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assignment noun

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What does the noun assignment mean?

There are 14 meanings listed in OED's entry for the noun assignment , six of which are labelled obsolete. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.

assignment has developed meanings and uses in subjects including

Entry status

OED is undergoing a continuous programme of revision to modernize and improve definitions. This entry has not yet been fully revised.

How common is the noun assignment ?

How is the noun assignment pronounced?

British english, u.s. english, where does the noun assignment come from.

Earliest known use

Middle English

The earliest known use of the noun assignment is in the Middle English period (1150—1500).

OED's earliest evidence for assignment is from 1393, in the writing of John Gower, poet.

assignment is a borrowing from French .

Etymons: French assignement .

Nearby entries

• assignably, adv. 1674–
• assignat, n. 1790–
• assignate, adj. 1471
• assignation, n. a1400–
• assigned, adj. c1374–
• assignee, adj. & n. 1419–
• assigneeism, n. 1883–
• assigneeship, n. 1829–
• assigner, n. 1667–
• assigning, n. 1580–
• assignment, n. 1393–
• assignor, n. 1690–
• assilag, n. 1698–
• assimilability, n. a1834–
• assimilable, adj. & n. 1646–
• assimilado, n. 1953–
• assimilant, adj. & n. 1680–84
• assimilate, adj. & n. 1671–
• assimilate, v. 1578–
• assimilated, adj. 1797–
• assimilateness, n. 1731–

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Meaning & use

Pronunciation, compounds & derived words, entry history for assignment, n..

assignment, n. was first published in 1885; not yet revised.

assignment, n. was last modified in June 2024.

Revision of the OED is a long-term project. Entries in oed.com which have not been revised may include:

• corrections and revisions to definitions, pronunciation, etymology, headwords, variant spellings, quotations, and dates;
• new senses, phrases, and quotations which have been added in subsequent print and online updates.

Revisions and additions of this kind were last incorporated into assignment, n. in June 2024.

Earlier versions of this entry were published in:

OED First Edition (1885)

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OED Second Edition (1989)

• View assignment in OED Second Edition

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Definition of assignment

task , duty , job , chore , stint , assignment mean a piece of work to be done.

task implies work imposed by a person in authority or an employer or by circumstance.

duty implies an obligation to perform or responsibility for performance.

job applies to a piece of work voluntarily performed; it may sometimes suggest difficulty or importance.

chore implies a minor routine activity necessary for maintaining a household or farm.

stint implies a carefully allotted or measured quantity of assigned work or service.

assignment implies a definite limited task assigned by one in authority.

Examples of assignment in a Sentence

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'assignment.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

see assign entry 1

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing assignment

• self - assignment

Dictionary Entries Near assignment

Cite this entry.

“Assignment.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/assignment. Accessed 21 Sep. 2024.

Legal Definition

Legal definition of assignment, more from merriam-webster on assignment.

Nglish: Translation of assignment for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of assignment for Arabic Speakers

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Using Word Definitions in Formal Essays: Incorporation and Citation

by Robbie Glen

A side note on titles and abbreviations: This abbreviated title rule does not always apply for the body of your paper. The OED may be called the OED in the body because, although it is an abbreviated form, people actually call it this (at least this is my explanation). Generally, abbreviated titles are only acceptable within citations, e.g. a paper on Love's Labour's Lost, while referring to the entire title in the prose, may, after the play has been identified, thereafter cite simply by using LLL followed by the act, scene and line number(s). However, the author would not say, "When the acting company first performed LLL ?"-this is too informal, and while I have seen it done, it is rare and best avoided for our purposes. When we get into writing papers that compare and contrast multiple texts from this course, you'll be able to abbreviate Fight Club as FC and The Talented Mr. Ripley as TTMR in your citations, after the first time you've identified the text by its full name. In general, one word titles are not truncated to a single letter, so we won't be representing Vertigo as V .

I've attached the OED 's entry for sympathy as a noun; as you'll see, there are four main definitions, and #1 and #3 have sub-definitions. The citation I use above shows my reader that I am referring first to the entry for sympathy as a noun, secondly that it is definition number 3, and thirdly that it is sub-definition d. Citing so specifically is crucial, especially since differences between various definitions can often be maddeningly subtle on first examination. If you are using a definition to shape or support your argument, you want to eliminate any possibility of misunderstanding on the part of your reader.

Here is the link to the definition of Sympathy as a noun.

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Meaning of assignment in English

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

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

assignment | Intermediate English

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

These are words often used in combination with assignment .

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Translations of assignment

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crime doesn't pay

an expression meaning that you believe criminals are always punished for their crimes

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Other forms: assignments

Whether you’re an international spy with a new mission or a high school student with math homework — when you get an assignment , you’d better do it! An assignment is a task that someone in authority has asked you to do.

