The Writing Center • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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 he or she 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 her 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, he or she still has 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 she already knows 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 she or he expects.

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

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Assignment Agreement Template

Use our assignment agreement to transfer contractual obligations.

Assignment Agreement Template

Updated February 1, 2024 Reviewed by Brooke Davis

An assignment agreement is a legal document that transfers rights, responsibilities, and benefits from one party (the “assignor”) to another (the “assignee”). You can use it to reassign debt, real estate, intellectual property, leases, insurance policies, and government contracts.

What Is an Assignment Agreement?

What to include in an assignment agreement, how to assign a contract, how to write an assignment agreement, assignment agreement sample.

trademark assignment agreement template

Partnership Interest

An assignment agreement effectively transfers the rights and obligations of a person or entity under an initial contract to another. The original party is the assignor, and the assignee takes on the contract’s duties and benefits.

It’s often a requirement to let the other party in the original deal know the contract is being transferred. It’s essential to create this form thoughtfully, as a poorly written assignment agreement may leave the assignor obligated to certain aspects of the deal.

The most common use of an assignment agreement occurs when the assignor no longer can or wants to continue with a contract. Instead of leaving the initial party or breaking the agreement, the assignor can transfer the contract to another individual or entity.

For example, imagine a small residential trash collection service plans to close its operations. Before it closes, the business brokers a deal to send its accounts to a curbside pickup company providing similar services. After notifying account holders, the latter company continues the service while receiving payment.

Create a thorough assignment agreement by including the following information:

  • Effective Date:  The document must indicate when the transfer of rights and obligations occurs.
  • Parties:  Include the full name and address of the assignor, assignee, and obligor (if required).
  • Assignment:  Provide details that identify the original contract being assigned.
  • Third-Party Approval: If the initial contract requires the approval of the obligor, note the date the approval was received.
  • Signatures:  Both parties must sign and date the printed assignment contract template once completed. If a notary is required, wait until you are in the presence of the official and present identification before signing. Failure to do so may result in having to redo the assignment contract.

Review the Contract Terms

Carefully review the terms of the existing contract. Some contracts may have specific provisions regarding assignment. Check for any restrictions or requirements related to assigning the contract.

Check for Anti-Assignment Clauses

Some contracts include anti-assignment clauses that prohibit or restrict the ability to assign the contract without the consent of the other party. If there’s such a clause, you may need the consent of the original parties to proceed.

Determine Assignability

Ensure that the contract is assignable. Some contracts, especially those involving personal services or unique skills, may not be assignable without the other party’s agreement.

Get Consent from the Other Party (if Required)

If the contract includes an anti-assignment clause or requires consent for assignment, seek written consent from the other party. This can often be done through a formal amendment to the contract.

Prepare an Assignment Agreement

Draft an assignment agreement that clearly outlines the transfer of rights and obligations from the assignor (the party assigning the contract) to the assignee (the party receiving the assignment). Include details such as the names of the parties, the effective date of the assignment, and the specific rights and obligations being transferred.

Include Original Contract Information

Attach a copy of the original contract or reference its key terms in the assignment agreement. This helps in clearly identifying the contract being assigned.

Execution of the Assignment Agreement

Both the assignor and assignee should sign the assignment agreement. Signatures should be notarized if required by the contract or local laws.

Notice to the Other Party

Provide notice of the assignment to the non-assigning party. This can be done formally through a letter or as specified in the contract.

File the Assignment

File the assignment agreement with the appropriate parties or entities as required. This may include filing with the original contracting party or relevant government authorities.

Communicate with Third Parties

Inform any relevant third parties, such as suppliers, customers, or service providers, about the assignment to ensure a smooth transition.

Keep Copies for Records

Keep copies of the assignment agreement, original contract, and any related communications for your records.

Here’s a list of steps on how to write an assignment agreement:

Step 1 – List the Assignor’s and Assignee’s Details

List all of the pertinent information regarding the parties involved in the transfer. This information includes their full names, addresses, phone numbers, and other relevant contact information.

This step clarifies who’s transferring the initial contract and who will take on its responsibilities.

Step 2 – Provide Original Contract Information

Describing and identifying the contract that is effectively being reassigned is essential. This step avoids any confusion after the transfer has been completed.

Step 3 – State the Consideration

Provide accurate information regarding the amount the assignee pays to assume the contract. This figure should include taxes and any relevant peripheral expenses. If the assignee will pay the consideration over a period, indicate the method and installments.

Step 4 – Provide Any Terms and Conditions

The terms and conditions of any agreement are crucial to a smooth transaction. You must cover issues such as dispute resolution, governing law, obligor approval, and any relevant clauses.

Step 5 – Obtain Signatures

Both parties must sign the agreement to ensure it is legally binding and that they have read and understood the contract. If a notary is required, wait to sign off in their presence.

Assignment Agreement Template

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Assignment Agreement Template

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Tips for Allocating Work Assignments

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It’s probably a no-brainer that improper delegation of tasks has obvious consequences, such as increased frustration, stress and workload. The quality of work and team morale may suffer while trust, productivity, efficiency and profitability dwindles. In such a situation, the organizational structure fails, clients’ trust dies, reports of unaccountability emerge, staff may underperform and project failure becomes imminent. This is why it’s vital to ensure that work assignments are delegated efficiently and to the appropriate team member.

Approximately 94% of companies lack exceptionally good management. The 6% of firms with excellent management culture and style tend to be dedicated to their workforce and team building rather than external stakeholders.

Achieving excellence in organizational operations is an enormous challenge for most organizations and begins with the manner and style of delegation of assignments.

Management has to choose the right team , build trust and accountability , develop its team through delegation, manage performances, have tough conversations and acknowledge and reward excellence to enhance employee engagement and lower turnover.

What exactly are work assignments?

Work assignments are remarkable tools for enhancing employee growth and must be managed deliberately; otherwise, they could limit efforts towards building a diverse workforce.

Evidence shows that experimental learning accounts for 70% of leadership development , particularly, effective delegation of work assignments.

Work assignments are tasks that are deliberately designed for organizational purposes. They are allocated to staff to achieve results. In the simplest terms, these assignments are activities or projects for a specific end. Work assignments should come with a task description, deadline and expected results.

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Work assignments tips

Why delegate work assignments?

Employee empowerment.

Managers with great team building skills understand the importance of instilling trust in team members for enhanced morale and performance because they believe they are wired to drive organizational objectives.

Strengthens trust

Assigning work means trusting the employee’s ability to achieve a particular result through task performance. Frequent delegation builds the trust needed to create collaborative skills within organizations.

Helps lower workload

Successful delegation of work assignments lessens the burden of tasks that pile up. It saves the time needed to focus on other important organizational tasks and goals.

Planning for fair distribution of work assignments

Most industries, such as hospitality, telecommunications and healthcare need to ensure uninterrupted service delivery. At the same time, they must consider the health of their employees, who need regular breaks and leave to stay productive and rested.

With the rise of flexi-workers , ensuring everyone gets a fair share of leave could become a logistics nightmare for business owners. This also applies to contractual staff who may feel overburdened.

When planning and distributing work assignments, managers must take into account employees’ vacation days, sick leave, emergency absences and so on. Things to consider include, but are not limited to:

  • Employees should have their preferences fulfilled to avoid bias.
  • Organizations should try to accommodate employees’ requests for rest days as much as possible.
  • The duty roster should be planned in such a way as to allow enough time for deadlines and urgent tasks.
  • There is also an allowance for fair leave/day swapping among employees.

The manager planning the duty roster should keep track of requests and demands in real time. This enables the planner to synchronize replacement leave and overtime pay calculations at the end of the roster period.

Delegating work assignments to employees

Create an effective work plan.

An effective work plan is the key to the success of every project. Approximately 58% of organisations don’t understand the value of project management, which explains why most projects fail as soon as they begin.

The planning phase determines either the failure or success of such project. Organizations must have a solid work plan, including a weekly action plan for greater efficiency and productivity. You can create a good work plan by following the steps below.

  • Set specific goals that include actual numbers and quantifiable terms and scope.
  • Lay out the objectives and deliverables, including the project schedule. Consider rewarding your team based on achievement. The incentives will boost productivity.
  • Brainstorm and detail the key resources that your team needs. Brainstorming and planning will help colleagues become creative, forecast unforeseen obstacles and promote teamwork. Converse with your them about the resources that can help them achieve set objectives and give them available resources.
  • Identify task sequencing . The schedule of a project outlines activity sequencing, tracks performance and calculates the duration of tasks sequences.

Delegate assignments based on aptitude

By assigning work to employees based on their areas of strength and skills, you set them up to excel. This means you need to understand your employees’ strengths, preferences and weaknesses. You may also allow your staff to choose their preferred tasks. This is important for building trust.

Give your team prior notice

No need to stress everyone out and kill their morale with endless impromptu and urgent work assignments. As far as is feasible, try to give your employees a couple of days’ notice at least.

Foster project ownership

Encourage your team to ask questions for clarity. Determine your availability and take the time to give them clear instructions, feedback and assistance. Giving them a sense of ownership allows your team members to see the big picture.

Real delegation is when you encourage your team to own the project. This gives them the authority to take initiative for the execution process.

Most companies spend hours and weeks planning and generating roasters manually when they can use TimeTrack Duty Roster to save time. TimeTrack Duty Roster creates a perfect overview of both employers and employees and allow managers to personalize shifts according to preferences.

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TimeTrack Duty Roster

Monitoring work assignments

Monitoring work assignments helps your team complete their duties successfully and meet the desired outcomes. There’s no need to micromanage, but you can certainly help keep employees focused while tracking processes.

Ensure an effective project plan

  • Compile a clear project outline, including a schedule. Collaborate with your team to create the plan and include the project scope, tasks, deadlines and resources. Creating a timeline is vital; use a flow chart to make things clearer. A clear work plan helps you understand the key performance indicators you can monitor.

Set SMART goals

  • One of the key ways to monitor assigned work is to create specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound goals. This SMART criteria helps you identify detailed and quantifiable goals with effective deadlines. You then have quantifiable items to monitor the performance of the assignments.

Steady check-ins

  • Creating a schedule for progress check-ins is a key step in monitoring assignments. The regularity of the check-in depends on the project. For example, check-ins for long-term and short-term projects differ in intervals. Check-ins should be balanced to support effective monitoring of performance indicators.

Records and analysis of data

  • For each of the scheduled check-ins, keep records and analyze data to understand the progress of projects. You can gather data through team meetings and input into spreadsheets or project management tools. The data will then be analyzed to determine the status of the assigned work.

Every organization wants to empower its workforce for enhanced morale, focus, accountability, efficiency and productivity. These achievements are only possible with effective delegation of work assignments and tasks.

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Contract Assignment Agreement

Used 5,046 times

Download the Contract Assignment Agreement to transfer your duties, obligations, and rights. An agreement between two parties outlines the conditions of a contract assignment.

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Prepared by:

​ [Assignor.FirstName] [Assignor.LastName] ​

​ [Assignor.Phone] [Assignor.Email] ​

​ [Assignor.StreetAddress] [Assignor.City] ​ [Assignor.State] [Assignor.PostalCode] ​

Contract Assignment Agreement Template

Image 1

Prepared for:

​ [Assignee.FirstName] [Assignee.LastName] ​

​ [Assignee.Company] ​

​ [Assignee.Phone] ​

​ [Assignee.Email] ​

​ [Assignee.StreetAddress] [Assignee.City] [Assignee.State] [Assignee.PostalCode] ​

This Contract Assignment Agreement (hereinafter referred to as the "Agreement") made and entered on [Document.CreatedDate] , by and between:

Name: [Assignor.FirstName] [Assignor.LastName] [Assignor.Company] (hereinafter referred to as "Assignor"), and

Name: [Assignee.FirstName] [Assignee.LastName] [Assignee.Company] (hereinafter referred to as "Assignee"), and

Assignor and Assignee are hereinafter referred to as “Parties” collectively in this Agreement.

A. Assignor assigns and transfers the Assignee all of its rights, title, and interest in and to the contract, named (insert name of the original contract) (hereinafter referred to as the "Contract"), dated (insert date of the original contract), and expires on (insert the date when the original contract expires).

In consideration for the assignment, the Assignee will pay the Assignor the sum of (insert amount).

B. Assignor desires to assign the Contract to Assignee and Assignee desires to accept the assignment of the Contract.

C. The terms of this Assignment Agreement shall supersede the terms of the original Contract to the extent that there is any conflict between the terms of the original Contract and the terms of this Assignment Agreement.

This Agreement is subject to the following conditions:

Both Parties have all necessary rights and authority to enter into this Agreement and to assign the Contract to Assignee;

This Agreement does not and will not be construed to violate any agreement to which either the Assignor or the Assignee is a party or by which they are bound; and

Parties have had the opportunity to seek independent legal counsel prior to signing this Agreement and have either done so or have voluntarily waived their right to do so.

