Monday, 14 December 2015

american english - Usage of "homework," "schoolwork," and "assignment" in AmEng for schoolwork given to students to do at home

I've always used these terms in a different way that @James McLeod is describing them. Perhaps they are regional differences.



Assignment: One singular task or project; large tasks may be broken up into smaller assignments. I may get one or more assignment per class. Whatever it is, it is thought of as a singular 'unit of work' when submitted or completed.
Complex, multi-part, or really large assignments are generally referred to as projects.



Homework: The collection of all the assignments I have to do at home



Schoolwork: The collection of all the assignments I have to do for school, regardless of the location of where it is done. Can be a synonym for homework, but less frequently used as such.



(Further clarification after reading some comments): An assignment can also be done IN school. Assignment just means 'one task'. Which is why a lot of people do use homework assignment. They're specifying that this assignment is to be done at home (or at least, not during that class)




Not sure about other parts of the country, but I have never heard of homework used to describe not-related-to-school work done on or in the home.



Yes, Housework means work done for the house/home. This typically means tasks like cooking, cleaning, laundry, yard work, and small house repairs (when done on one's own home, this term is not used if professionals are called in).



I have never known a native speaker to confuse housework and homework, but if someone learning AmE were to mix the terms up, I do believe they would still be understood by most people.

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