies of couples therapy.

His most recent assignment was the 84th Precinct, at the Brooklyn end of the Brooklyn Bridge.

When Lewis was shipped off to Vietnam, his son was just three months old, and the timing of the assignment worried Lewis.

When Vial got that first assignment, she was just beginning her photography career, and Cirque du Soleil was only a few years old.

“For our winter issue, we gave ourselves one assignment: Break The Internet,” wrote Paper.

By the 1950s the rapid assignment of gender to an ambiguously gendered infant had become standard.

Consent to an assignment may be given by the president of the company, without formal vote by the directors.

A transfer by the lessee of the whole or a part of his interest for a part of the time is a sublease and not an assignment.

An assignment to one who has an insurable interest as relative, creditor and the like, is always valid.

When an assignment of it is made, the assignee may sue in his own name for rent accruing after the assignment.

In some states statutes forbid the assignment of such policies for the benefit of creditors.

Related Words

Words related to assignment are not direct synonyms, but are associated with the word assignment . Browse related words to learn more about word associations.

noun as in matter or business to be taken care of; happening activity

• circumstance
• office function
• responsibility
• transaction
• undertaking

noun as in arrangement for meeting; prearranged meeting

• consultation

noun as in job, position of responsibility

• officeholder
• representative

noun as in allocation, setting aside

• setting apart

Viewing 5 / 50 related words

On this page you'll find 85 synonyms, antonyms, and words related to assignment, such as: appointment, chore, drill, duty, homework, and job.

From Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.

Synonyms of assignments

• as in tasks
• as in missions
• as in lessons
• as in appointments
• More from M-W
• To save this word, you'll need to log in. Log In

Thesaurus Definition of assignments

Synonyms & Similar Words

• responsibilities
• undertakings
• enterprises
• commissions
• requirements
• obligations
• commitments
• appointments
• constraints
• designations
• nominations
• compulsions
• installments
• delegations
• authorizations
• investments
• installations
• instalments
• destinations
• emplacements
• ordinations
• deputations
• investitures
• anointments

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• depositions
• dismissions
• dethronements

Thesaurus Entries Near assignments

assignments

Cite this Entry

“Assignments.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/assignments. Accessed 17 May. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on assignments

Nglish: Translation of assignments for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of assignments for Arabic Speakers

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Can you solve 4 words at once?

Word of the day.

See Definitions and Examples »

Get Word of the Day daily email!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

More commonly misspelled words, your vs. you're: how to use them correctly, every letter is silent, sometimes: a-z list of examples, more commonly mispronounced words, how to use em dashes (—), en dashes (–) , and hyphens (-), popular in wordplay, birds say the darndest things, a great big list of bread words, 10 scrabble words without any vowels, 12 more bird names that sound like insults (and sometimes are), 8 uncommon words related to love, games & quizzes.

Should you give job applicants an assignment during the interview process? Be thoughtful about the ask

Hiring is a time-consuming and expensive endeavor. Companies need candidates who offer the right skills and experience for a given role, and who align with their organization’s vision and mission.

To find the best fit, many companies still lean on a strategy that continues to generate debate : the assignment. Some candidates believe their experience and interviews should give prospective employers enough information to determine whether they will fit the role. Employers have to ask themselves whether they are willing to turn off a strong candidate by asking them to do additional work.

Is the assignment valuable enough to the evaluation process that they cannot move someone forward without it? Sometimes it is—sometimes they help an employer decide between two strong candidates. And if they are necessary, how can employers make assignments fair and equitable for the candidate or candidates?

When done right, assignments help assess practical skills and problem-solving abilities, giving a clearer picture of a candidate beyond what their resume or interview reveals. But employers should be thoughtful about the ask. While it may make sense for roles that require specific technical expertise or creative thinking, it isn’t appropriate for all roles—so assignments should always be given with a clear reason for why they are needed.

Plus, they don’t just benefit the employer. For job seekers, an assignment during the interview process might also help them stand out from the competition. It can also offer a window into what their day-to-day in the new role might entail. Remember that the candidate should be interviewing the company, too. Having a test run of the work they’d be asked to do is a great way to see whether they believe the role is a fit.

However, there is a rift in how people perceive the assignment as part of the interview process. Workers today span many generations, each with unique values and expectations. Whereas older workers often prioritize stability and loyalty, younger millennials and Gen Zers are more focused on flexibility and work well-being, Indeed data shows .