Indemnification

The Assignee agrees to indemnify and hold the Assignor harmless from and against any and all costs, losses, damages, claims, liabilities, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees and costs) arising out of or in connection with any claims or suits based on allegations that arise.

Counterparts

This Agreement may be executed in counterparts (and by different Parties hereto on different counterparts), each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which together shall constitute the same instrument.

Non-Transferability

Except as expressly provided in this Agreement, the rights and obligations of the Parties under this Agreement are not assignable or transferable, neither whole nor in part.

Termination

Subsequently, this Agreement may not be terminated except by mutual agreement of the Assignor and the Assignee. In the event of termination, any sums paid by Assignee to Assignor under this Agreement shall be reimbursed to Assignee within (insert number of days) of the termination of this Agreement.

Confidentiality

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Top 10 Task Assignment Templates with Samples and Examples

Top 10 Task Assignment Templates with Samples and Examples

Simran Shekhawat

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A leader’s task is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been.   - Former US secretary of Henry Kissinger

Kissinger’s vision of leadership has stood the test of time, and human endeavors. His thoughts on leadership reflect the importance of delegating or task assignment in a group setting, be it politics or business.

The importance of task allocation, management, and delegation of work to reach a pre-defined role cannot be overstated.

If you are large-scale business or a firm, it is tedious or troublesome to conduct meetings, design project outcomes, comprehend the project progress, and manage the nitty gritty of business. To ensure the owner or the management use their energies wisely, it is a better strategy to have a structured plan in place for task assignments across each level of your business establishment.

We, at SlideTeam, present to you our contemporary model of managing and delegating tasks that resolves this major pain point of businesses. It also helps you make efficient use of your time by following a schedule. Use our must-have business task templates to keep track of your business cycles.

Determine the schedule of your day with some of the daily task templates check out now!

The PPT Templates from SlideTeam comprehend your needs and give you both the outcome and the answer. Creating and adhering to a daily routine is essential for all aspects of life. Use these 100% editable and customizable templates with samples and examples to understand the significance of these. We promise to make your professional life easier, as they offer to organize, manage, and track down your project progress and streamline your business processes.

You must keep a record of updates on due dates and status. Check out some of weekly task templates. Click here !

Let’s dive into the task of work management with task assignment templates

Template 1 task assignment powerpoint ppt template bundles.

Delegating and accounting tasks is essential for proper functioning of an organization. To enable that, we have created one of our best task assignment PowerPoint Slides to help businesses distribute their work, use resources optimally, and enhance the working of their team members such that their contribution and expertise help the firm achieve their objectives. Bring in the power of this template to feature quality output, facilitate clear communication, strategic project planning, task budgeting monitoring, and evaluation of team and task performance against the milestones.

Task Assignment

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Template 2 Project Task Assignment Management Sheet with Related Issues 

Use this template as a primary project management document that summarizes work assignments and related problems. Use the slide to reflect changes in task status, issues resolved, and real-time project progress. Encourage team members to contribute to the issue log to foster a collaborative environment that facilitates open communication and efficient problem-solving. Through the integration of linked issues, this template seeks to facilitate the administration of project task assignments and promote a proactive approach to resolution of the issue and project success.

Project Task Assignment Management Sheet with Related Issues

Template 3 Employee Onboarding Process Task Assignment Chart 

To ensure that every stage of the onboarding process is planned correctly and allocated, we welcome you with the PPT Template that lists employee onboarding process with task assignments. This slide is attractive as it visually represents tasks assigned and their status and a column for additional notes. With this, businesses can streamline their onboarding process by establishing project managing techniques of tracking and collaborations. Use the content in this template to help you finish your assignment on time or ahead of schedule. Download it to know more!

Employee Onboarding Process Task Assignment Chart

Template 4 Employee Weekly Task Assignment Schedule with Workload Status 

Creating a schedule demands foresight in that one needs to be prepared for unforeseen events. Make sure your work tasks and processes align with the necessary tasks to be completed. Use our professionally-designed employee task schedule template to facilitate task management. Determine the status of your work schedule, while listing it in workload categories to ensure timely project progress. Use this pre-made employee workload status template to help employees understand the gist of the work needed to be done to reach their goals and to help them provide suggestions on how to lighten their burden for the upcoming week.

Employee weekly task assignment schedule with workload status

Template 5 Task Assignment and Evaluation Matrix PPT PowerPoint Presentation Summary

Establish control over your project by making every team member or firm aware of the roles and responsibilities when performing activities. Ensure that everyone on a project team knows their function and how it fits into the larger picture; this task and assessment template aims to identify the roles and responsibilities of each member. This PowerPoint Template contains information you need. You can implement your daily tasks and present your data in a way that engages and informs.

Task Assignment & Evaluation

Template 6 Weekly Task Assignment List with Status and Hours Budgeted 

This weekly job assignment PowerPoint Slide balances the action and budget hour and the relevant workload status. This comprehensive solution offers a one-stop shop for all your needs related to recording weekly activities. Use this slide to create easily navigable graphics that enhance staff productivity. Lay out your weekly and daily tasks along with those with features to explain project progress.

Weekly Task Assignment List with Status and Hours Budgeted

Template 7 – Task Assignment Tracker with Due Date and Budget Allocation 

This task assignment tracker facilitates the management and monitoring of project tasks by combining task assignment data, deadlines, and budget allocations in an organized manner. Construct an adequate representation of tasks assigned to employees and the time and budget required for completion. To maintain financial control, check the budget summary. Give every task its unique identification. Give a brief description of the assignment. Use this slide to depict how to set aside money for the project’s budget. Arrange the projected  cost and the actual cost incurred in a tabular format to learn the deviations and get better at budgeting. Change the task's state (Not Started, In Progress, or Completed). Tailor it to the listed requirements and match it to the intricacy of your undertaking.

Task Assignment Tracker with Due Date and Budget Allocation

Template 8 – Project Task Assignment Management Sheet with Related Issues

This template offers a thorough overview of project tasks, their assignments, and any associated problems hindering the project's advancement. Modify the template to fit requirements and the scope of your project. List out the task details with due date priority, last check-in, status, related issues, and additional notes if any. This template provides a comprehensive list of task assignments as well.

Project Task Assignment Management Sheet with Related Issues

Template 9 – Task Assignment Schedule with Course Details

For instructional programs, training sessions, or any learning-related projects, arrange your course in a manageable way with this PPT Template. The assignment schedule provides a layout for project details that encompass listing out course details from the day of starting till the progress to date. Adapt the template based on the difficulty of the course. Update the schedule frequently to account for modifications to the dates, subjects, or assignments. Use this timetable to help you plan and monitor the course's progress.

Task Assignment Schedule with Course Details

Template 10 One-Pager Format of Project Task Assignment Sheet Infographic

Use this PPT Template to assess a software application's functionality. Consequently, determine if the generated program satisfies the requirements. This slide depicts project objectives, progress, and challenges. Provide space to include the project's name and basic details. Enlist to segregate tasks with phases, task details, and due dates. Illustrate phases in the project along with project closure. Use this PowerPoint Presentation to highlight the four-week project timetable and current accomplishments. This will enable you to run the programs to help identify software issues.

One Page Format of Project Task Assignment Sheet with Timeline

Create your task with us!

Design and create your business task with SlideTeam’s task assignment PPT Templates. These templates are created professionally to let your business organise and structure their assignments. Provide a comprehensive guide for individuals and team while helping them to track, prioritize, track project progress and manage activities and processes.

Do check out some of your best business task list templates. Click here to know more!

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  • How to create a work schedule template ...

How to create a work schedule template (with examples)

A work schedule is a way to document when your team members are working and what they are working on. This type of documentation might sound simple, but it’s essential for your team’s structure. By visualizing your team’s tasks in advance, you enable team collaboration and keep projects on track. 

Why use a work schedule template?

Do you ever find your team juggling tasks, missing deadlines, or struggling to coordinate shift schedules effectively? A customizable work schedule template might be the solution you're looking for. By laying out who works when, and on what, templates eliminate guesswork and streamline operations across different departments and team members.

Using a work schedule template simplifies the scheduling process for managers by making it easier to allocate resources, anticipate workload, and manage time off. In essence, a well-crafted work schedule template is more than just a chart; it's a strategic scheduling tool that can balance workloads and propel your team towards greater efficiency and success.

How to create a work schedule template

[inline illustration] how to create a work schedule template (infographic)

A work schedule is a simple document that describes which team members are working when. But you can take this document beyond its core value by also adding information about what each team member will be working on when. Use these six steps to uplevel your work schedule template:

1. Align work schedules with your team

The first step in creating your work schedule template is to align on what your team's work schedule is. This step is a chance for you and your team to align on who will be working when. 

Tip: Always check with your HR and legal teams during this stage to ensure you're complying with local and federal guidelines about work schedules. For example, which team members are allowed to work overtime and which team members aren’t? 

2. Identify who’s working on what

Once you’ve aligned your team’s work schedules, you can take a comprehensive look at your to-do list . That way, you can create a big picture view of what needs to be done and what priorities others already have.

When you make your list, input the tasks you and your team need to complete into your online tool. You may want to start with a weekly or monthly task list; that way, you can make a habit of regularly updating this list. 

You should also include items that team members need to keep track of, like meetings, workshops, and performance reviews.  

Tip: When you make your list, input the tasks you and your team need to complete into your online tool. You can use a work breakdown structure to identify the required tasks for each of your projects. If you can’t think of everything, don’t worry. Team members can add to their work schedules once they view them online. They’ll have the best idea of what their daily schedule should include.

3. Label tasks by deadline

In addition to capturing everything your team needs to work on in the coming days or weeks, ensure each initiative has an accompanying deadline. Without clear understanding of when work is due, your team won’t be able to effectively prioritize their tasks. 

Note that your deadlines may change as timelines adjust, and that’s ok. Clarifying task deadlines—even if they’re only rough deadlines—helps your team understand what they should be working on when. 

Tip: It’s okay if you’re unable to plan your work schedule months in advance. Aim to flesh out the details of one project at a time. Add those details into your project management tool to keep track of tasks, deadlines, and priorities. Then, if you need to make any changes, your virtual tool makes your work schedules flexible and easy to adjust.

4. Assign tasks to team members

Your work schedule gives you information about who’s working when. Combine that information with the deadlines and priorities of each task to figure out who needs to be working on what. In particular, seeing deadlines next to your tasks can help you determine how many people you need for each project, and when those people will be available. Use a RACI chart to outline what roles and responsibilities team members have for each project. 

As you assign team members to tasks, consider the following questions:

When are team members available?

How many hours does each team member have to work on this?

What days are team members available for work?

How can I align team member schedules with relevant work tasks?

Tip: Once you know your timeline and team, bring everyone together to nail down the project details. It’s often easier to identify team member strengths and find where people fit into a project when you observe their behaviors and receive feedback. 

5. Create start dates for tasks

Deadlines show team members when to complete tasks, but you’ll also need to map out task start dates. Team members need both start and end times for tasks so they can plan out the rest of their schedules. That way, they can make room for unexpected meetings, professional development, or personal to-dos.

Tip: An alternative to creating start dates for tasks is to assign hours to a project. This gives team members flexibility on task start dates, while still providing the needed structure. Estimated hours also set benchmarks for utilization rates . Once a team member completes a task, they'll clock the actual hours it took them and you'll compare this time to the time you assigned. 

6. Automate and change as needed

One of the best things about online work schedules is using built-in rules and automation . Work life can get busy—that’s no surprise—and there are a lot of moving parts in a work schedule. Use project management automation to track what your team is working on to prevent burnout and overwork. 

[Product UI] Workload management in Asana (Workload)

Some helpful ways to automate your work schedule include: 

Assigning hours to individual tasks

Moving work around when one team member is overloaded

Adjusting deadlines when projects get extended

Tip: You should now have a comprehensive task list with people assigned and task timeframes for each. At this point, you can make any necessary changes to your work schedule and ask team members for feedback.

Essential work schedule templates for every team

Ever struggled to nail down a work schedule that keeps your team fully in sync? Streamlining time management and team coordination demands clear, efficient tools, and these free work schedule templates fit the bill perfectly. 

Not only are they customizable, these templates can be duplicated and recycled to align perfectly with the specific needs of different teams and project schedules. Offering a workflow that's both printable and tailor-made, work schedule templates are essential in the workplace, especially for small businesses or startups looking to quickly improve their scheduling processes.

Employee schedule template

An employee schedule template allows for precise recording of individual employee shifts, availability, and absences. This ensures the efficient deployment of labor and resources, which is key for maintaining smooth operations and meeting project deadlines.

An effective employee schedule template should include the following elements to provide accurate scheduling and time tracking:

Employee names : List all employee names clearly to personalize and identify schedules easily.

Employee work schedule : Show each employee's work days and shifts for a full view of the schedule.

Start time : Set each workday or shift's start time to set daily expectations.

End time : Add the end time for workdays or shifts for record keeping.

