An assignment is a piece of work that has been appointed to a person. Also known as homework, an assignment refers to a task assigned to students by their teachers to be completed mostly outside of class.

Teachers assign homework for many reasons. The assignment can help you review and practice what you've covered in class; get ready for the next day's class; learn to use resources, such as libraries, reference materials and the Internet to find information about a subject; explore subjects more fully than classroom time permits; and integrate learning by applying many different skills to a single task, such as preparing book reports or science projects.

This article outlines a simple but effective approach to finding information for your assignment, whether it is for the arts, for history, or for whatever subject/course that you have enrolled in.

1.Define your topic.

The first step in doing your assignment is to make sure you understand the topic. Analyzing the main concepts or keywords in your assignment to help you develop a search strategy. It is good to ask: What do you already know about the topic and what do you need to find out?

2.Gather background information.

Learning about a new subject area can be daunting but resources exist that give you a general overview of your assignment. Use dictionaries and encyclopedias to find definitions and background information about your assignment.

3.Find books and journal articles about your assignment.

Now would be a good time to find published materials that relate to your assignment. Information comes in very different formats these days and you are expected to use a wide variety of information sources to support your arguments in your assignment.

4.Find information on the Internet.

The Internet can be a rich source of information about your assignment but not everything will be useful or appropriate for research use. Web resources should be carefully evaluated and used in conjunction with the scholarly resources found in your school's library. It is important to remember that this information should supplement other sources of information.

5.Evaluate your sources.

Before handing in your assignment, you will need to evaluate sources that you find yourself. Think critically about the facts that you find because the quality of your information will help to determine the quality of your assignment.

6.Cite your sources.

Avoid plagiarism by citing all the sources of information you use in your assignment. You can opt to use the APA or MLA citation formats.

7.Write your assignment.

Organize your information so you can find what you need when you need it. An assignment must contain coherent arguments that are clearly and logically written. It must be structured. Write a first draft for your assignment, reading it through carefully, then writing an improved final draft. This allows you to improve the structure and style of your writing and to check whether the assignment is too long or too short, and to correct any mistakes.

Find out from your teacher how the assignment is to be presented. Does it need a cover sheet? What information has to go on this cover sheet? Do all the pages need numbering? Once you have all done these steps, you can now hand in your assignment with confidence.