This mindset impacts the amount of time and energy a candidate is willing to devote to each application. After multiple rounds of interviews and prep, taking on an in-depth assignment may feel like a bridge too far—especially if the expectations for the assignment are not clearly communicated ahead of time.

Some candidates are wary of providing free labor to a company that may use their work and not hire them. Hiring managers should be clear about how the work will be used. They may also consider offering compensation if the assignment requires more than a couple hours of someone’s time, or if they plan to use the work without hiring the candidate.

The key for early career candidates in particular is to ensure their time and efforts are respected. This is a win-win for employers: By providing clarity and transparency, they not only elicit the additional information they want from candidates, but they demonstrate that the organization is transparent and fair.

Equity is also imperative: Which candidates are being asked to complete assignments? Is the hiring team consistent in giving out assignments across ages, experience levels, and roles? There should always be a process and clear evaluation criteria in place to ensure fairness.

As we adapt to the rapidly evolving world of work, we must continue to think critically about each step in the hiring process. Candidate assignments can be a valuable tool, but only with appropriate respect for job seekers’ time and contributions.

With the right strategy, we can bridge the gap between generations in the workplace and build a hiring culture that values efficiency, talent, and integrity.

Eoin Driver is the global vice president of talent at Indeed.

More must-read commentary:

• Fannie Mae  CEO: Beyoncé is right. Climate change has already hit the housing market—and  homeowners aren’t prepared
• Congress could soon spell the end of employment arbitration—but it’s not all good news for American workers
• Outdated laws prevent gig economy workers from getting benefits. This pilot program shows the path forward
• No, combustion engines won’t be supplanted by electric vehicles—and they’re  critical for sustainable transport

The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of  Fortune .

Latest in Commentary

American families are struggling with debt. When it gets forgiven, the tax code treats it like extra income

The myth that money supply controls inflation is being revived. Here’s how it failed its most ardent believer—Margaret Thatcher

I grew up in Kenya’s biggest slum and know from experience: International aid must shift toward community-based organizations

Gen AI looks easy. That’s what makes it so hard

Ex-Lululemon CEO: Gen Zers want sustainably made and compostable products. Firms taking heed today will be market leaders tomorrow

Trade and investment data in the last two years dispel the deglobalization and decoupling myths as U.S.-China competition ignites ‘reglobalization’

Most popular.

Florida HBCU launches investigation after record $238 million ‘gift’ from 30-year-old hemp mogul is deemed likely worthless: ‘I wanted it to be real’

Amazon raised warehouse wages to $15 an hour 5 years ago. Today, half of workers surveyed told researchers they struggle to afford  food or rent

Billionaire investor Ray Dalio warns U.S. is ‘on the brink’ and estimates a more than 1 in 3 chance of civil war

Jeff Bezos revealed his secret to Amazon’s success 25 years ago: ‘I asked everyone around here to wake up terrified every morning, their sheets drenched in sweat’

Jerome Powell says it’s ‘different this time’—and Americans and their mortgage rates are a key reason why

Thousands of North Koreans stole Americans’ identities and took remote-work tech jobs at Fortune 500 companies, DOJ says

Can ChatGPT pass college assignments? We tested it out, with help from Wisconsin professors

In the era of artificial intelligence, cheating is only getting easier for students.

Some instructors say they can easily tell when students turn in AI-generated work. Others find it far trickier and will turn to online AI detectors for confirmation when their suspicions are raised. Educators everywhere are trying to create AI-proof assignments.

"The more conventional prompt and writing you ask students to do, the more likely they can bring in a machine to do that work," said Chuck Lewis, a Beloit College English instructor and director of the writing program.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tested how well AI can complete college-level work — and whether instructors can detect it.

Where did idea come from?

A Harvard student last year asked seven professors and teaching assistants to grade essays written in response to a class assignment. To minimize response bias, the student told instructors the essays might have been written by herself or by AI, but in reality, all of the work was done by GPT-4, a version of the chatbot from OpenAI.

The AI-generated assignments received mostly A’s and B’s, along with one Pass.

"Not only can GPT-4 pass a typical social science and humanities-focused freshman year at Harvard, but it can get pretty good grades," the student wrote in an essay published by the Chronicle of Higher Education .

How did Journal Sentinel's ChatGPT experiment work?

I followed the same methodology as the Harvard student.

Professors emailed me a smaller assignment they would give their students, not an end-of-the-semester research paper. I told them some of the work would be done honestly and other assignments handled by ChatGPT. In fact, AI did all of the work.