Timesheet: Log the actual start and end times daily for time tracking. Record approved time off, like vacation or sick days, to keep attendance accurate for payroll. Sum up total hours worked and any overtime to manage workloads and ensure correct pay.

Notes : Provide a space for any additional notes or comments related to the work schedule, such as shift swaps, special instructions, or temporary adjustments.

Planner templates

Individual productivity is just as important as team coordination. A planner template is a personal organizational tool for team members that helps them manage daily tasks, deadlines, and meetings efficiently. This personalized approach ensures that each member can contribute their best to the team's collective milestones.

Weekly planner

A weekly planner supports planning and prioritizing weekly tasks and schedules by providing a broad overview of the upcoming week. Here are a few items to include in your weekly planner template:.

Weekly goals: Outline objectives to achieve by the end of the week.

Daily tasks: List tasks for each day to support weekly goals.

Priority tasks: Highlight the week's most important tasks.

Meetings and appointments: Schedule meetings and appointments for the week.

Weekly work schedule: Provide an overview of work hours or shifts for the week.

Notes: For reminders or additional tasks that come up during the week.

Daily planner

A daily planner focuses on detailed day-to-day task management and scheduling. Consider adding the following to your daily planner to increase productivity and time management:

Daily goals: Set specific objectives for the day.

Hourly schedule: Break down the day into hours for precise time management.

To-do list: Make a detailed list of your daily tasks.

Priority tasks: Mark tasks that require immediate attention.

Daily work schedule: Include start and end times for work or specific shifts.

Reflection: Space at the end of the day for notes or reflections on the day's work and accomplishments.

Both planner templates promote an organized method of handling daily and weekly workloads, making sure that assignments line up with your team's work schedules.

Shift Schedule Template

Teams operating on rotating shifts will find a shift schedule template particularly beneficial. It not only simplifies the scheduling process for complex shift patterns, but this type of template also helps to create a fair schedule planner, which is critical for operations that run around the clock.

A shift schedule template should include:

Employee names: To assign shifts clearly and track who is working when.

Shift times: Include start and end times for each shift to define work periods.

Roles and responsibilities: Specific tasks or roles associated with each shift for clarity.

Rotation pattern: Outline how shifts rotate (e.g., morning to night, day on/day off) to manage expectations.

Days off: Scheduled days off within the rotation for rest and recovery.

Notes: For any special instructions or exceptions to the regular shift pattern.

Weekly work schedule template

The weekly work schedule template is designed to offer a clear view of the week ahead. It helps teams align on short-term goals and tasks by ensuring everyone is prepared and aware of their responsibilities. A weekly schedule template should include:

Employee names: To identify who is working on what.

Date and day: For each day of the week being planned.

Tasks and responsibilities: Detailed daily assignments for each team member.

Shift times: Start and end times, if applicable, to outline daily work hours.

Goals for the week: Key objectives or milestones to achieve by week's end.

Meetings and deadlines: Scheduled times for meetings and task deadlines.

Notes: Any additional reminders or special instructions for the week.

Monthly work schedule template

The monthly work schedule template offers important insights into long-term project schedules and deadlines for a more complete view of operations. It helps establish specific goals for the month and allows teams to plan ahead and distribute resources more effectively for upcoming projects.

Employee names: For assigning and tracking tasks throughout the month.

Week number or date Range: To segment the month into weeks or specific dates.

Key projects and tasks: Major assignments and milestones for the month.

Deadlines: Important project milestones and due dates.

Time off: Scheduled vacations or personal days for team members.

Monthly goals: Objectives and targets set for the month.

Notes: Space for any long-term reminders or additional planning details.

Why use work scheduling software?

When you think of work schedules, does a traditional print out come to mind? If so, we’re not surprised. That’s because traditional work schedules are static documents that are typically printed out and posted somewhere in the office.

But writing your work schedule on paper comes with a whole host of problems. From losing the paper to not having enough space for edits, work schedule printouts don’t leave room for error. The point of a work schedule is to make things more clear—so if you’re getting lost among a sea of papers, something is amiss.

Instead, uplevel your work schedule by creating it in an online scheduling tool. You’ll be able to streamline team schedules, see who’s working when, and capture real-time data about the initiatives each team member is working on.

Managing your work schedule in an online view also takes it beyond just a simple list of team working hours. With a virtual tool, you can also manage project requirements and team member responsibilities in one place. Then, when you make adjustments, you can easily share those updates with team members in real-time so everyone is on the same page about who’s working when, and on what.

Ways to view your work schedule template

When you use an online tool to create your work schedule, you’ll have options for how to view it. This is a benefit of using scheduling software because different visualization methods can show you things you may not have seen otherwise. 

For example, if you view your work schedule as a calendar, you may notice deadlines more easily. But if you view your work schedule as a Gantt chart, you’ll see project dependencies more clearly.

[inline illustration] 4 ways to view work schedules (infographic)

Here are some ways to view your work schedule with Asana:

Gantt chart: A Gantt chart is a horizontal bar chart that displays your work schedule. It’s a great visual tool to understand the tasks your team needs to complete over time, along with key milestones and dependencies.

Calendar view: With calendar view, you’ll have a clear idea of when tasks are due and how those tasks relate to other tasks or events happening in your day, week, or month. 

By list: When you view your work schedule as a to-do list, you’ll see every detail that accompanies each task. These items will show up in drop-downs menus for things such as priority, assignee, attached docs, deadlines, and notes. 

Kanban boards: Kanban boards organize tasks in your work schedule in columns. Traditionally, each column represents a work stage. Your Kanban board might have columns labeled, “to do,” “in progress,” and “done.” Individual tasks—which are represented as cards on the board—move through the columns until team members complete each task.

The different schedule views help you visualize team tasks and gain insight into your entire project. Some of these tools combine the benefits of scheduling with project management so you can view and work on projects as they progress through each stage.

Types of work schedules

Work schedules vary between industries, roles, and countries. A software engineer may work the night shift to keep systems running for daytime workers, and an operations manager may have extended shift schedules to watch over manufacturing. 

While your company may stick to a traditional full-time schedule, it can be helpful to familiarize yourself with other work schedule types. Your team members may appreciate flexibility with their day instead of sticking to a 9-to-5 schedule. But before making any changes to your team’s work schedule, make sure to check with your internal legal team. Always make sure to follow local and federal laws when assigning work schedules.

[inline illustration] types of work schedules (infographic)

Some of the most common types of work schedules include:

A full-time schedule means your team members are working a traditional work week. For example, in the United States, a full time schedule means team members work 40 hours per week—traditionally from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Other countries, like France, might have other legal definitions of what “full time” means—so always check with your internal legal and HR teams if you haven’t already. 

If you use this work schedule, you’ll usually work at the same time as others on your team. This will make communication with partners or stakeholders easier. You can set up a full-time schedule for your team members by keeping deadlines and task start dates within these hours.  

Part–time team members work fewer than a full work week. You may have part-timers for roles that don’t require as much work, or because a team member doesn’t want to work full time. To set up part-time schedules, make a note of when these people are available to work and assign them tasks that they can work with others on during those allotted times. 

There are a variety of local and federal laws that govern what part time work schedules may be available in your area. When in doubt, check with your internal legal team to learn what part-time options are available for your team members, if any.

Remote/Flex

Many companies have adopted remote/flex-time schedules to give team members more freedom. Flexibility can reduce employee turnover, which results in reduced labor costs. A flex-time schedule might require core work hours of 10am to 2pm, while the other four hours are team members' choice. In this example, as long as each team member works eight hours per day, they’ve met their daily work requirement. 

Flex schedules aren’t available for every team, company, or country, but it may be a good solution to give your team the flexibility they need to get their best work done. If you do try this type of work schedule, ensure you schedule team gatherings like meetings and workshops within the core hours when you know everyone will be at work.

5-4/9 work schedule

The 5-4/9 work schedule is a creative way to adjust your team members’ full-time hours. In this setup, team members work 80 hours over two weeks, but they do so by working five nine-hour days during week one, and four nine-hour days during week two. This benefits the team members because they receive a three-day weekend every other week. This change to the team work schedule could improve work-life balance without disrupting communication with others in your industry. As with other work schedules, check local and federal guidelines before trying to implement this schedule.

2-2, 3-2, 2-3 work schedule

The 2-2, 3-2, 2-3 work schedule is more common for team members who work around the clock, but it could inspire your work schedule template. In this schedule, team members work in 12-hour shifts. They work two days on, followed by two days off. Then, they work three days on, followed by two days off. Next, they work two days on, followed by three days off, before the cycle continues. This schedule can switch between day shift cycles and night shift cycles. 

This type of cyclical work schedule is great for industries where team members need to be available around the clock. But before you move forward with this template, confirm with your internal legal team that this is in line with local and federal guidelines in your area. 

4/10 schedule

A simplified version of the schedule above is the 4/10. In this schedule, team members work in 10-hour shifts. Team members work four days of the week before having three days off. Your team members might appreciate this work schedule because it only adds two hours to their average workday, but it gives them three-day weekends every weekend. Similar to other adjusted work schedules, this template may not be available in your area, so check with your company before moving forward. 

Visualize team member work schedules with Asana

When you use a tool like Asana , you open up possibilities for your team. Your work schedule will be more than a simple list—it will be a living document that others can interact with, change as needed, and integrate with task management.

Putting your work schedule online will ensure you’re managing your team effectively while juggling other responsibilities. With the right structure in place, your team can accomplish their best work.

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Free Schedule Templates

Free schedule templates you can use to organize your tasks, assignments, and other activities.

Word • PDF • Excel

Schedule Templates

Schedule Templates

Schedule templates are designed to help you plan your time better — your daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly tasks and activities.

We divided these templates into Work and Non-work schedule templates. Therefore, you can track both your job tasks and the activities outside your work hours.

In case you want to share these templates with your colleagues, your partner, or friends, you can use the Google Sheets and Google Docs versions of the schedules.

On the other hand, if you'd like to download these templates to your computer, feel free to use the Word and Excel versions.

Finally, if you prefer paper to online formats, bear in mind that you can download each of these schedules as a PDF, and then print them out.

WORK SCHEDULE TEMPLATES

  • 01. Work from home schedule template
  • 02. Weekly work from home schedule template
  • 03. Daily work from home schedule template
  • 04. Weekly assignments schedule template
  • 05. Daily assignments schedule template
  • 06. Yearly time off schedule template
  • 07. Weekly meetings schedule

NON-WORK SCHEDULE TEMPLATES

  • 08. Monthly household chores template
  • 09. Weekly household chores schedule template
  • 10. Monthly workout schedule template
  • 11. Weekly workout schedule template
  • 12. Monthly budget schedule template
  • 13. Weekly meal planning schedule template
  • 14. Daily meal planning schedule template
  • 15. Travel schedule template

Work schedule templates

We created these free work schedule templates to help you be more productive and efficient with your work tasks.

You'll notice that some templates cover your daily, weekly, and monthly assignments, while other templates only provide you with one type of assignment.

That's because some types of schedules demand more details, such as the Work from home template — which is why this one has both the daily and weekly versions.

Work from home schedule template

When working from home, you often have to deal with many distractions, either coming from your neighborhood, from the people you live with, or your pets.

One of the best ways to avoid all these interruptions and get back on track with your work is to follow your schedule .

Here are two Work from home schedule templates you can use to organize your workday — or workweek, if that suits you better.

Weekly work from home schedule template

The Weekly work from home schedule template breaks down each day into three sections: Morning, Afternoon, and Evening.

Furthermore, there's a Weekly work checklist, and Meetings/calls section.

If you enjoy having an overview of your weekly tasks, this template will suit you, especially if you have flexible working hours . In this case, you'll be able to choose the time of day for your job assignments, then figure out when you'll fit in your home chores or meal preps.

Of course, even if you have fixed working hours, this template will help you make an 8-hour workday schedule that suits your needs.

To use it properly, you should fill this template out either on Sunday afternoon/Monday morning or note down new tasks every day.

Start by choosing the time of the day for each assignment during the week.

To ensure you'll get the most out of every workday, keep in mind your circadian rhythm — leave the most complex tasks for the time of the day when you're most alert. Then, be sure to add all your significant weekly tasks to the Weekly work checklist, as well as jot down all your weekly meetings and calls.

We hope that the Work from home weekly schedule template will help you finish your job tasks on time.

Once again, remember to take frequent breaks in between assignments.

⬇️ GET Weekly work from home schedule template (Google Sheets)

⬇️ GET Weekly work from home schedule template (Google Docs)

Weekly work from home schedule template

Daily work from home schedule template

The Daily work from home schedule template ensures you stay on track with all your daily tasks. This template breaks down your day into hourly segments. In addition, there's a valuable section called the Daily work checklist, where you can input all the most crucial activities/tasks of the day. Moreover, there's a To-do list for tomorrow, which you can fill out at the end of each day.

Anyone working from home can surely benefit from using this template. We suggest opening this template first thing in the morning.