The word assignment is just the noun form of the common verb assign , which you use when you want to give someone a duty or a job. When you assign something, that something is called an assignment . The word can also refer to the act of distributing something. If you are distributing new office furniture at work, you might say, “ Assignment of the new chairs will begin tomorrow.”

• noun an undertaking that you have been assigned to do (as by an instructor) see more see less types: show 6 types... hide 6 types... school assignment , schoolwork a school task performed by a student to satisfy the teacher writing assignment , written assignment an assignment to write something classroom project a school task requiring considerable effort classwork the part of a student's work that is done in the classroom homework , prep , preparation preparatory school work done outside school (especially at home) lesson a task assigned for individual study type of: labor , project , task , undertaking any piece of work that is undertaken or attempted
• noun a duty that you are assigned to perform (especially in the armed forces) “a hazardous assignment ” synonyms: duty assignment see more see less types: show 10 types... hide 10 types... guard , guard duty , sentry duty , sentry go the duty of serving as a sentry fatigue , fatigue duty labor of a nonmilitary kind done by soldiers (cleaning or digging or draining or so on) charge , commission , mission a special assignment that is given to a person or group reassignment assignment to a different duty sea-duty , service abroad , shipboard duty naval service aboard a ship at sea shore duty naval service at land bases fool's errand a fruitless mission mission impossible an extremely dangerous or difficult mission martyr operation , sacrifice operation , suicide mission killing or injuring others while annihilating yourself; usually accomplished with a bomb secondment the detachment of a person from their regular organization for temporary assignment elsewhere type of: duty work that you are obliged to perform for moral or legal reasons
• noun the act of putting a person into a non-elective position synonyms: appointment , designation , naming see more see less types: show 6 types... hide 6 types... nomination the act of officially naming a candidate co-optation , co-option the act of appointing summarily (with or without the appointee's consent) delegacy the appointment of a delegate ordinance , ordination the act of ordaining; the act of conferring (or receiving) holy orders recognition designation by the chair granting a person the right to speak in a deliberative body laying on of hands laying hands on a person's head to invoke spiritual blessing in Christian ordination type of: conclusion , decision , determination the act of making up your mind about something
• noun the act of distributing something to designated places or persons “the first task is the assignment of an address to each datum” synonyms: assigning see more see less types: allocation , storage allocation (computer science) the assignment of particular areas of a magnetic disk to particular data or instructions type of: distribution the act of distributing or spreading or apportioning
• noun (law) a transfer of property by deed of conveyance synonyms: grant see more see less types: apanage , appanage a grant (by a sovereign or a legislative body) of resources to maintain a dependent member of a ruling family land grant a grant of public land (as to a railway or college) type of: transferred possession , transferred property a possession whose ownership changes or lapses
• noun the instrument by which a claim or right or interest or property is transferred from one person to another see more see less type of: instrument , legal document , legal instrument , official document (law) a document that states some contractual relationship or grants some right

Vocabulary lists containing assignment

The Dawes Act, or General Allotment Act of 1887, was a law that allowed the U.S. government to take Native American tribal lands and divide them into 40 acre lots for individual Native Americans. The goal was to break up communal tribal lands and speed the assimilation of Native Americans into American society. The Dawes Act caused great suffering with much of the land winding up in the hands of white settlers.

Learn these words from the autobiography by David Lubar (Inside: Level B, Unit 4). Here are our links to the selections of "Every Body Is a Winner": The Human Machine; My Fabulous Footprint , The Beat Goes On; All Pumped Up , Two Left Feet, Two Left Hands , How Coach Told Me; Bionics Here are our links to the units of Level B: Unit 1 , Unit 2 , Unit 3 , Unit 4 , Unit 5 , Unit 6 , Unit 7 , Unit 8 Here are our links to the Inside books: Level A , Level B , Level C Here is our link to a list of academic vocabulary for Inside: Academic Vocabulary

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global assignment

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Is a job assignment within a multinational corporation that involves expatriation; that is the relocation of an employee to another country. Specialists in international human resource management identify different types of global assignment. Technical assignments occur when employees with technical skills are sent from one country to another to fill a particular skill shortage. Developmental assignments, in contrast, are typically used within a management development programme and are used to equip managers with new skills and competencies. Strategic assignments arise when key executives are sent from one country to another to launch a product, develop a market or initiate another key change in business strategy. Finally, functional assignments resemble technical assignments but differ in one important respect. Technical assignments do not require the assignee to interact extensively with employees in the host country but this is a requirement of functional assignments and for this reason assignees are often prepared through cross-cultural training.