I formulated prompts for ChatGPT from the assignments provided. In most cases, I wrote more tailored prompts to ChatGPT based on what it produced on the first try. Often, the additional requests asked the chatbot to provide more specific examples, expand on its ideas or use a less formal tone.

The experiment was far from scientific. Several professors said they approached grading more skeptically than they would have had it been a student's submission, given the circumstances.

ChatGPT earned 1 A, 2 B's and 2 incompletes.

English assignment at UW-Whitewater

Course: Critical Writing in the Field of English

Assignment: Write a three- to five-page paper examining how a poem among a selection provided draws on a specific concept discussed in class. Include analysis of specific passages in the poem and explore the use of at least five literary terms.

Was this hard for ChatGPT: At first, the chatbot analyzed a completely different poem than the title provided. I submitted the full lines of the correct poem, prompting the chatbot to apologize for the "oversight." Additional prompts providing specific literary terms for the chatbot to incorporate into the essay helped refine the work.

Comments: The instructor said the paper "fulfills the assignment admirably, and brings an admirable depth of understanding" of the poet's use of the concept. The thesis statement could have been more specific, resulting in a slight deduction.

Political science assignment at Marquette

Course: Introduction to American Politics

Assignment: Write a short paper describing the three faces of power and explaining how each constrains you in your own life.

Was this hard for ChatGPT: No. The chatbot easily put together an essay. A second prompt asking to connect the faces of power concept to my life as a reporter provided more specificity.

Grade: Incomplete

Comments: "Without question, the submission deserves an A," the instructor said. But ChatGPT made one small mistake, which immediately sparked skepticism. While the essay correctly cited the creator of the theory, the reading associated with the assignment was from a different person.

The instructor ran it through two AI detectors, both of which suggested the work was AI-generated. He said he would confront a student who submitted this work.

Library and information studies assignment at UW-Madison

Course: Information Divides and Differences in a Multicultural Society

Assignment: Daily log of media consumption with analysis of tone, evidence, expertise of each source, roughly 350 words

Was this hard for ChatGPT: No. I submitted a second prompt asking for a less formal tone. While the chatbot cited legitimate news outlets, such as the Wisconsin State Journal and New York Times, in the log, the summaries described general topics, not actual news stories.

Comments: The instructor said there were no "egregious red flags" but one sentence stood as sounding like ChatGPT. Overall, he found the discussion of each media source "thoughtful." The log as a whole was "clear and concise." In general, he tends to give students the benefit of the doubt and wouldn't have suspected this log was AI-generated had it been turned in among a stack of others.

Education assignment at Marquette

Course: Child and Adolescent Development and Learning

Assignment: Find five sources for a research paper on an education topic of your choice, cite the sources in APA formatting and summarize each source in four to six sentences. (This is one part of a longer-term research paper.)

Was this hard for ChatGPT: No. It took just one prompt to produce what was submitted.

Grade: 88 (B+)

Comments: The instructor suspected at least some of the summaries were AI-generated because many were written in general terms. However, some of the sources cited appeared to be names of researchers he recognized, making him less suspicious overall.

"It raises an interesting question to me of if students use AI at a broad level (say putting directly in the prompt) or doing a more targeted approach," the instructor said. "I think if students searched for articles and then asked AI for summaries, I might be less likely to have an alarm bell go off in my head."

English assignment at Beloit College

Course: Introductory Literary Studies

Assignment: Write a 1,000-word essay about a selected novel with your own original analysis that engages with a New Yorker review of the novel. Choose from one of three selected topics as a starting point. Include at least three direct quotations from the novel. Give your paper a thoughtful title and underline your thesis statement.

Was this hard for ChatGPT: This was the most challenging of the assignments received and required several prompts to produce. The first essay was only 600 words and included just two direct quotations from the book. It cited a line from a book review that did not actually appear anywhere in the book review.  Attempts to expand the essay's length were unsuccessful. An instruction to underline the thesis statement was not completed.

Grade: Incomplete.

Comments: "I didn't need to read more than the first sentence to know this was going to be an AI ride," the instructor said. The writing was "bland," filled with "eager-to-please and generic book blurb-speak." It reminded him of what he tells students: Don't write a thesis nobody can disagree with — there's no argument to be made. The paper also made at least one error in describing part of the book.

The instructor said he would ask the student about their process, share his suspicion, have a discussion and decide on next steps. For now, no grade was assigned.

Contact Kelly Meyerhofer at  [email protected] or 414-223-5168. Follow her on X (Twitter) at  @KellyMeyerhofer .