Make sure to note down your most vital tasks and activities in the Daily work checklist section. Next, write down your meetings of the day. Once you do that, you'll have a better idea of when you'll be free to deal with your significant assignments. Don't forget to include breaks throughout the day, too.

Finally, to avoid working overtime, you should note down all the tasks for tomorrow in the To-do list for tomorrow.

⬇️ GET Daily work from home schedule template (Google Sheets)

⬇️ GET Daily work from home schedule template (Google Docs)

Daily Work From Home Schedule

Assignments schedule template

We created two types of templates that allow you to keep track of your assignments:

  • Weekly assignments schedule, and
  • Daily assignments schedule.

Weekly assignments schedule template

The Weekly assignments schedule is quite straightforward — there's a simple table where you can add tasks for each day of the week. In addition, we included the Task deadlines section and Reminders.

If you're looking for an easy way to keep a record of all your weekly assignments, this template will fit your needs.

We suggest filling it out at the beginning of a week.

Of course, if there are any unexpected tasks throughout the week, be sure to add them to the Weekly assignments schedule.

Now, this template also ensures that you complete all your tasks before the deadline, which is why we encourage you to enter your tasks' deadlines in the middle section.

Furthermore, there's the Reminders section, where you can add any important reminders or notes for your weekly assignments.

⬇️ GET Weekly assignments schedule template (Google Sheets)

⬇️ GET Weekly assignments schedule template (Google Docs)

Weekly Assignments Schedule Template

Daily assignments schedule template

The Daily assignments schedule is a template that helps you figure out your top 3 priorities of the day. Moreover, since this template contains The Eisenhower Matrix technique section, it allows you to distinguish between important/not important, and urgent/not urgent assignments.

This template is practical because it ensures that you deal with your tasks according to their urgency and importance.

Once you fill out the Eisenhower Matrix technique section, simply scroll down to the hourly table and choose time blocks for these assignments.

Finally, don't forget to enter some vital tasks for tomorrow.

⬇️ GET Daily assignments schedule template (Google Sheets)

⬇️ GET Daily assignments schedule template (Google Docs)

Daily Assignments Schedule Template

Yearly time off schedule template

The Yearly time off schedule template allows you to keep track of your time off throughout the year. In this template, we covered several vital categories of time off, such as paid vacation, sick leave, earned days, and others.

Also, there are three important sections for each type of time off: Consumed days, Available days, and Balance.

So, how to use the Yearly time off template?

It couldn't be simpler.

First, enter the balance for each type of time off. For particular types, such as sick leave, you may not have a balance, but for paid vacation, you definitely will.

Then, whenever you receive approval to take time off for any reason, just enter the number of days in the proper row (the type of time off) and in the right column (the current month).

Next, the template will automatically calculate the number of Consumed days (for each type of time off) and the number of Available days left.

Thus, you'll have a better idea of how many days off you've used so far and how many there are left by the end of the year.

⬇️ GET Yearly time off schedule template (Google Sheets)

Yearly Time Off Schedule

Weekly meetings schedule

The Weekly meetings schedule is suitable for those of you who have meetings every day. With this template, you'll be able to keep track of all your meetings. In addition, you can add any significant details, such as meeting agenda, topic, and start and end time.

The Weekly meetings schedule covers five days of the week. To make the most of this template, you should open it at the beginning of the week and enter all your weekly meetings. Be sure to include details such as where meetings take place or the links to online calls.

To ensure that you're fully prepared for any meeting, add its topic and agenda, if needed.

Then, once the meeting starts, you can follow its agenda, but also write notes in the Important notes section.

⬇️ GET Weekly meetings schedule template (Google Sheets)

⬇️ GET Weekly meetings schedule template (Google Docs)

Weekly Meetings Schedule

Non-work schedule templates

Apart from templates for organizing your job tasks, meetings, and time off, we created some non-work schedules you can use for free, too.

Here's the list of the templates you can use for planning your time outside of work:

  • Household chores schedule,
  • Workout schedule,
  • Budget schedule,
  • Travel schedule, and
  • Meal prep schedule.

Household chores schedule template

We made two types of household chores templates:

  • Monthly household chores, and
  • Weekly household chores schedule template.

Monthly household chores template

The Monthly household chores template helps you deal with all your errands around the house. This template covers a weekly breakdown of chores, but also some additional ones that you do once a month.

You can add your typical weekly chores.

Plus, you can add the names of the people in charge of these errands, which comes in handy if you share your household chores with your partner, roommate, or family members.

There's a column called Additional monthly chores, where you can enter some of the errands you deal with every month. For example, cleaning/vacuuming furniture or cleaning windows.

Moreover, we included another section for all the outdoor chores, which comes in handy if you live in a house. To make sure you won't forget any outside-the-house monthly errands, be sure to add them to this list.

⬇️ GET Monthly household chores schedule template (Google Sheets)

⬇️ GET Monthly household chores schedule template (Google Docs)

Monthly Household Chores Schedule

Weekly household chores schedule template

The Weekly household chores schedule template allows you to keep an eye on all your household chores during the week. We included a separate schedule for each day, along with Before work and After work columns, so that you can plan your errands accordingly.

In addition, we added the Who's in charge column to this template, too.

Since this template covers seven days, you can enter all your weekly errands at the beginning of the week.

Then, simply add the name of the person in charge of every chore.

Once you or your family members finish a specific errand, just put a checkmark next to it.

Also, during the workweek, you can decide whether you'll deal with these chores before or after work.

And, on weekends, you can choose whether you'll complete your errands in the morning or afternoon.

We didn't include evenings on weekends, because you should have some time to relax on Saturdays and Sundays.

Finally, this template contains the Shopping list — so, whenever you remember you need to buy milk or anything else, note it down here.

⬇️ GET Weekly household chores schedule template (Google Sheets)

⬇️ GET Weekly household chores schedule template (Google Docs)

Weekly Household Chores Schedule

Workout schedule template

The Workout schedule template allows you to organize your exercise routine.

No matter whether you prefer working out in a gym or from home, you'll surely find our monthly and weekly workout templates useful.

Monthly workout schedule template

The Monthly workout schedule template ensures you stay consistent with your monthly workout targets. Setting such long-term goals is vital because it gives you a clearer picture of what you want to achieve. Thus, when you have a monthly target, you'll be able to make weekly plans. This will also help you plan your days accordingly.

That's why the Monthly workout schedule template contains the Overall goal field. So, your goal can be losing weight, improving your physical condition, or anything else. Just remember that goals should be challenging enough, you don't want objectives that are too easy or too difficult to achieve.

Now, how can you use this template?

Once you adopt your monthly objectives, you should decide what types of exercises will get you closer to your goal.

Then, choose how frequently you'll do such types of workouts.

Also, whether you'll do your exercises with or without equipment is up to you, and you can add these details to your schedule, too.

If you haven't been working out before, or you've taken a longer break, please make sure you consult your fitness instructor first. This way, you'll be sure your workout plan is suitable for you, and you'll avoid any injuries.

⬇️ GET Monthly workout schedule template (Google Sheets)

⬇️ GET Monthly workout schedule template (Google Docs)

Monthly Workout Schedule

Weekly workout schedule template

Apart from the Monthly workout schedule template, we also created the one for your weekly plans. First, you can plan your monthly routine, then use the Weekly workout schedule template to add more details.

As you can see, the Weekly workout schedule template covers several workout categories:

  • HIIT (high-intensity interval training), and
  • Yoga/stretching.

Depending on your monthly goals, you should choose the frequency of each category. Of course, you don't have to include all these categories in your workout plans, just the ones that will help you move towards your monthly objective.

Next, think of the best days for each type of exercise, as well as the time of the day.

Then, decide on the duration of your workout sessions.

This template also allows you to add links for workout videos you'd like to try, but also links for playlists. There's no doubt that music can help us stay motivated — so be sure to add your favorite tunes to this column.

Finally, remember that rest days are just as important as the days you exercise. Therefore, note down the days you'll spend resting.

⬇️ GET Weekly workout schedule template (Google Sheets)

⬇️ GET Weekly workout schedule template (Google Docs)

Weekly Workout Schedule

Monthly budget schedule template

The Monthly budget schedule template is designed to help you keep an eye on your expenses . In addition, this template includes a Savings column — to remind you to save some money for rainy days.

To make the most of our Monthly budget template, make sure you add the Starting budget.

Then, write down all the expenses you have during a month, such as rent, utilities, and other similar costs.

To ensure you'll pay all these expenses on time, there's the Due date column, too.

The template automatically calculates the total sum of your monthly costs, which can be pretty convenient.

Furthermore, to ensure that you'll put aside some part of your monthly income into your savings account, we included the Savings column. Thus, you can note down the amount you'd like to save from each paycheck.

⬇️ GET Monthly budget schedule template (Google Sheets)

Meal planning schedule template

Monthly Budget Template

Meal planning can be such a bummer, especially on days when you have too much work to do. Instead of figuring out what you'll have for each meal of the day, try organizing your meals for an entire week. Then, simply follow this routine throughout the week.

To make your life easier, we created two meal planning schedule templates:

Weekly meal planning schedule template

Daily meal planning schedule template.

The Weekly meal planning schedule template allows you to create a healthy meal plan for an entire week. You can write down your ideas for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks.

As you can see, the Weekly meal planning schedule template covers seven days and four meals for each day. We suggest filling this template out on weekends, so that you'll have enough time for shopping.

If you're usually swamped with work during a workweek, you can make a couple of meals on weekends and store them in a freezer.

Another practical option this template offers is the Ingredients to buy list, where you can note down everything you need for meal prep.

⬇️ GET Weekly meal planning schedule template (Google Sheets)

⬇️ GET Weekly meal planning schedule template (Google Docs)

Weekly Meal Planning Schedule

Our Daily meal planning schedule template is more detailed than the weekly one. The Daily meal planning schedule template covers categories such as Preparation time, Ingredients, and Recipes.

This template helps you have a clearer understanding of how long each meal preparation will take. Therefore, you can easily adjust your meal preps with your work and other daily activities.

Moreover, with this template, you'll be able to write down all the ingredients of your meals, as well as add recipes.

⬇️ GET Daily meal planning schedule template (Google Sheets)

⬇️ GET Daily meal planning schedule template (Google Docs)

Daily Meal Planning Schedule

Travel schedule template

Do you enjoy traveling?

If so, our Travel schedule template will help you keep all the valuable information about your trip in one place.

This template covers categories such as Places to see, Tickets to buy, and Don't forget to pack.

Thus, you can write down all the attractions and spots you'd like to visit during your stay.

If you need to buy tickets for museums, galleries, monuments, or simply public transportation for that destination, be sure to add all the details to this template.

And, if you can make an online purchase, just add the link next to your list.

Finally, this template reminds you to pack the most crucial things, like money, passport, and medications. So, make sure you go through this list before your trip.

Of course, you don't have to plan everything ahead, leave some days open for any activity that comes your way. After all, this is how you make the best memories.

⬇️ GET Travel schedule template (Google Sheets)

⬇️ GET Travel schedule template (Google Docs)

Travel Schedule Template

Schedule projects and teams with Clockify

Aside from our Schedule templates, you can also use Clockify to schedule your projects and employees . This feature especially comes in handy for managers because they need to effectively schedule employee work time to ensure that all team members meet their deadlines.

The scheduling option in Clockify allows you to plan both projects and teams.

Here's how you can use Project scheduling with this Clockify option:

  • Add a new project by clicking on the button on the left corner. Clockify will automatically load that project and show you all the tasks under that project name. You can add a milestone by clicking anywhere on the timeline. You can easily edit your milestones, drag-and-drop them, or change their names.
  • You can add more team members to the project and create new assignments. To make sure nobody's swamped with work, Clockify will show users who are over their capacity.

In addition, you can zoom in and out to take a better look at assignments. Moreover, you can have an overview of the total hours assigned for each project.

Project scheduling in Clockify

When it comes to team schedules, Clockify also helps you see who's overbooked and who's available.

With Team scheduling, you can:

  • Add new members. Clockify will then automatically load all the assignments of these users.
  • Edit user's capacity by clicking on the three dots next to the user's name. This will give you a clue whether users are at their maximum capacity (Full), or they have several hours available for new tasks (Xh open), or if users are over their capacity for the day (Xh over).

This way, managers are able to assign new tasks to the right people and ensure that everyone has an equal amount of work during the week.

Employee scheduling in Clockify

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Home » Assignment – Types, Examples and Writing Guide

Assignment – Types, Examples and Writing Guide

Table of Contents

Assignment

Definition:

Assignment is a task given to students by a teacher or professor, usually as a means of assessing their understanding and application of course material. Assignments can take various forms, including essays, research papers, presentations, problem sets, lab reports, and more.

Assignments are typically designed to be completed outside of class time and may require independent research, critical thinking, and analysis. They are often graded and used as a significant component of a student’s overall course grade. The instructions for an assignment usually specify the goals, requirements, and deadlines for completion, and students are expected to meet these criteria to earn a good grade.