From:   global assignment   in  A Dictionary of Human Resource Management »

Subjects: Social sciences — Business and Management

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Meaning of "assignment" in the English dictionary

Pronunciation of assignment, grammatical category of assignment, what does assignment mean in english, definition of assignment in the english dictionary.

The first definition of assignment in the dictionary is something that has been assigned, such as a mission or task. Other definition of assignment is a position or post to which a person is assigned. Assignment is also the act of assigning or state of being assigned.

WORDS THAT RHYME WITH ASSIGNMENT

Words that begin like assignment, words that end like assignment, synonyms and antonyms of assignment in the english dictionary of synonyms, synonyms of «assignment», words relating to «assignment», translation of «assignment» into 25 languages.

TRANSLATION OF ASSIGNMENT

Translator english - chinese, translator english - spanish, translator english - hindi, translator english - arabic, translator english - russian, translator english - portuguese, translator english - bengali, translator english - french, translator english - malay, translator english - german, translator english - japanese, translator english - korean, translator english - javanese, translator english - vietnamese, translator english - tamil, translator english - marathi, translator english - turkish, translator english - italian, translator english - polish, translator english - ukrainian, translator english - romanian, translator english - greek, translator english - afrikaans, translator english - swedish, translator english - norwegian, trends of use of assignment, tendencies of use of the term «assignment».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «ASSIGNMENT» OVER TIME

Examples of use in the english literature, quotes and news about assignment, 10 quotes with «assignment», 10 english books relating to «assignment», 10 news items which include the term «assignment».

Dr. Freeman - ENC 1101 (Plant City): Library Research Assignment

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ENC 1101 Library Research Assignment

Tips for your library research assignment:.

• When needing to find books use the HCC Libraries Online Catalog.  
•  The catalog allows you to search for books located at all of the HCC Libraries and at all Florida higher education institutions called the Statewide Catalog.  

Things to Think About

• Formats are:  books (print, e-book), articles (newspaper, magazine, journal), videos (streaming, DVD), images, etc.
• Types of Resources See Types of Resources for more information.

If  you need librarian assistance with this assignment, please feel free to contact an HCC Librarian . 

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1.  Locate and cite a single biography of one of the following U.S Presidents : Nixon, Lincoln, Kennedy, Clinton, Bush, Obama, or Trump.

Use the HCC library catalog to answer this question and to search for your subject term. Open the Advanced Search page. 

Example :  

Type the search term "John F. Kennedy" in the keyword box.  The first few results should be book records, whether e-book or printed should not matter since you are just needing to provide a citation.

 An excellent resource to help write your citation is your  Composition and Grammar  textbook for this class.  The MLA Citation section starts on page 399.

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2. Using the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) , locate the definition and etymology of the terms “husband” and “tranquil”.

The OED is available from the library as a database. You can access OED by clicking on the link below.  Once you have opened OED , type your word in the search box and click Go. Your results list should appear. Click on "Full Entry" to look at the complete entry for your word.

• Oxford English Dictionary (Oxford University Press) Searchable online version of the Oxford English Dictionary. Includes the complete text of the Oxford English Dictionary's twenty-volume Second Edition and three-volume Additions Series. Funding source: FLVC group license. Here is a tutorial .

3.  Using the electronic Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH), or the hard copy, locate the educational requirements and salary range for a profession of your choice.

The Occupational Outlook Handbook is published by the U.S. Department of Labor and is available as either a print source in the HCC Plant City Library or online through the U.S. Department of Labor website.  Below find links to the online version.

• Occupational Outlook Handbook Website version of the Occupational Outlook Handbook. Use for Question 3 on the Library Research Assignment.

4. Using Library Resources for Online Learners, locate an article on “plagiarism” and provide a citation. 

For this question, open the   Library Resources for Online Learners .

 Follow these steps to help answer this question:

• Open the Find Articles page 
• Open up the Library Databases
• This opens the Advanced Search page for this database
• Under More Options, co nfirm Full Text Documents is checked
• Choose Search

Choose any article listed in the results by clicking on the article title.  To cite using MLA 9th Edition format, please use the resources found starting on page 399 of your Composition and Grammar textbook.

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5.  Using the HCC Library Catalog to search the Statewide Catalog and find a book on the subject of "artificial intelligence" and provide a full citation.

Follow these steps to locate a resource for this question:

•  Type bitcoin in the search box.
•  Choose the magnifying glass to start your search
•  Several different types of resources will be in the results
• If you are using a mobile device, look for the filter icon to view the Filter Your Results Section
•   Open the pull down menu for Resource Type
•   Choose Books
•   The page will refresh
•   Open a book record and follow the steps in your textbook for proper citations
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6 a - d. Using the Simple Search option, locate and cite:

• Type depression in the search term box
• Use Resource Type Videos
• The results will be both DVD and streaming videos
• Type Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in the search term box - start search
• Choose Author/Creator
• Choose Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie from the options
• Type hurricanes in the search term box
• See the information in the next box to answer this question

"2024 Presidential Campaign"

To answer this question, follow these steps:

• At the Top Header of the HCC Library Catalog, choose Databases A-Z to open our listing of databases.
• For this assignment, Academic One File is a good one to use

Evaluate the search results in the database.  Make sure you are using an article written about your topic, not an article reviewing a book about your topic.  Book reviews are not academic sources for research.

