• Take a COL workshop: The Center for Online Learning hosts weekly faculty workshops on Turnitin Originality at the beginning of each semester. View the workshop schedule and register here.
• Watch this orientation video: Turnitin Originality training video (45 mins.)
• Read the online User Guides: Using Turnitin Originality with Canvas

You access the full report by clicking on the similarity score “flag” in SpeedGrader.

When a paper is evaluated, Turnitin provides similarity reports which tell you that text in the evaluated project or paper is similar to or identical to text Turnitin has in its database. Faculty must still evaluate the quality of the report independently and determine if the parts identified by Turnitin that are similar or identical are actually plagiarized text. This is because by default all matches are shown, even those where students cited properly. As a result, faculty must critique the report they receive and use their best judgment before approaching a student about possible plagiarism.

You can opt to make the Similarity Report available to students at different points during the submission and grading process, and perhaps let them resubmit if you allowing viewing before grading takes place, see Using Turnitin Originality with Canvas.

In addition, the College has licensed a related product called Turnitin Draft Coach, which attempts to guide students from the first to the final draft of an assignment using similarity, citation, and grammar-checking tools. It allows them to preview what the Turnitin Similarity Report will look like for their submission. Draft Coach is installed as part of HCCC’s online Office 365 software (the web version only; it’s not available for the desktop version of Word.) Get more details at How to use Turnitin Draft Coach.

Turnitin Originality will not compare a student’s submission with prior submissions by the same student to other assignments in the same course, so you don’t need to take special steps to exclude draft submissions from being indexed. However, if unsure, you can exclude the student’s previous submission from the Similarity Report.

Turnitin provides insights on how much of a student’s submission is authentic, human writing versus AI-generated from ChatGPT or other tools. The insights should be evaluated cautiously, as these are rapidly evolving technologies. More insight on interpreting these reports can be found on Turnitin’s website.

From Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab): “Plagiarism is using someone else’s ideas or words without giving them proper credit. Plagiarism can range from unintentional (forgetting to include a source in a bibliography) to intentional (buying a paper online, using another writer’s ideas as your own to make your work sound smarter). Beginning writers and expert writers alike can all plagiarize. Understand that plagiarism is a serious charge in academia, but also in professional settings.”  

Helpful resources for preventing plagiarism when writing can be found at Plagiarism.Org. See also the FAQ below on Draft Coach.

Instructors may allow you to see the Turnitin report; if so, there will be a colored flag icon in the course Grades section. Click the colored flag icon in-line with the assignment to open your Similarity Report on Turnitin in a new tab. Refer to the vendor guide from Turnitin for more information on how to read and interpret your Similarity Report.

The College has licensed a Turnitin product called Turnitin Draft Coach, which attempts to guide students from the first to the final draft of an assignment using similarity, citation, and grammar checking tools. It allows you to preview what the Turnitin Similarity Report will look like for your submission. Draft Coach is installed as part of HCCC’s online Office 365 software (the web version only; it’s not available for the desktop version of Word.)

Read How to use Turnitin Draft Coach