History of Assignment

The use of assignments as a tool for teaching and learning has been a part of education for centuries. Following is a brief history of the Assignment.

  • Ancient Times: Assignments such as writing exercises, recitations, and memorization tasks were used to reinforce learning.
  • Medieval Period : Universities began to develop the concept of the assignment, with students completing essays, commentaries, and translations to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the subject matter.
  • 19th Century : With the growth of schools and universities, assignments became more widespread and were used to assess student progress and achievement.
  • 20th Century: The rise of distance education and online learning led to the further development of assignments as an integral part of the educational process.
  • Present Day: Assignments continue to be used in a variety of educational settings and are seen as an effective way to promote student learning and assess student achievement. The nature and format of assignments continue to evolve in response to changing educational needs and technological innovations.

Types of Assignment

Here are some of the most common types of assignments:

An essay is a piece of writing that presents an argument, analysis, or interpretation of a topic or question. It usually consists of an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

Essay structure:

  • Introduction : introduces the topic and thesis statement
  • Body paragraphs : each paragraph presents a different argument or idea, with evidence and analysis to support it
  • Conclusion : summarizes the key points and reiterates the thesis statement

Research paper

A research paper involves gathering and analyzing information on a particular topic, and presenting the findings in a well-structured, documented paper. It usually involves conducting original research, collecting data, and presenting it in a clear, organized manner.

Research paper structure:

  • Title page : includes the title of the paper, author’s name, date, and institution
  • Abstract : summarizes the paper’s main points and conclusions
  • Introduction : provides background information on the topic and research question
  • Literature review: summarizes previous research on the topic
  • Methodology : explains how the research was conducted
  • Results : presents the findings of the research
  • Discussion : interprets the results and draws conclusions
  • Conclusion : summarizes the key findings and implications

A case study involves analyzing a real-life situation, problem or issue, and presenting a solution or recommendations based on the analysis. It often involves extensive research, data analysis, and critical thinking.

Case study structure:

  • Introduction : introduces the case study and its purpose
  • Background : provides context and background information on the case
  • Analysis : examines the key issues and problems in the case
  • Solution/recommendations: proposes solutions or recommendations based on the analysis
  • Conclusion: Summarize the key points and implications

A lab report is a scientific document that summarizes the results of a laboratory experiment or research project. It typically includes an introduction, methodology, results, discussion, and conclusion.

Lab report structure:

  • Title page : includes the title of the experiment, author’s name, date, and institution
  • Abstract : summarizes the purpose, methodology, and results of the experiment
  • Methods : explains how the experiment was conducted
  • Results : presents the findings of the experiment

Presentation

A presentation involves delivering information, data or findings to an audience, often with the use of visual aids such as slides, charts, or diagrams. It requires clear communication skills, good organization, and effective use of technology.

Presentation structure:

  • Introduction : introduces the topic and purpose of the presentation
  • Body : presents the main points, findings, or data, with the help of visual aids
  • Conclusion : summarizes the key points and provides a closing statement

Creative Project

A creative project is an assignment that requires students to produce something original, such as a painting, sculpture, video, or creative writing piece. It allows students to demonstrate their creativity and artistic skills.

Creative project structure:

  • Introduction : introduces the project and its purpose
  • Body : presents the creative work, with explanations or descriptions as needed
  • Conclusion : summarizes the key elements and reflects on the creative process.

Examples of Assignments

Following are Examples of Assignment templates samples:

Essay template:

I. Introduction

  • Hook: Grab the reader’s attention with a catchy opening sentence.
  • Background: Provide some context or background information on the topic.
  • Thesis statement: State the main argument or point of your essay.

II. Body paragraphs

  • Topic sentence: Introduce the main idea or argument of the paragraph.
  • Evidence: Provide evidence or examples to support your point.
  • Analysis: Explain how the evidence supports your argument.
  • Transition: Use a transition sentence to lead into the next paragraph.

III. Conclusion

  • Restate thesis: Summarize your main argument or point.
  • Review key points: Summarize the main points you made in your essay.
  • Concluding thoughts: End with a final thought or call to action.

Research paper template:

I. Title page

  • Title: Give your paper a descriptive title.
  • Author: Include your name and institutional affiliation.
  • Date: Provide the date the paper was submitted.

II. Abstract

  • Background: Summarize the background and purpose of your research.
  • Methodology: Describe the methods you used to conduct your research.
  • Results: Summarize the main findings of your research.
  • Conclusion: Provide a brief summary of the implications and conclusions of your research.

III. Introduction

  • Background: Provide some background information on the topic.
  • Research question: State your research question or hypothesis.
  • Purpose: Explain the purpose of your research.

IV. Literature review

  • Background: Summarize previous research on the topic.
  • Gaps in research: Identify gaps or areas that need further research.

V. Methodology

  • Participants: Describe the participants in your study.
  • Procedure: Explain the procedure you used to conduct your research.
  • Measures: Describe the measures you used to collect data.

VI. Results

  • Quantitative results: Summarize the quantitative data you collected.
  • Qualitative results: Summarize the qualitative data you collected.

VII. Discussion

  • Interpretation: Interpret the results and explain what they mean.
  • Implications: Discuss the implications of your research.
  • Limitations: Identify any limitations or weaknesses of your research.

VIII. Conclusion

  • Review key points: Summarize the main points you made in your paper.

Case study template:

  • Background: Provide background information on the case.
  • Research question: State the research question or problem you are examining.
  • Purpose: Explain the purpose of the case study.

II. Analysis

  • Problem: Identify the main problem or issue in the case.
  • Factors: Describe the factors that contributed to the problem.
  • Alternative solutions: Describe potential solutions to the problem.

III. Solution/recommendations

  • Proposed solution: Describe the solution you are proposing.
  • Rationale: Explain why this solution is the best one.
  • Implementation: Describe how the solution can be implemented.

IV. Conclusion

  • Summary: Summarize the main points of your case study.

Lab report template:

  • Title: Give your report a descriptive title.
  • Date: Provide the date the report was submitted.
  • Background: Summarize the background and purpose of the experiment.
  • Methodology: Describe the methods you used to conduct the experiment.
  • Results: Summarize the main findings of the experiment.
  • Conclusion: Provide a brief summary of the implications and conclusions
  • Background: Provide some background information on the experiment.
  • Hypothesis: State your hypothesis or research question.
  • Purpose: Explain the purpose of the experiment.

IV. Materials and methods

  • Materials: List the materials and equipment used in the experiment.
  • Procedure: Describe the procedure you followed to conduct the experiment.
  • Data: Present the data you collected in tables or graphs.
  • Analysis: Analyze the data and describe the patterns or trends you observed.

VI. Discussion

  • Implications: Discuss the implications of your findings.
  • Limitations: Identify any limitations or weaknesses of the experiment.

VII. Conclusion

  • Restate hypothesis: Summarize your hypothesis or research question.
  • Review key points: Summarize the main points you made in your report.

Presentation template:

  • Attention grabber: Grab the audience’s attention with a catchy opening.
  • Purpose: Explain the purpose of your presentation.
  • Overview: Provide an overview of what you will cover in your presentation.

II. Main points

  • Main point 1: Present the first main point of your presentation.
  • Supporting details: Provide supporting details or evidence to support your point.
  • Main point 2: Present the second main point of your presentation.
  • Main point 3: Present the third main point of your presentation.
  • Summary: Summarize the main points of your presentation.
  • Call to action: End with a final thought or call to action.

Creative writing template:

  • Setting: Describe the setting of your story.
  • Characters: Introduce the main characters of your story.
  • Rising action: Introduce the conflict or problem in your story.
  • Climax: Present the most intense moment of the story.
  • Falling action: Resolve the conflict or problem in your story.
  • Resolution: Describe how the conflict or problem was resolved.
  • Final thoughts: End with a final thought or reflection on the story.

How to Write Assignment

Here is a general guide on how to write an assignment:

  • Understand the assignment prompt: Before you begin writing, make sure you understand what the assignment requires. Read the prompt carefully and make note of any specific requirements or guidelines.
  • Research and gather information: Depending on the type of assignment, you may need to do research to gather information to support your argument or points. Use credible sources such as academic journals, books, and reputable websites.
  • Organize your ideas : Once you have gathered all the necessary information, organize your ideas into a clear and logical structure. Consider creating an outline or diagram to help you visualize your ideas.
  • Write a draft: Begin writing your assignment using your organized ideas and research. Don’t worry too much about grammar or sentence structure at this point; the goal is to get your thoughts down on paper.
  • Revise and edit: After you have written a draft, revise and edit your work. Make sure your ideas are presented in a clear and concise manner, and that your sentences and paragraphs flow smoothly.
  • Proofread: Finally, proofread your work for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors. It’s a good idea to have someone else read over your assignment as well to catch any mistakes you may have missed.
  • Submit your assignment : Once you are satisfied with your work, submit your assignment according to the instructions provided by your instructor or professor.

Applications of Assignment

Assignments have many applications across different fields and industries. Here are a few examples:

  • Education : Assignments are a common tool used in education to help students learn and demonstrate their knowledge. They can be used to assess a student’s understanding of a particular topic, to develop critical thinking skills, and to improve writing and research abilities.
  • Business : Assignments can be used in the business world to assess employee skills, to evaluate job performance, and to provide training opportunities. They can also be used to develop business plans, marketing strategies, and financial projections.
  • Journalism : Assignments are often used in journalism to produce news articles, features, and investigative reports. Journalists may be assigned to cover a particular event or topic, or to research and write a story on a specific subject.
  • Research : Assignments can be used in research to collect and analyze data, to conduct experiments, and to present findings in written or oral form. Researchers may be assigned to conduct research on a specific topic, to write a research paper, or to present their findings at a conference or seminar.
  • Government : Assignments can be used in government to develop policy proposals, to conduct research, and to analyze data. Government officials may be assigned to work on a specific project or to conduct research on a particular topic.
  • Non-profit organizations: Assignments can be used in non-profit organizations to develop fundraising strategies, to plan events, and to conduct research. Volunteers may be assigned to work on a specific project or to help with a particular task.

Purpose of Assignment

The purpose of an assignment varies depending on the context in which it is given. However, some common purposes of assignments include:

  • Assessing learning: Assignments are often used to assess a student’s understanding of a particular topic or concept. This allows educators to determine if a student has mastered the material or if they need additional support.
  • Developing skills: Assignments can be used to develop a wide range of skills, such as critical thinking, problem-solving, research, and communication. Assignments that require students to analyze and synthesize information can help to build these skills.
  • Encouraging creativity: Assignments can be designed to encourage students to be creative and think outside the box. This can help to foster innovation and original thinking.
  • Providing feedback : Assignments provide an opportunity for teachers to provide feedback to students on their progress and performance. Feedback can help students to understand where they need to improve and to develop a growth mindset.
  • Meeting learning objectives : Assignments can be designed to help students meet specific learning objectives or outcomes. For example, a writing assignment may be designed to help students improve their writing skills, while a research assignment may be designed to help students develop their research skills.

When to write Assignment

Assignments are typically given by instructors or professors as part of a course or academic program. The timing of when to write an assignment will depend on the specific requirements of the course or program, but in general, assignments should be completed within the timeframe specified by the instructor or program guidelines.

It is important to begin working on assignments as soon as possible to ensure enough time for research, writing, and revisions. Waiting until the last minute can result in rushed work and lower quality output.

It is also important to prioritize assignments based on their due dates and the amount of work required. This will help to manage time effectively and ensure that all assignments are completed on time.

In addition to assignments given by instructors or professors, there may be other situations where writing an assignment is necessary. For example, in the workplace, assignments may be given to complete a specific project or task. In these situations, it is important to establish clear deadlines and expectations to ensure that the assignment is completed on time and to a high standard.

Characteristics of Assignment

Here are some common characteristics of assignments:

  • Purpose : Assignments have a specific purpose, such as assessing knowledge or developing skills. They are designed to help students learn and achieve specific learning objectives.
  • Requirements: Assignments have specific requirements that must be met, such as a word count, format, or specific content. These requirements are usually provided by the instructor or professor.
  • Deadline: Assignments have a specific deadline for completion, which is usually set by the instructor or professor. It is important to meet the deadline to avoid penalties or lower grades.
  • Individual or group work: Assignments can be completed individually or as part of a group. Group assignments may require collaboration and communication with other group members.
  • Feedback : Assignments provide an opportunity for feedback from the instructor or professor. This feedback can help students to identify areas of improvement and to develop their skills.
  • Academic integrity: Assignments require academic integrity, which means that students must submit original work and avoid plagiarism. This includes citing sources properly and following ethical guidelines.
  • Learning outcomes : Assignments are designed to help students achieve specific learning outcomes. These outcomes are usually related to the course objectives and may include developing critical thinking skills, writing abilities, or subject-specific knowledge.