7. Using the Academic Video Online database (Alexander Street Press), locate and cite three videos on the subject of American Democracy.

Academic video online or avon for short, is a streaming video database. see the link below for access..

• Academic Video Online (Alexander Street Press)

8. Using the Keyword "Cybersecurity" and searching the Statewide Collection cite two of the most relevant search result(s).

Start a new search

• Type cybersecurity as your Keyword Search Term
• Change this to Statewide Collection

9. Using the Research Guides (LibGuides) tool, locate your course LibGuide and cite two of the MLA Citation guides listed under Writing and MLA Citation Guides.

• Find the Research Guides from the HCC Libraries Online Catalog by opening Search HCC Libraries (see link below)
• Search for ENC 1101 Freeman (your instructor's last name)
• Choose the LibGuide for your class (ENC 1101, ENC 1102 ,etc.)
• Use the resources in the Writing and MLA Citation Guides Box

Question 10

10. within the libguide, locate the definition essay assignment; from the   "resources for the definition essay"  tab,  identify  three  possible sources that may be used for a definition essay. .

• Go to the Definition Essay Assignment page in this LibGuide to answer this question
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• Last Updated: Sep 18, 2024 3:09 PM
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  Vocabulary      

What does assignment mean?

Definitions for assignment əˈsaɪn mənt as·sign·ment, this dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word assignment ., princeton's wordnet rate this definition: 4.0 / 1 vote.

assignment, duty assignment noun

a duty that you are assigned to perform (especially in the armed forces)

"hazardous duty"

• assignment noun

the instrument by which a claim or right or interest or property is transferred from one person to another

assignment, assigning noun

the act of distributing something to designated places or persons

"the first task is the assignment of an address to each datum"

grant, assignment noun

(law) a transfer of property by deed of conveyance

an undertaking that you have been assigned to do (as by an instructor)

appointment, assignment, designation, naming noun

the act of putting a person into a non-elective position

"the appointment had to be approved by the whole committee"

Wiktionary Rate this definition: 1.0 / 1 vote

the act of assigning, or an assigned task

a position to which someone is assigned

a task given to students, homework or coursework

a transfer of something from one person to another, especially property, or a claim or right; the document that effects this transfer

an operation that assigns a value to a variable

Etymology: assignement

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary Rate this definition: 0.0 / 0 votes

Assignment noun

Appointment of one thing with regard to another thing or person.

Etymology: from assign.

The only thing which maketh any place publick, is the publick assignment thereof unto such duties. Richard Hooker , b. v. § 12.

This institution, which assigns it to a person, whom we have no rule to know, is just as good as an assignment to no body at all. John Locke.

ChatGPT Rate this definition: 0.0 / 0 votes

An assignment is a task or duty that is given or assigned to someone, often as part of their job or academic work. It refers to the allocation of responsibilities or roles to individuals or groups, usually within the context of projects, homework, or duties. Assignment can also refer to the act of transferring rights, property or obligations from one party to another.

Webster Dictionary Rate this definition: 4.0 / 1 vote

an allotting or an appointment to a particular person or use; or for a particular time, as of a cause or causes in court

a transfer of title or interest by writing, as of lease, bond, note, or bill of exchange; a transfer of the whole of some particular estate or interest in lands

the writing by which an interest is transferred

the transfer of the property of a bankrupt to certain persons called assignees, in whom it is vested for the benefit of creditors

Etymology: [LL. assignamentum: cf. OF. assenement.]

Wikidata Rate this definition: 0.0 / 0 votes

In computer programming, an assignment statement sets and/or re-sets the value stored in the storage location denoted by a variable name, in other words, it copies the value into the variable. In most imperative programming languages, the assignment statement is a fundamental construct. Today, the most commonly used notation for this basic operation has come to be x = expr followed by x := expr, although there are many other notations in use. In some languages the symbol used is regarded as an operator while others define the assignment as a statement. Assignments typically allow a variable to hold different values at different times during its life-span and scope. However, some languages does not allow that kind of "destructive" re-assignment, as it might imply changes of non-local state. The purpose is to enforce referential transparency, i.e. functions that do not depend on the state of some variable, but produce the same results for a given set of parametric inputs at any point in time. Modern programs in other languages also often use similar strategies, although less strict, and only in certain parts, in order to reduce complexity, normally in conjunction with complementing methodologies such as data structuring, structured programming and object orientation.

