Make sure that editing is turned on by clicking the Edit mode toggle in the upper right corner of your course page.  Scroll to the desired Topic or Week, and at the bottom of that section click Add an activity or resource. In the window that appears, select Assignment from the list of options.

1. In the textbox below Assignment Name, type a name for your assignment.  
2. In the textbox below Description type the directions for the assignment. This is the information students will use to guide their completion of the assignment.
3. If you would like to have the assignment’s description appear on the main course page, click on the box to the right of Display description on course page.  This is not recommended for long assignment descriptions.  If this option is not selected, students will still be able to see the description, but will need to click on the assignment name in order to see the description.
4. New in Moodle 4.3, you have the option to add Activity instructions.  This is information that is only made available to students when they submit the assignment.  This can be left blank unless you have information to provide to students that is only relevant at the moment of submission.
5. If the assignment requires students to utilize a file, such as a spreadsheet to analyze or a worksheet to complete, then you can attach the file to the assignment by dragging and dropping that file into the Additional files box.

Next, scroll down to Availability.

There are several dates associated with each assignment. The following dates are enabled by default:

• Due date: This is when students are expected to submit the assignment.
• Remind me to grade by: On the instructor dashboard, you'll find a list of assignments requiring grading based on this date. Setting this date is beneficial because it helps you stay on top of your grading.

While not enabled by default, the remaining two dates allow you to define a window within which students can submit their assignments:

• Allow submissions from: This is when students can begin uploading or entering their submission.  Before this date, submission options are not active. Check the box to enable this date.
• Cut-off date: This is when students can no longer upload or enter a submission.  After this date and time, submission options will no longer be active unless an extension is granted.  Check the box to enable this date.

Under Submission types you can choose the way(s) that students can submit their assignment:

• Online text: If enabled, students are able to type formatted text directly into an editor field for their submission.  If you enable online text submission, you have the option of also enabling a Word limit on students’ submissions.  Also, students have the option to record short audio or video clips.
• File submissions: If enabled, students are able to upload one or more files as their submission.  To allow students to submit more than one file for an assignment, use the drop-down menu under Maximum number of uploaded files.  You can also decrease the file size allowed for submissions by using the drop-down menu under Maximum submission size.

If each submission will be graded out of a certain number of points, Type should be set to “Point” and enter the maximum number of points for the assignment in Maximum points. The default grade value is 100. Grades can go as high as 250.

You also have the option to set Type to “No grade" for ungraded assignments, or to “Scale” for assignments that will be graded using a scale; e.g., “Pass/Fail” or “Check minus / Check / Check plus.”

For Grading method, you have three choices.  “Simple direct grading” is the default setting and is the most traditional method of grading.  You may also select “Rubric” or “Marking Guide”.  If one of these options is selected, you will be prompted to create your rubric or marking guide when you are finished creating your assignment.

Grade category allows you to place an assignment within a category in the grade book.  You create these categories to organize your assignments; e.g., “Papers,” “Group projects,” “Reflections,” etc.  If you plan on using categories, create them in the grade book before creating assignments.  Until you do so, the drop-down menu for Grade category will be empty.

If you enter a value for Grade to pass, then passing submissions will be marked in green in the grade book and failing submissions will be marked in red.  Letting Moodle know when to count an activity as passed also enables advanced features like activity completion and conditional activities.

Anonymous submissions hides the identity of students while you grade their assignments.

When you are finished adding and modifying the settings for your assignment, scroll to the bottom of the screen.

Click on Save and return to course to add your assignment and return to the main course page.  Click on Save and display to see how your new assignment will appear in Moodle.

At any time, you may click on Cancel to discard any changes.