Advantages of Assignment

There are several advantages of assignment, including:

  • Helps in learning: Assignments help students to reinforce their learning and understanding of a particular topic. By completing assignments, students get to apply the concepts learned in class, which helps them to better understand and retain the information.
  • Develops critical thinking skills: Assignments often require students to think critically and analyze information in order to come up with a solution or answer. This helps to develop their critical thinking skills, which are important for success in many areas of life.
  • Encourages creativity: Assignments that require students to create something, such as a piece of writing or a project, can encourage creativity and innovation. This can help students to develop new ideas and perspectives, which can be beneficial in many areas of life.
  • Builds time-management skills: Assignments often come with deadlines, which can help students to develop time-management skills. Learning how to manage time effectively is an important skill that can help students to succeed in many areas of life.
  • Provides feedback: Assignments provide an opportunity for students to receive feedback on their work. This feedback can help students to identify areas where they need to improve and can help them to grow and develop.

Limitations of Assignment

There are also some limitations of assignments that should be considered, including:

  • Limited scope: Assignments are often limited in scope, and may not provide a comprehensive understanding of a particular topic. They may only cover a specific aspect of a topic, and may not provide a full picture of the subject matter.
  • Lack of engagement: Some assignments may not engage students in the learning process, particularly if they are repetitive or not challenging enough. This can lead to a lack of motivation and interest in the subject matter.
  • Time-consuming: Assignments can be time-consuming, particularly if they require a lot of research or writing. This can be a disadvantage for students who have other commitments, such as work or extracurricular activities.
  • Unreliable assessment: The assessment of assignments can be subjective and may not always accurately reflect a student’s understanding or abilities. The grading may be influenced by factors such as the instructor’s personal biases or the student’s writing style.
  • Lack of feedback : Although assignments can provide feedback, this feedback may not always be detailed or useful. Instructors may not have the time or resources to provide detailed feedback on every assignment, which can limit the value of the feedback that students receive.

About the author

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Muhammad Hassan

Researcher, Academic Writer, Web developer

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Academic Assignment Samples and Examples

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The assignment writing samples we provide help you by showing you versions of the finished item. It’s like having a picture of the cake you’re aiming to make when following a recipe.

Assignments that you undertake are a key part of your academic life; they are the usual way of assessing your knowledge on the subject you’re studying.

There are various types of assignments: essays, annotated bibliographies, stand-alone literature reviews, reflective writing essays, etc. There will be a specific structure to follow for each of these. Before focusing on the structure, it is best to plan your assignment first. Your school will have its own guidelines and instructions, you should align with those. Start by selecting the essential aspects that need to be included in your assignment.

Based on what you understand from the assignment in question, evaluate the critical points that should be made. If the task is research-based, discuss your aims and objectives, research method, and results. For an argumentative essay, you need to construct arguments relevant to the thesis statement.

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5 Types of Homework Assignments for a Skills-First Hiring Process

Post Author - Juste Semetaite

CVs and interviews don’t predict job performance, but work assignments can.

It’s really simple; hiring managers need to place competence in context to assess candidates’ technical and interpersonal skills .

If a structured interview process can help flush out candidates with the right attitude and cultural alignment, homework assignments can highlight people with the perfect skillset for the role.

And for a hiring manager, the hiring confidence when selecting between candidates who list the right skills on their resume and those who nail take-home tasks is like night and day.

Curious if work assignments could be a good fit for your company? In this article, we discuss:

  • what a homework assignment is all about
  • why companies prioritize work assignments over interviews
  • how to reassure candidates that work assignments aren’t ‘free work’
  • the easiest way to incorporate take-home tasks into your hiring process
  • five tips for designing an effective homework assignment

Let’s dive in!

What is a homework assignment?

A homework assignment or an interview project is a task given to a candidate during the interview process that tests whether they have the right skills for a role. Typically these assignments take about an hour or two to complete and have a specific deadline. But they can be more detailed and take up to 5 hours or longer, depending on the role seniority or complexity.

Top tips to enlarge those brains

We recommend sticking to a maximum of two hour-projects to keep it fair and reasonable for candidates. As a hiring manager, your main goal is to get a reliable snapshot of a candidate’s technical fit for the job – not to subject applicants to NASA-level testing.

Alternatively, you could swap homework assignments for paid test projects. While many candidates frown upon the idea of completing longer take-home tasks for free (who doesn’t hate free labor?), paid projects are generally accepted as a reasonable alternative. Learn how we leverage paid projects at Toggl Hire.

If a candidate won’t complete an assignment that takes less than 2 hours of their time, likely, they aren’t really interested in the role. So it also doubles as a reliable method to screen out prospective bad hires .

Why do companies ask candidates to complete homework assignments?

Homework assignments help companies get a better idea of a candidate’s strengths and whether they’d be a good match for the role. It’s a bit like shopping online. Seeing a new pair of sneakers you want in a 2D image is great. But getting a fully immersive AR experience really brings the sneakers to life and builds your confidence you’re making the right choice!

example of work assignment

These days, many companies prioritize work assignments over interviews , as the typical interview process is outdated. Interviews and CVs alone don’t help the hiring team explore a candidate’s actual abilities. Why? Well, firstly, candidates sometimes exaggerate their qualifications on CVs. Plus, a potential candidate could be great in an interview scenario but terrible at the actual job.

Another reason interviews are passé is that they can open up the hiring team to potential cognitive bias (hiring someone very similar to you). This might seem kind of nice, but in the end, you’ll have less diversity if everyone you hired was a mini-me, right?

Yet, interviews do have an important role to play in the hiring process. But not right in the beginning, necessarily. Shifting the interview portion further down the hiring process steps helps companies focus on quality candidates rather than the search for quality candidates. They could rather confirm the technical fit through skills assessments and then dig deeper during the second interview.

According to HBR, prioritizing homework assignments over interviews can help recruiters better match true competency with the job requirements:

One of us (Jeff) spent several years hiring writers for our firm. He used a scenario-driven writing assignment, administered after a short introductory call, to assess skills. Many publications use writing or editing tests for job candidates, but Jeff approached the task more analytically than most: After receiving the assignment, he conducted a follow-up conversation to understand not just what was on the page, but the candidate’s choices in crafting it. Not only did this give us a sense of how a candidate would perform, but they got a much better sense of the job itself, as we related elements of the task to actual role expectations. By using the same exercise repeatedly, it also built a database of responses over time, a positive feedback loop to better assess the next candidate. Geoff Tuff, a principal at Deloitte Consulting LLP – Harvard Business Review

The real benefits are that work assignments and skills assessments paint a truer picture and can also:

  • help identify the best person for the job
  • reveal an applicant’s work ethic
  • reduce the risk of selecting candidates that have lapsed technical skills (especially with the rapid evolution of technology)
  • are easy to deploy at scale – you can narrow down the number of applicants from 500 to 50 to save the hiring team loads of time
  • help organizations draw in non-typical but strong candidates that broaden the team’s diversity, equity & inclusion
  • reduce the risk and cost of a bad hire

Realistic Job Preview: 11 Ways How to Use RJPs in Hiring

What do candidates gain from completing homework assignments?

Job seekers may not often feel enthusiastic about interview assignments. And we get it. People are busy juggling so many things in their day to day that adding one more can feel overwhelming. But those who look at the bigger picture see it as an opportunity to shine.

Work assignments are a foolproof way for job seekers to demonstrate their skills and expertise . And if candidates happen to have any gaps in their experience, they can still demonstrate their aptitude through an online assignment.

It’s also an easy way for candidates to show they’re truly interested in the position and the employer and stand out from the crowd of other applicants.

Not only do these task projects give them a peek into their potential day-to-day responsibilities , but it’s also a window into whether the role is a good fit for them in the long run .

example of work assignment

If they find the task takes too long or that the topic or sector is dryer than toast – they should put their sights elsewhere. But if it’s all systems go – then they’ve already got a head start on producing what’s needed for the role.

5 Types of take-home interview assignments

Take-home interview assignments are a popular choice for assessing technical and creative candidates. But now companies are seeing the benefits for other roles too.

Three things that hiring managers should consider for all these types of interview assignments:

  • Letting candidates know about the test beforehand. That way, they’re not surprised and feel they’re starting off on the wrong foot.
  • Automating everything they can in the testing process, so they don’t leave candidates high and dry in between lengthy hiring phases.
  • Using the data they gain from these tests and candidate feedback to update their hiring process.

And now, onto the examples of homework assignments.

#1 Basic skills screening

Quick skills screening tests as a pre-qualifying step can help reduce the volume of applications without any manual effort. That means no manual resume screening or individual candidate feedback.

As applicants get instant feedback via skills test results (they either pass the required score threshold and move on or stop there), recruiters and hiring managers benefit in three major ways: 1) they save hours of their time by automating CV screening; 2) they can easily identify qualified applicants who should move to the interview stage; 3) they ensure a great candidate experience with modern skills-based hiring practices.

basic skills screening

Good practices:

Keeping the tests short and sweet to respect candidates’ time and effort. We’d recommend 15 or 20-minute assessments at the kickoff. However, it’s important to ensure the tests are hard, so they actually act like a quality filter for your candidate pipeline.

Bad practices:

Focusing too much on theoretical, bookish questions that make the test feel like a school exam can harm your test completion rate and prevent great candidates from submitting their applications. Additionally, making the screening tests too long or too intrusive (e.g., taking snapshots through the computer camera) can create an unnecessary barrier and reduce your chances of sourcing top-quality people.

#2 Pre or post-interview coding challenges

While a job interview can help hiring managers assess interpersonal skills, such as communication , teamwork, or motivation, it’s not the best medium for evaluating hard skills . Online coding tests help the hiring team select technically capable developers that can contribute to the business.

A recruiter would typically source candidates with the right programming languages listed on their profile or resume. And then, it’s the hiring manager’s responsibility to work out if the applicant has what it takes to write good code. Easier said than done!

That’s why a coding assessment as a homework assignment has become the norm in tech hiring, and most developers are willing to take them on.

how we do work assignments at Toggl Hire

Remember, though; candidates don’t owe you free work. Your approach to designing a coding test will determine whether people continue in the hiring process or drop off.

First of all, decide what you want to assess and why. If you’re hoping to ascertain a candidate’s troubleshooting and problem-solving skills, time-boxing the assignment wouldn’t work to your advantage. The candidate can always use the ‘lack of time’ as an excuse for lower-quality work.

Another thing to remember is to set the test at the right skill level, depending on whether it’s a junior, intermediate or advanced role.

Testing skills that are nice to have or don’t match the role is a common mistake. Focusing on too many topics requires candidates to switch context from question to question – which is often confusing and tiring in such a short span of time.

Another issue employers run into is using clunky testing software that candidates need to figure out on the fly. If it takes effort to learn the platform or the platform doesn’t have the required features, developers will have to pay the price.

Interview Coding Challenges: A Way to Hire Developers Who Know their Code

#3 Portfolio reviews and spec work during the job interview process

Ask any creative about their opinion on spec work, and you’ll likely hear that it sucks. And there are good reasons for graphic designers, writers, and other creatives to hate this kind of work – why should they commit to the project without any promise of payment?

If you’re hiring a professional from the creative field, we highly recommend starting with a live portfolio review . That’s when a candidate can take the interviewer through specific portfolio examples and share the backstory and lessons learned from that project. With creative roles, it’s often the unique style and quirks alongside the technical skills that can help determine the best person for the job.

However, sometimes paid spec work is a much fairer and more accurate way of getting insight into a candidate’s skillset. For tasks that require a highly personalized approach or solution, going the freelance gig route can yield better results.

Inform candidates ahead of time that you’d like to review their portfolio during a live interview. This will give them time to prepare and update their work samples. Ask questions that relate to their portfolio, even if the current samples don’t match your brief – you want to understand their creative process and practices. For paid spec work, make time to discuss the brief in person and agree on a check-in schedule to ensure work progresses in the right direction.

Springing this on the candidate without any warning and expecting the work to be delivered on a short deadline is a questionable move. Even if you’re opting for paid spec work, bear in mind these tasks are often completed in a vacuum and should be evaluated through a less critical lens. And finally, the not-so-secret secret: most creatives are terrible at maintaining their portfolios up-to-date. Giving them the heads-up will increase your chances of selecting the right talent.

#4 Time-boxed homework assignments that go in-depth to evaluate candidates’ competence

This type of home assignment can take many forms – from asking a marketing professional to write a press release for a product launch that already happened to requesting a business analyst to extract key insights from a dataset.

example of work assignment

To ensure it’s not perceived as free work, time-boxed assessment projects often focus on real-world business problems that have been solved internally. This way, you can benchmark candidates’ work against your internal quality standard and reassure candidates of your intentions. The sole purpose of interview assignments is to confirm candidates’ technical fit in an efficient manner.

Keep the topic or assignment relevant to the role, and limit the necessary time it’ll take to complete to about 2-3 hours. Remember that the clarity of your brief will largely determine the quality of the deliverables, so be specific about your expectations.

Expecting someone to take 5-10 hours out of their busy schedule for an unpaid assignment is unrealistic.