Military Dictionary and Gazetteer Rate this definition: 0.0 / 0 votes

If, upon marches, guards, or in quarters, different corps of the army shall happen to join or do duty together, the officer highest in rank of the line of the army, marine corps, or militia, by commission, there on duty or in quarters, shall command the whole, and give orders for what is needful to the service, unless otherwise specially directed by the President of the United States, according to the nature of the case. See Appendix, Articles of War, 122.

Editors Contribution Rate this definition: 0.0 / 0 votes

A specific task or goal assigned to a person or team to achieve.

The assignment is easy and simple to complete.

Submitted by MaryC on March 13, 2020  

Suggested Resources Rate this definition: 0.0 / 0 votes

Song lyrics by assignment -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by assignment on the Lyrics.com website.

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• Legal Document
• Transferred Property
• Undertaking

British National Corpus

Written Corpus Frequency

Rank popularity for the word 'assignment' in Written Corpus Frequency: #3553

Nouns Frequency

Rank popularity for the word 'assignment' in Nouns Frequency: #2041

Usage in printed sources From:  

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How to pronounce assignment?

Alex US English David US English Mark US English Daniel British Libby British Mia British Karen Australian Hayley Australian Natasha Australian Veena Indian Priya Indian Neerja Indian Zira US English Oliver British Wendy British Fred US English Tessa South African

How to say assignment in sign language?

Chaldean Numerology

The numerical value of assignment in Chaldean Numerology is: 7

Pythagorean Numerology

The numerical value of assignment in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

Examples of assignment in a Sentence

Rachel Miller of Albany :

I just don’t know how to help him, if there’s a history assignment — or even a science problem that I have no idea about — I can look it up on the Internet. I can’t do that with algebra.

Raneshwar Sing Kishan :

if you listen to all those people who have become the face of farmers protest and often give media bites, they have kept the main agenda on the back seat and travelling with luxuries and stressing everywhere on the importance of voting only. It seems through backdoor meeting they were given an assignment by Govt to convince people for voting only.

Jocelyne Harding Beach :

We both travelled a lot, he went on assignment often for the CIA, and that first Christmas, I remember he was gone for three months on an assignment to Laos, and that was tough.

Lloyd Austin :

These include the ability of commanders to consider, as appropriate, the individual immunization status of personnel in making deployment, assignment , and other operational decisions, including when vaccination is required for travel to, or entry into, a foreign nation.

Dr. Viktor E Frankl :

Everyone has his own specific vocation or mission in life everyone must carry out a concrete assignment that demands fulfillment. Therein he cannot be replaced, nor can his life be repeated, thus, everyone's task is unique as his specific opportunity to implement it.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

• ^  Princeton's WordNet http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=assignment
• ^  Wiktionary https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Assignment
• ^  Samuel Johnson's Dictionary https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=assignment
• ^  ChatGPT https://chat.openai.com
• ^  Webster Dictionary https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/assignment
• ^  Wikidata https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=assignment
• ^  Military Dictionary and Gazetteer https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/59563/pg59563-images.html
• ^  Usage in printed sources https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=assignment

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Information about what plagiarism is, and how you can avoid it.

The University defines plagiarism as follows:

“Presenting work or ideas from another source as your own, with or without consent of the original author, by incorporating it into your work without full acknowledgement. All published and unpublished material, whether in manuscript, printed or electronic form, is covered under this definition, as is the use of material generated wholly or in part through use of artificial intelligence (save when use of AI for assessment has received prior authorisation e.g. as a reasonable adjustment for a student’s disability). Plagiarism can also include re-using your own work without citation. Under the regulations for examinations, intentional or reckless plagiarism is a disciplinary offence.”

The necessity to acknowledge others’ work or ideas applies not only to text, but also to other media, such as computer code, illustrations, graphs etc. It applies equally to published text and data drawn from books and journals, and to unpublished text and data, whether from lectures, theses or other students’ essays. You must also attribute text, data, or other resources downloaded from websites.

Please note that artificial intelligence (AI) can only be used within assessments where specific prior authorisation has been given, or when technology that uses AI has been agreed as reasonable adjustment for a student’s disability (such as voice recognition software for transcriptions, or spelling and grammar checkers).

The best way of avoiding plagiarism is to learn and employ the principles of good academic practice from the beginning of your university career. Avoiding plagiarism is not simply a matter of making sure your references are all correct, or changing enough words so the examiner will not notice your paraphrase; it is about deploying your academic skills to make your work as good as it can be.

Students will benefit from taking an  online course  which has been developed to provide a useful overview of the issues surrounding plagiarism and practical ways to avoid it.

