Turnitin Instructor Guide-Similarity report
Turnitin operating model
Instrucor self-submission paper check
(Choose one of the following choices)
Similarity report (classic report)
- Accessing the Similarity Report
- Similaritiy Scour percentage rangers
- Using the Match Overview and Match Breakdown
- Viewing all sources
Managing exclusions and filters (classic report)
- Exclude quotes and bibliography
- Matches by word count or %
- Excluding sources via Match Overview
- Excluding sources via All Sources
- Restoring excluded sources
Similarity report (Enhanced report)
Managing filters and exclusions (Enhanced report)
FAQ
- Requesting the deletion of submissions
- Error message: "The password for this account has expired"
- Account Locked Due to Inactivity for More Than 6 Months
What Is an Acceptable Similarity Percentage in a Turnitin Similarity Report?
Turnitin is a similarity-checking tool; it is not an absolute indicator of plagiarism.
A Similarity Report should be interpreted in the context of the submitted work, its sources, and the way those sources are used.
A low similarity score does not confirm the absence of plagiarism.
- Turnitin may not identify all content in a bibliography or reference list.
- Turnitin cannot detect plagiarism in diagrams, images, or other non-text content.
- Content originally published in another language and translated by a student may not be identified as matching text.
- Some cited sources may not be available in the databases searched by Turnitin.
A high similarity score does not confirm plagiarism.
- Proper nouns, common expressions, organization names, citation formats, and bibliographies may create text matches.
- Correctly cited and quoted material may still contribute to the similarity score.
- Matches with a student's earlier work, including prior assignments or openly published work, may be identified as self-matches.
- When reviewing a Similarity Report, instructors can use filters to exclude quotations, bibliographies, and small matches as appropriate.
Important: There is no single acceptable similarity percentage for every assignment.
Instructors should review all highlighted passages and consider the context, source use, citation practice, and assignment requirements.
Reviewing Small Matches
Small highlighted matches may occur because of the similarity-checking algorithm and may be difficult to avoid. Review the highlighted text in context rather than relying only on the overall similarity percentage.
Reviewing Larger Matches
When reviewing a large highlighted passage, consider the following questions:
- Is the source cited correctly?
- Are quotation marks and punctuation used appropriately?
- Should the passage be paraphrased or rewritten?