#5 Paid projects during the interview process

Interviewing is exhausting for both the candidate and the interviewer. So it’s unsurprising that paid interview assignments have been gaining in popularity in recent years.

As a hiring manager, would you rather spend hours of your time interviewing candidates to filter out the bad apples or use the job interview as a way to get to know potential hires?

Homework assignments are exactly that – a simple, efficient method for spotting A-level candidates with the right skills for the job.

As you confirm the technical fit before the interview, both parties can focus on aligning on other important factors, such as the organizational fit , team culture, and manager expectations.

However, many employers have realized that the sentiment around homework assignments has shifted from acceptable to immoral, as applicants began calling assignments ‘free work’. Research shows that drop-off rates increased when candidates were asked to complete a take-home assignment.

Candidates tend to drop out from the recruitment process at two main points: after the first job interview and when asked to complete an assignment.

Enter paid homework projects.

The perfect combo of practical competency assessment and paid work. Since the candidate receives compensation for their time, these types of assignments can be longer and more complex.

Anything from analyzing the growth funnel to tackling a programming challenge to designing an effective product onboarding experience can serve as a homework assignment idea.

What’s important to note is that these kinds of work assignments allow employers to get a glimpse into a candidate’s work ethic , thinking process, time management, and many other skills that are impossible to assess during the interview process.

If you’re paying for their time, treat them like consultants: provide access to important information, answer their questions and connect them with the right people internally. And be sure to outline the recruitment process at the very start; not everyone will happily take on a bigger commitment project, even when it’s paid.

As a hiring manager, stay in touch throughout the recruitment process to lay the foundations for a good working relationship. Provide clear requirements and timelines to reduce stress, and don’t forget about fair compensation – going below the market rate is disrespectful.

A great way to cause unnecessary stress is to ask candidates to present to a large audience or high-level execs they would never work with on a day-to-day basis.

Be sure to provide a clear agenda for the presentation call ahead of time and prep your interview panel for follow-up questions.

5 Examples of Take-Home Tasks for Different Roles

The work assignments and interview process windup

Work assignments are a good thing for companies and candidates alike. The result is like the difference between speed dating and a real dinner and a first date. Yes, they’re both exciting, but in the case of hiring, you need to hire someone that can demonstrate they have the right skills. The cost of hiring the wrong candidate is just too high for companies.

To find truly interested candidates, who have the right aptitude, introduce your team to the benefits of work assignments. You’ll save both parties loads of time and the hassle of a dragged-out interview process and other redundant hiring steps.

If you’re ready to explore how to transform your business’ hiring process from a time-consuming to a slick candidate pipeline, we leave you with five simple tips on designing an effective homework assignment.

5 simple tips for designing a great homework assignment:

  • Replace resume screening with basic skills screening. Start the sifting process early with a quick skills screening test . This will weed out the bad eggs and leave you with a selection of good potential candidates.
  • Make your assignment brief and easy to understand, and explain the key outputs you expect.
  • Match the level of the homework assignment to the level of the role. Unrealistic tasks will only scare people off.
  • Don’t request candidates to solve super-specific business problems. Make the assignment generalized, not based on a super specific problem your business is experiencing.
  • Give the candidate a chance to show and tell. That way, you get insight into their thought process, presentation skills, and even emotional intelligence when their viewpoint is challenged.

Have a peek at our Test Library for more assignment ideas, and good luck!

Juste Semetaite

Juste loves investigating through writing. A copywriter by trade, she spent the last ten years in startups, telling stories and building marketing teams. She works at Toggl Hire and writes about how businesses can recruit really great people.

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Examining Sample Assignment 1: Summary and Analysis

In this chapter and in the next three, I walk through example assignments and how you might analyze them to better understand your task.

This assignment comes from one of my first-year writing classes. It’s a fairly typical early assignment in my first-year writing classes, one that asks students to read a text and engage with it in some way. In this case, the readings include the same one I use as a model in the first section of this book , though the actual assignment differs a bit.

The ability to read critically and summarize accurately is a crucial academic skill. The ability to use ideas from one text to guide understanding in another text is similarly crucial. This assignment helps you practice both of these skills.

Your summary will need to explain the key concepts in Mitchell’s article and to explain the main points in the article that you choose to work with. In class, we will work specifically on critical reading strategies to understand how authors make claims and connect those claims to one another. We will also work on techniques for writing strong summaries that accurately represent an author’s work.

Your summaries of these texts should be between 300 and 400 words of your final paper.

In this part of your paper, you will make connections between Mitchell’s concepts and the specific situation described in the article you have chosen. Specifically, you must try to explain the situation in your article using the terms “segregated coexistence” and “living in community” as Mitchell explains them. Think about questions like the following:

  • Does the article you have chosen describe a situation that could be considered “segregated coexistence”? If so, what is that situation and how well does it align with “segregated coexistence” as Mitchell describes it?
  • Similarly, does the article you have chosen describe a situation that could be considered “living in community”? If so, what is that situation and how well does it align with “living in community” as Mitchell describes it?
  • Are there ways in which Mitchell’s terms don’t apply or don’t cover the issue well enough? How so?

Note that this part of your paper should be between 400 and 500 words long, longer than your summaries. While accurately summarizing is important, readers at the college level are more interested in seeing your thinking, so this part should be longer than your summary.

When I comment on your summary and analysis, I will be looking to see how well you have met the goals of the assignment. That is, I will be looking for how accurately and thoroughly you have summarized the articles and how well you have explained and provided support for your analysis. If you only provide summaries of the articles without analysis, your project will not be successful. Instead, your project should demonstrate your critical reading and thinking skills.

Your summary and analysis will also need to meet the standard expectations of good college-level academic writing, which we will be working on during the term. Your purpose and focus will need to be clear and well explained. You will need to provide your reader with sufficient detail in your summary and your response so that your explanations are clear and thorough. You will also need to provide structural cues that enable your reader to follow the logic of your thinking. And your prose will need to be well written both stylistically and grammatically.

Examining the Verbs in Key Sentences

When I read this assignment, I find three key sentences that tell us what we’re supposed to do in this assignment.

Before going on, try to find the key sentences in the Summary and Analysis assignment. Then, read on to see if you agree with my choices.

Let’s look at them.

First Sentence for Examination

To start, there is a sentence summarizing the assignment at the top. Sentences pulled out like this are often important:

Summarize the ideas of “segregated coexistence” and “living in community” from Mitchell’s essay and analyze how those ideas apply to the situation described in an additional article (see sources below).

The verbs here are pretty direct: summarize and analyze.

  • What are you summarizing? Mitchell’s ideas
  • What are you analyzing? How those ideas apply to the situation in the second article you have chosen

Second Sentence for Examination

There’s another key sentence at the beginning of the “Summaries” section:

Your summary will need to explain the key concepts in Mitchell’s article and to explain the main points in the article that you choose to work with.

The verbs here are less helpful, at least until we look at the words around them.

When someone tells you that you “will need” to do something, you know that they mean that you “must” do it. If we substitute “must” for “will need,” we get a bit more help:

Your summary must explain the key concepts in Mitchell’s article and must explain the main points in the article that you choose to work with.

“Choose” is not terribly important for our purposes because it’s just identifying the second source that we are working with. “Explain,” however, seems to be very important.

Here we get a focus for our summary work:

  • Explain the key concepts in Mitchell’s article (which have been identified in the first sentence we analyzed)
  • Explain the main points in the article we’ve chosen

In this sentence, we have more detail about what “summarizing” looks like for this assignment.

Third Sentence for Examination

To understand the “analyzing” part of the assignment, we have a couple of sentences at the beginning of the “Analysis” section. I’m including two sentences since the second sentence begins with “specifically,” which indicates that it’s providing more detail about the first:

In this part of your paper, you will make connections between Mitchell’s concepts and the specific situation described in the article you have chosen . Specifically, you must try to explain the situation in your article using the terms “segregated coexistence” and “living in community” as Mitchell explains them.

These verbs require a bit of adjustment before our task will be clear. “Will make” doesn’t tell us much without the following word “connections,” without which we don’t know what we are making. However, “will make connections” can also be understood as simply “connect.” Here’s the sentence with this adjustment (eliminating a few more words to make the sentence grammatically correct:

In this part of your paper, you will connect Mitchell’s concepts and the specific situation described in the article you have chosen . Specifically, you must try to explain the situation in your article using the terms “segregated coexistence” and “living in community” as Mitchell explains them.

Similarly, “must try” doesn’t help us until we look at the words that tell us what we are trying to do. In this case, “must try to explain” is the idea we need to focus on. “Must try” in this sentence is an indication that our professor wants us to make effort, but explaining is really the work here:

In this part of your paper, you will connect Mitchell’s concepts and the specific situation described in the article you have chosen . Specifically, you must explain the situation in your article using the terms “segregated coexistence” and “living in community” as Mitchell explains them.

As with the sentence earlier, “have chosen” just indicates our second article, which is why I skipped that one.

The last “explains” is worth looking at in a bit more detail. In this case, the verb is not about your doing the explaining, but rather the fact that Mitchell has done some. From this sentence, we know that we must use the two identified terms in the same way that Mitchell does.

So, in the analysis part of our paper, we need to do the following:

  • Connect Mitchell’s concepts, which we summarized in the summary section of the paper, to the situation in our second article.
  • To do this effectively, we need to use Mitchell’s terms.

Applying Bloom

Having done this analysis, we now have a better sense of the intellectual work of this assignment:

  • Summary Part 1: Explain Mitchell’s key ideas
  • Summary Part 2: Explain the main points in our second article
  • Analysis: Use Mitchell’s ideas to explain the situation in our second article.

Before jumping into the next section, take what you know about the task in the sample assignment and see which types of knowledge and which cognitive processes you believe the assignment is looking for.

After you read the rest of this chapter, decide whether or not you agree with my analysis.

Kinds of Cognitive Processes

First, the verbs.

The summary section of the assignment focused on explaining the key ideas in both articles. It can be helpful to move “up” the pyramid or the side of the grid with the cognitive processes to help us figure this out.

We aren’t being asked to remember, since we can look up the information, but we are being asked to understand both Mitchell’s concepts and the main points from the second article. Notice that on the grid version, summarizing appears at the intersection of factual knowledge and the cognitive process of understanding.

When we look at connections, though, “understanding” doesn’t seem to be enough. Yes, we have to understand, but we’re trying to make those connections (remember the original wording?), and “understanding” seems to be more about making sense of ideas that others have already put together.

The next step is “ applying .” If we look only at the grid, applying doesn’t seem to work, but the pyramids explain this one a bit differently. If applying means to “use information in new situations” or “use information in a new (but similar) form,” the term seems to work, right? The assignment asks us to use Mitchell’s terms to explain the situation in the second article. That sounds like an application to me!

But what about “analysis” in the title of the assignment? Look at the explanation of analyzing on the grid: “Break material into constituent parts and determine how parts relate to one another and to an overall structure of purpose.” Similarly, the pyramids describe analyzing as making connections and exploring relationships.

We aren’t doing this kind of work if we look only at Mitchell’s article; there, we are simply explaining what Mitchell means (i.e., summarizing). But when we get to the second article, we have to do more than just apply Mitchell’s terms. We have to divide up the ideas in that article into ideas that are connected to “segregated coexistence” and ideas that are connected to “living in community.”

To do this successfully, we need to explain how these connections work. This means that it’s not enough to identify specific ideas as either one or the other. We also need to make those connections clear to our reader. Those explanations are kinds of analysis .

The verbs in the assignment do not ask us to make arguments or critique ideas, so Bloom’s “evaluate” doesn’t apply in this assignment. Similarly, we aren’t really “creating” something new, beyond the vague idea that what we write should be in our own words for the most part. These two cognitive processes don’t apply much, if at all, here.

To summarize, looking at the verbs and assignment, we seem to be working in the cognitive realms of understanding, applying, and analyzing.

Kinds of Knowledge

While the verbs tell us about the cognitive processes that we are being asked to use, the examination of those key sentences can also help us focus on the information that we will need to complete the task. While much of this was obvious as we explored the verbs, I’ll break it down a bit here to complete the example.

In this case, we will need to know/understand the following:

  • Mitchell’s key terms (“segregated coexistence” and “living in community”)
  • The main ideas in our second article
  • The connections between Mitchell’s concepts and the ideas in our second article

The first two would be factual knowledge, according to Bloom’s Taxonomy. We should be able to go to the article and find those ideas. We aren’t developing those terms or ideas; we are simply recording them. To do that, we have to understand them, but that’s a cognitive process, and we’ll come back to that in a minute.

The connections, however, aren’t factual. Our chosen article doesn’t use Mitchell’s terms directly, so we have to create those connections ourselves. If you look at the descriptions, you’ll see that this type of knowledge is called “ conceptual ,” which specifically is about organizing factual knowledge.

I don’t see anything here that is asking us to work with procedural (how to) knowledge or metacognition (thinking about thinking), so we are just working with the first two types of information.

