How to use the similarity report tools on Turnitin

Once inside the Turnitin feedback studio, you can use the red similarity tools to help you interpret source usage in each of your student’s assignment submission. These tools can be useful for detecting plagiarism, and also for providing students with a visualization of how well they are balancing their use of source material with their own analysis.

How to use the similarity report tools on Turnitin

1.To analyze a paper using the similarity report tools, first, access the Turnitin feedback studio for the chosen paper. (For help with this step, see “Overview of Turnitin Feedback Studio“)

2. Use the red buttons on the right-side navigation bar to view and interpret the originality report.

3. The match overview button generates percentages of sources in this paper that correspond to exact matches of other outside sources. If you have your students cite any sources in their paper, this report will flag those citations for their similarity to other sources.

4. The all sources button generates percentages that correspond to overall similarity between all sources or papers searched by the Turnitin database. The likelihood that this search will generate zero results is very low.

a. Click on the Exclude Sources button to filter out your choice of the sources included automatically in this list.

5. The filters and settings button allows you to set parameters for the originality report so as to eliminate insignificant matches. Here, you can exclude quotes, bibliography, or matches that fall under a certain word count or percentage.

a. Once you set these filters, you must choose to apply changes or generate new report in order for your new filter settings to activate.

6. Clicking on the download button will cause a pop up box to appear in the center of your screen. This box provides you with options to download any of the following: the current view of the essay, a receipt of the submission, or the original paper that was submitted.

See the following pages for other resources related to Turnitin: