Turnitin

Turnitin is a 'text-matching' software that compares your submission against an archive of:

  • internet documents
  • internet data
  • a repository of previously submitted papers
  • subscription repository of periodicals, journals and publications.

You can check the Assessment Student Instructions (ASI) or the submission link for the Assessment to see which assessments will use Turnitin.

When an assessment uses Turnitin, a Similarity Report will be generated which can be viewed by both you and the assessor.  Any text in your assessment that matches sources in Turnitin’s databases will show up in the Similarity Report.


What is a Similarity Report 

The Similarity Report is the result of comparison between the text of the submission against billions of pages of active and archived internet information, a repository of works previously submitted to Turnitin, and a repository of tens of thousands of periodicals, journals, and publications. Any matching or highly similar text discovered is detailed in the Similarity Report.

The similarity score is a percentage of your submission that matches to Turnitin's databases; it is not an absolute indication of whether the paper includes plagiarised material. Correct interpretation of these results is essential for the successful use of Turnitin.

You can learn more about:

  • the Similarity Report
  • tips to avoid plagiarism
  • when a match in text similarity is appropriate 
  • helpful resources
in the adjacent video.

How to submit an assessment with Turnitin

Turnitin may be used when you upload a file/s for your assessment submission or in a short answer question within a quiz assessment.

  1. Add your assessment file as you normally would. Select ‘save changes’
  2. Wait for the Turnitin status to change from ‘queued’ to ‘Turnitin ID’. 
  3. Whilst your assessment is still in draft, you will be able to see your similarity report. You can then remove your submission and make changes, or submit your assignment. 
  4. If you edit your work, you can check your similarity score for the new draft. Just remove the submission and upload your new draft. Please note that after three drafts, it’ll take up to 24 hours for the new report to be generated. 
  5. Select submit assignment when you’re done. Make sure you check the submission status of your assessment and complete the assessment by the due date. The submission status should be ‘submitted for grading’. Whilst your assessment is still in draft, it won’t be marked. All students are given two attempts to complete each assessment task. 

 

LEARN quiz – short answer questions

Turnitin may also be used for short answer questions in a LEARN quiz.  A similarity report will be available for you to view when you submit your quiz for marking.

A similarity report will only be generated for a short answer response that has a minimum of 20 words.


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Similarity Report Score Ranges

The colour of the report icon indicates the similarity score of your submission, based on the amount of matching or similar text that was uncovered.  

Picture4


The percentage range is 0% to 100%. As shown in the image above, the possible similarity ranges are:
Blue: No matching text
Green: One word to 24% matching text
Yellow: 25-49% matching text
Orange: 50-74% matching text
Red: 75-100% matching text

Select the similarity score to open the Turnitin viewer for more details on any matches.


 
Read the Understanding a Similarity Report to learn more about how to read and interpret a similarity report.

Digital receipt of Turnitin

When you submit an assessment to Turnitin via LEARN, you will receive a digital receipt to your email inbox.

This is a receipt to Turnitin, not a receipt or confirmation that you have submitted your assessment for marking as it may still be in draft.  Always check the submission status of your assessment.

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