Putting It Together

In this assignment, we are being asked to use factual and conceptual knowledge to understand, apply, and analyze.

The assignment comes in two parts. The first part is focused on summarizing Mitchell’s two key concepts and the main points from the second article. This part, then, stays firmly in the factual realm. We’re not supposed to talk about our opinions of any of these ideas or start making connections between them in this section. If we fail to present the factual information (e.g., we are missing one summary or the other; or we misread the article so our summary isn’t accurate), we will not succeed at this part. Also, because this is the more basic part of the assignment (lower on the pyramids and grid), if we don’t do this part accurately, odds are good that our analysis part won’t be as successful as we would like.

The second part, what the assignment calls “analysis,” is really a combination of applying and analyzing. We have to understand the main points, too, but mostly, we would do that in the first part of the assignment. In the “analysis,” we need to explain how the ideas in the second article can be categorized using Mitchell’s terms. We’re applying Mitchell, but we also have to explain if our assignment is going to be successful.

At this point, I have beaten this assignment into submission, but I’m hoping you can see the value in taking an assignment apart like this.

Reading and Writing Successfully in College: A Guide for Students Copyright © 2023 by Patricia Lynne is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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The Supreme Court opens the door to more discrimination claims involving job transfers

Nina Totenberg at NPR headquarters in Washington, D.C., May 21, 2019. (photo by Allison Shelley)

Nina Totenberg

example of work assignment

A view of the U.S. Supreme Court on March 26. Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Women's March hide caption

A view of the U.S. Supreme Court on March 26.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday made it easier for workers to bring employment discrimination suits over job transfers based on sex, race, religion or national origin.

At issue was a question that has produced many conflicting decisions in the lower courts over what constitutes illegal discrimination when it comes to job transfers.

The high court's answer Wednesday was that an employee must show some harm, but need not demonstrate harm that is "significant" or "material."

The case before the court was illustrative. It was brought by Jatonya Clayborn Muldrow, a police sergeant who claimed she was transferred from her job as a plainclothes police officer in the intelligence section of the St. Louis Police Department because she is a woman. Muldrow worked in the Intelligence Division from 2008 to 2017 investigating public corruption and human trafficking cases. She also oversaw the Gang Unit, served as head of the Gun Crimes Unit, and was assigned as a task force officer with the FBI.

Despite high employment evaluations, a new unit commander engineered her transfer out of the Intelligence Division. Among other things, he justified the transfer by noting that the division's work was "very dangerous." Over her objections, Muldrow was reassigned to a uniformed job in the department's Fifth District, where she supervised the activities of neighborhood patrol officers — approving arrests, reviewing reports and handling other administrative matters.

Though her pay and rank remained the same, Muldrow sued the police department, asserting that she had been harmed by the transfer. Because she was no longer in the Intelligence Division, she lost her FBI status and the car that came with it, and in the new job Muldrow often had to work nights and weekends, instead of the Monday-through-Friday workweek she had worked in the intelligence unit.

Supreme Court gives skeptical eye to key statute used to prosecute Jan. 6 rioters

Supreme Court gives skeptical eye to key statute used to prosecute Jan. 6 rioters

A federal district court judge ruled in favor of the police department, without a trial, and the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Muldrow's transfer, declaring that because she could show no "diminution to her title, salary, or benefits," her claims of discrimination were not "significant."

But on Wednesday the Supreme Court reversed that ruling and laid out a more stringent test for lower courts to use in determining whether a discrimination claim based on altered conditions of employment can proceed to trial.

The decision was unanimous , but the reasoning was not.

Writing for the six-member majority, Justice Elena Kagan said that the federal law banning discrimination in employment includes a ban not just on economic discrimination; it includes a ban on discrimination in the "terms" and "conditions" of employment." Kagan said that covers a transfer that changed "nothing less than the what, where, and when of [Muldrow's] police work."

While the 8th Circuit and some other courts have required that such discrimination claims show "significant" or "material" harm, the Supreme Court said that is too high a bar. The anti-discrimination statute "targets practices that 'treat a person worse' " because of their sex, race, religion or national origin, the court said.

Explaining why this higher threshold is necessary, Kagan said that "whether the harm is significant" turns out to be "in the eye of the beholder." And to prove the point she cited examples that lower courts have held to be not significant:

  • an engineering technician is assigned to a new job site — in a 14-by-22- foot wind tunnel;
  • a shipping worker is transferred to a position involving only nighttime work;
  • and a school principal is transferred to a non-school-based administrative role supervising fewer employees.

In each of those sex or race discrimination cases, the lower courts found that there was no "significant" harm to conditions of employment.

That, however, is "the wrong standard," Kagan explained. Rather, if an employee can show some harm because of sex, race, religion or national origin, that is enough. "Had Congress wanted to limit the liability for job transfers to those causing a significant disadvantage, it could have done so," wrote Kagan, adding that the court "does not get to make that judgment" by rewriting the statute.

Three justices — Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh — wrote opinions concurring with the result but not the reasoning.

Alito's was the most extraordinary. "I do not join the Court's unhelpful opinion," he wrote, adding of its reasoning: "I have no idea what this means."

Justice Thomas picked some legal nits with the majority opinion, but in the end, acknowledged that it is "unlikely" the 8th Circuit had a "stringent" enough standard in mind.

And Justice Kavanaugh wrote that he favored a different and less complicated approach. If a job transfer is based on sex, race, religion or national origin, it is discriminatory, period, whether or not it causes some concrete harm. That said, he acknowledged the court's "new some-harm requirement appears to be a relatively low bar" that ought to be easily met for anyone transferred based on their sex, race, religion or national origin.

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Gender pay gap in U.S. hasn’t changed much in two decades

The gender gap in pay has remained relatively stable in the United States over the past 20 years or so. In 2022, women earned an average of 82% of what men earned, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of median hourly earnings of both full- and part-time workers. These results are similar to where the pay gap stood in 2002, when women earned 80% as much as men.

A chart showing that the Gender pay gap in the U.S. has not closed in recent years, but is narrower among young workers

As has long been the case, the wage gap is smaller for workers ages 25 to 34 than for all workers 16 and older. In 2022, women ages 25 to 34 earned an average of 92 cents for every dollar earned by a man in the same age group – an 8-cent gap. By comparison, the gender pay gap among workers of all ages that year was 18 cents.

While the gender pay gap has not changed much in the last two decades, it has narrowed considerably when looking at the longer term, both among all workers ages 16 and older and among those ages 25 to 34. The estimated 18-cent gender pay gap among all workers in 2022 was down from 35 cents in 1982. And the 8-cent gap among workers ages 25 to 34 in 2022 was down from a 26-cent gap four decades earlier.

The gender pay gap measures the difference in median hourly earnings between men and women who work full or part time in the United States. Pew Research Center’s estimate of the pay gap is based on an analysis of Current Population Survey (CPS) monthly outgoing rotation group files ( IPUMS ) from January 1982 to December 2022, combined to create annual files. To understand how we calculate the gender pay gap, read our 2013 post, “How Pew Research Center measured the gender pay gap.”

The COVID-19 outbreak affected data collection efforts by the U.S. government in its surveys, especially in 2020 and 2021, limiting in-person data collection and affecting response rates. It is possible that some measures of economic outcomes and how they vary across demographic groups are affected by these changes in data collection.

In addition to findings about the gender wage gap, this analysis includes information from a Pew Research Center survey about the perceived reasons for the pay gap, as well as the pressures and career goals of U.S. men and women. The survey was conducted among 5,098 adults and includes a subset of questions asked only for 2,048 adults who are employed part time or full time, from Oct. 10-16, 2022. Everyone who took part is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), an online survey panel that is recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses. This way nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories. Read more about the ATP’s methodology .

Here are the questions used in this analysis, along with responses, and its methodology .

The  U.S. Census Bureau has also analyzed the gender pay gap, though its analysis looks only at full-time workers (as opposed to full- and part-time workers). In 2021, full-time, year-round working women earned 84% of what their male counterparts earned, on average, according to the Census Bureau’s most recent analysis.

Much of the gender pay gap has been explained by measurable factors such as educational attainment, occupational segregation and work experience. The narrowing of the gap over the long term is attributable in large part to gains women have made in each of these dimensions.

Related: The Enduring Grip of the Gender Pay Gap

Even though women have increased their presence in higher-paying jobs traditionally dominated by men, such as professional and managerial positions, women as a whole continue to be overrepresented in lower-paying occupations relative to their share of the workforce. This may contribute to gender differences in pay.

Other factors that are difficult to measure, including gender discrimination, may also contribute to the ongoing wage discrepancy.

Perceived reasons for the gender wage gap

A bar chart showing that Half of U.S. adults say women being treated differently by employers is a major reason for the gender wage gap

When asked about the factors that may play a role in the gender wage gap, half of U.S. adults point to women being treated differently by employers as a major reason, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in October 2022. Smaller shares point to women making different choices about how to balance work and family (42%) and working in jobs that pay less (34%).

There are some notable differences between men and women in views of what’s behind the gender wage gap. Women are much more likely than men (61% vs. 37%) to say a major reason for the gap is that employers treat women differently. And while 45% of women say a major factor is that women make different choices about how to balance work and family, men are slightly less likely to hold that view (40% say this).

Parents with children younger than 18 in the household are more likely than those who don’t have young kids at home (48% vs. 40%) to say a major reason for the pay gap is the choices that women make about how to balance family and work. On this question, differences by parental status are evident among both men and women.

Views about reasons for the gender wage gap also differ by party. About two-thirds of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents (68%) say a major factor behind wage differences is that employers treat women differently, but far fewer Republicans and Republican leaners (30%) say the same. Conversely, Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say women’s choices about how to balance family and work (50% vs. 36%) and their tendency to work in jobs that pay less (39% vs. 30%) are major reasons why women earn less than men.

Democratic and Republican women are more likely than their male counterparts in the same party to say a major reason for the gender wage gap is that employers treat women differently. About three-quarters of Democratic women (76%) say this, compared with 59% of Democratic men. And while 43% of Republican women say unequal treatment by employers is a major reason for the gender wage gap, just 18% of GOP men share that view.

Pressures facing working women and men

Family caregiving responsibilities bring different pressures for working women and men, and research has shown that being a mother can reduce women’s earnings , while fatherhood can increase men’s earnings .

A chart showing that about two-thirds of U.S. working mothers feel a great deal of pressure to focus on responsibilities at home

Employed women and men are about equally likely to say they feel a great deal of pressure to support their family financially and to be successful in their jobs and careers, according to the Center’s October survey. But women, and particularly working mothers, are more likely than men to say they feel a great deal of pressure to focus on responsibilities at home.

About half of employed women (48%) report feeling a great deal of pressure to focus on their responsibilities at home, compared with 35% of employed men. Among working mothers with children younger than 18 in the household, two-thirds (67%) say the same, compared with 45% of working dads.

When it comes to supporting their family financially, similar shares of working moms and dads (57% vs. 62%) report they feel a great deal of pressure, but this is driven mainly by the large share of unmarried working mothers who say they feel a great deal of pressure in this regard (77%). Among those who are married, working dads are far more likely than working moms (60% vs. 43%) to say they feel a great deal of pressure to support their family financially. (There were not enough unmarried working fathers in the sample to analyze separately.)

About four-in-ten working parents say they feel a great deal of pressure to be successful at their job or career. These findings don’t differ by gender.

Gender differences in job roles, aspirations

A bar chart showing that women in the U.S. are more likely than men to say they're not the boss at their job - and don't want to be in the future

Overall, a quarter of employed U.S. adults say they are currently the boss or one of the top managers where they work, according to the Center’s survey. Another 33% say they are not currently the boss but would like to be in the future, while 41% are not and do not aspire to be the boss or one of the top managers.

Men are more likely than women to be a boss or a top manager where they work (28% vs. 21%). This is especially the case among employed fathers, 35% of whom say they are the boss or one of the top managers where they work. (The varying attitudes between fathers and men without children at least partly reflect differences in marital status and educational attainment between the two groups.)

In addition to being less likely than men to say they are currently the boss or a top manager at work, women are also more likely to say they wouldn’t want to be in this type of position in the future. More than four-in-ten employed women (46%) say this, compared with 37% of men. Similar shares of men (35%) and women (31%) say they are not currently the boss but would like to be one day. These patterns are similar among parents.

Note: This is an update of a post originally published on March 22, 2019. Anna Brown and former Pew Research Center writer/editor Amanda Barroso contributed to an earlier version of this analysis. Here are the questions used in this analysis, along with responses, and its methodology .

example of work assignment

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Carolina Aragão is a research associate focusing on social and demographic trends at Pew Research Center

Women have gained ground in the nation’s highest-paying occupations, but still lag behind men

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    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 ...

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    Choose assignments that boost the skills and employ all of their experiences, instead of something that simply needs to be done. For example: Tasks that require they brush up on their team communication skills; Learning how to allocate smaller tasks; Supervising others' work and doing quality control; Learning to work with a new tool;

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