Forms of plagiarism

Verbatim (word for word) quotation without clear acknowledgement Quotations must always be identified as such by the use of either quotation marks or indentation, and with full referencing of the sources cited. It must always be apparent to the reader which parts are your own independent work and where you have drawn on ideas and language from another source.

Cutting and pasting from the Internet without clear acknowledgement Information derived from the Internet must be adequately referenced and included in the bibliography. It is important to evaluate carefully all material found on the Internet, as it is less likely to have been through the same process of scholarly peer review as published sources.

Paraphrasing Paraphrasing the work of others by altering a few words and changing their order, or by closely following the structure of their argument, is plagiarism if you do not give due acknowledgement to the author whose work you are using.

A passing reference to the original author in your own text may not be enough; you must ensure that you do not create the misleading impression that the paraphrased wording or the sequence of ideas are entirely your own. It is better to write a brief summary of the author’s overall argument in your own words, indicating that you are doing so, than to paraphrase particular sections of his or her writing. This will ensure you have a genuine grasp of the argument and will avoid the difficulty of paraphrasing without plagiarising. You must also properly attribute all material you derive from lectures.

Collusion This can involve unauthorised collaboration between students, failure to attribute assistance received, or failure to follow precisely regulations on group work projects. It is your responsibility to ensure that you are entirely clear about the extent of collaboration permitted, and which parts of the work must be your own.

Inaccurate citation It is important to cite correctly, according to the conventions of your discipline. As well as listing your sources (i.e. in a bibliography), you must indicate, using a footnote or an in-text reference, where a quoted passage comes from. Additionally, you should not include anything in your references or bibliography that you have not actually consulted. If you cannot gain access to a primary source you must make it clear in your citation that your knowledge of the work has been derived from a secondary text (for example, Bradshaw, D. Title of Book, discussed in Wilson, E., Title of Book (London, 2004), p. 189).

Failure to acknowledge assistance You must clearly acknowledge all assistance which has contributed to the production of your work, such as advice from fellow students, laboratory technicians, and other external sources. This need not apply to the assistance provided by your tutor or supervisor, or to ordinary proofreading, but it is necessary to acknowledge other guidance which leads to substantive changes of content or approach.

Use of material written by professional agencies or other persons You should neither make use of professional agencies in the production of your work nor submit material which has been written for you even with the consent of the person who has written it. It is vital to your intellectual training and development that you should undertake the research process unaided. Under Statute XI on University Discipline, all members of the University are prohibited from providing material that could be submitted in an examination by students at this University or elsewhere.

Auto-plagiarism You must not submit work for assessment that you have already submitted (partially or in full), either for your current course or for another qualification of this, or any other, university, unless this is specifically provided for in the special regulations for your course. Where earlier work by you is citable, i.e. it has already been published, you must reference it clearly. Identical pieces of work submitted concurrently will also be considered to be auto-plagiarism.

Why does plagiarism matter?

Plagiarism is a breach of academic integrity. It is a principle of intellectual honesty that all members of the academic community should acknowledge their debt to the originators of the ideas, words, and data which form the basis for their own work. Passing off another’s work as your own is not only poor scholarship, but also means that you have failed to complete the learning process. Plagiarism is unethical and can have serious consequences for your future career; it also undermines the standards of your institution and of the degrees it issues.

Why should you avoid plagiarism?

There are many reasons to avoid plagiarism. You have come to university to learn to know and speak your own mind, not merely to reproduce the opinions of others - at least not without attribution. At first it may seem very difficult to develop your own views, and you will probably find yourself paraphrasing the writings of others as you attempt to understand and assimilate their arguments. However it is important that you learn to develop your own voice. You are not necessarily expected to become an original thinker, but you are expected to be an independent one - by learning to assess critically the work of others, weigh up differing arguments and draw your own conclusions. Students who plagiarise undermine the ethos of academic scholarship while avoiding an essential part of the learning process.

You should avoid plagiarism because you aspire to produce work of the highest quality. Once you have grasped the principles of source use and citation, you should find it relatively straightforward to steer clear of plagiarism. Moreover, you will reap the additional benefits of improvements to both the lucidity and quality of your writing. It is important to appreciate that mastery of the techniques of academic writing is not merely a practical skill, but one that lends both credibility and authority to your work, and demonstrates your commitment to the principle of intellectual honesty in scholarship.

What happens if you are thought to have plagiarised?

The University regards plagiarism in examinations as a serious matter. Cases will be investigated and penalties may range from deduction of marks to expulsion from the University, depending on the seriousness of the occurrence. Even if plagiarism is inadvertent, it can result in a penalty. The forms of plagiarism listed above are all potentially disciplinary offences in the context of formal assessment requirements.

The regulations regarding conduct in examinations apply equally to the ‘submission and assessment of a thesis, dissertation, essay, or other coursework not undertaken in formal examination conditions but which counts towards or constitutes the work for a degree or other academic award’. Additionally, this includes the transfer and confirmation of status exercises undertaken by graduate students. Cases of suspected plagiarism in assessed work are investigated under the disciplinary regulations concerning conduct in examinations. Intentional plagiarism in this context means that you understood that you were breaching the regulations and did so intending to gain advantage in the examination. Reckless, in this context, means that you understood or could be expected to have understood (even if you did not specifically consider it) that your work might breach the regulations, but you took no action to avoid doing so. Intentional or reckless plagiarism may incur severe penalties, including failure of your degree or expulsion from the university.

If plagiarism is suspected in a piece of work submitted for assessment in an examination, the matter will be referred to the Proctors. They will thoroughly investigate the claim and call the student concerned for interview. If at this point there is no evidence of a breach of the regulations, no further disciplinary action will be taken although there may still be an academic penalty. However, if it is concluded that a breach of the regulations may have occurred, the Proctors will refer the case to the Student Disciplinary Panel.

If you are suspected of plagiarism your College Secretary/Academic Administrator and subject tutor will support you through the process and arrange for a member of Congregation to accompany you to all hearings. They will be able to advise you what to expect during the investigation and how best to make your case. The Oxford SU Student Advice Service can also provide useful information and support. 

Does this mean that I shouldn’t use the work of other authors?

On the contrary, it is vital that you situate your writing within the intellectual debates of your discipline. Academic essays almost always involve the use and discussion of material written by others, and, with due acknowledgement and proper referencing, this is clearly distinguishable from plagiarism. The knowledge in your discipline has developed cumulatively as a result of years of research, innovation and debate. You need to give credit to the authors of the ideas and observations you cite. Not only does this accord recognition to their work, it also helps you to strengthen your argument by making clear the basis on which you make it. Moreover, good citation practice gives your reader the opportunity to follow up your references, or check the validity of your interpretation.

Does every statement in my essay have to be backed up with references?

You may feel that including the citation for every point you make will interrupt the flow of your essay and make it look very unoriginal. At least initially, this may sometimes be inevitable. However, by employing good citation practice from the start, you will learn to avoid errors such as close paraphrasing or inadequately referenced quotation. It is important to understand the reasons behind the need for transparency of source use.

All academic texts, even student essays, are multi-voiced, which means they are filled with references to other texts. Rather than attempting to synthesise these voices into one narrative account, you should make it clear whose interpretation or argument you are employing at any one time - whose ‘voice’ is speaking.

If you are substantially indebted to a particular argument in the formulation of your own, you should make this clear both in footnotes and in the body of your text according to the agreed conventions of the discipline, before going on to describe how your own views develop or diverge from this influence.

On the other hand, it is not necessary to give references for facts that are common knowledge in your discipline. If you are unsure as to whether something is considered to be common knowledge or not, it is safer to cite it anyway and seek clarification. You do need to document facts that are not generally known and ideas that are interpretations of facts. 

Does this only matter in exams?

Although plagiarism in weekly essays does not constitute a University disciplinary offence, it may well lead to College disciplinary measures. Persistent academic under-performance can even result in your being sent down from the University. Although tutorial essays traditionally do not require the full scholarly apparatus of footnotes and referencing, it is still necessary to acknowledge your sources and demonstrate the development of your argument, usually by an in-text reference. Many tutors will ask that you do employ a formal citation style early on, and you will find that this is good preparation for later project and dissertation work. In any case, your work will benefit considerably if you adopt good scholarly habits from the start, together with the techniques of critical thinking and writing described above.

As junior members of the academic community, students need to learn how to read academic literature and how to write in a style appropriate to their discipline. This does not mean that you must become masters of jargon and obfuscation; however the process is akin to learning a new language. It is necessary not only to learn new terminology, but the practical study skills and other techniques which will help you to learn effectively.

Developing these skills throughout your time at university will not only help you to produce better coursework, dissertations, projects and exam papers, but will lay the intellectual foundations for your future career. Even if you have no intention of becoming an academic, being able to analyse evidence, exercise critical judgement, and write clearly and persuasively are skills that will serve you for life, and which any employer will value.

Borrowing essays from other students to adapt and submit as your own is plagiarism, and will develop none of these necessary skills, holding back your academic development. Students who lend essays for this purpose are doing their peers no favours.

Unintentional plagiarism

Not all cases of plagiarism arise from a deliberate intention to cheat. Sometimes students may omit to take down citation details when taking notes, or they may be genuinely ignorant of referencing conventions. However, these excuses offer no sure protection against a charge of plagiarism. Even in cases where the plagiarism is found to have been neither intentional nor reckless, there may still be an academic penalty for poor practice.

It is your responsibility to find out the prevailing referencing conventions in your discipline, to take adequate notes, and to avoid close paraphrasing. If you are offered induction sessions on plagiarism and study skills, you should attend. Together with the advice contained in your subject handbook, these will help you learn how to avoid common errors. If you are undertaking a project or dissertation you should ensure that you have information on plagiarism and collusion. If ever in doubt about referencing, paraphrasing or plagiarism, you have only to ask your tutor.

Examples of plagiarism

There are some helpful examples of plagiarism-by-paraphrase and you will also find extensive advice on the referencing and library skills pages.

The following examples demonstrate some of the common pitfalls to avoid. These examples use the referencing system prescribed by the History Faculty but should be of use to students of all disciplines.

Source text

From a class perspective this put them [highwaymen] in an ambivalent position. In aspiring to that proud, if temporary, status of ‘Gentleman of the Road’, they did not question the inegalitarian hierarchy of their society. Yet their boldness of act and deed, in putting them outside the law as rebellious fugitives, revivified the ‘animal spirits’ of capitalism and became an essential part of the oppositional culture of working-class London, a serious obstacle to the formation of a tractable, obedient labour force. Therefore, it was not enough to hang them – the values they espoused or represented had to be challenged.

(Linebaugh, P., The London Hanged: Crime and Civil Society in the Eighteenth Century (London, 1991), p. 213. [You should give the reference in full the first time you use it in a footnote; thereafter it is acceptable to use an abbreviated version, e.g. Linebaugh, The London Hanged, p. 213.]

Plagiarised

• Although they did not question the inegalitarian hierarchy of their society, highwaymen became an essential part of the oppositional culture of working-class London, posing a serious threat to the formation of a biddable labour force. (This is a patchwork of phrases copied verbatim from the source, with just a few words changed here and there. There is no reference to the original author and no indication that these words are not the writer’s own.)
• Although they did not question the inegalitarian hierarchy of their society, highwaymen exercised a powerful attraction for the working classes. Some historians believe that this hindered the development of a submissive workforce. (This is a mixture of verbatim copying and acceptable paraphrase. Although only one phrase has been copied from the source, this would still count as plagiarism. The idea expressed in the first sentence has not been attributed at all, and the reference to ‘some historians’ in the second is insufficient. The writer should use clear referencing to acknowledge all ideas taken from other people’s work.)
• Although they did not question the inegalitarian hierarchy of their society, highwaymen ‘became an essential part of the oppositional culture of working-class London [and] a serious obstacle to the formation of a tractable, obedient labour force’.1 (This contains a mixture of attributed and unattributed quotation, which suggests to the reader that the first line is original to this writer. All quoted material must be enclosed in quotation marks and adequately referenced.)
• Highwaymen’s bold deeds ‘revivified the “animal spirits” of capitalism’ and made them an essential part of the oppositional culture of working-class London.1 Peter Linebaugh argues that they posed a major obstacle to the formation of an obedient labour force. (Although the most striking phrase has been placed within quotation marks and correctly referenced, and the original author is referred to in the text, there has been a great deal of unacknowledged borrowing. This should have been put into the writer’s own words instead.)
• By aspiring to the title of ‘Gentleman of the Road’, highwaymen did not challenge the unfair taxonomy of their society. Yet their daring exploits made them into outlaws and inspired the antagonistic culture of labouring London, forming a grave impediment to the development of a submissive workforce. Ultimately, hanging them was insufficient – the ideals they personified had to be discredited.1 (This may seem acceptable on a superficial level, but by imitating exactly the structure of the original passage and using synonyms for almost every word, the writer has paraphrased too closely. The reference to the original author does not make it clear how extensive the borrowing has been. Instead, the writer should try to express the argument in his or her own words, rather than relying on a ‘translation’ of the original.)

Non-plagiarised

• Peter Linebaugh argues that although highwaymen posed no overt challenge to social orthodoxy – they aspired to be known as ‘Gentlemen of the Road’ – they were often seen as anti-hero role models by the unruly working classes. He concludes that they were executed not only for their criminal acts, but in order to stamp out the threat of insubordinacy.1 (This paraphrase of the passage is acceptable as the wording and structure demonstrate the reader’s interpretation of the passage and do not follow the original too closely. The source of the ideas under discussion has been properly attributed in both textual and footnote references.)
• Peter Linebaugh argues that highwaymen represented a powerful challenge to the mores of capitalist society and inspired the rebelliousness of London’s working class.1 (This is a brief summary of the argument with appropriate attribution.) 1 Linebaugh, P., The London Hanged: Crime and Civil Society in the Eighteenth Century (London, 1991), p. 213.

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