{"id":2895,"date":"2026-10-21T13:16:27","date_gmt":"2026-10-21T17:16:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/ceitl\/?page_id=2895"},"modified":"2026-10-21T13:16:29","modified_gmt":"2026-10-21T17:16:29","slug":"turnitin","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/ceitl\/turnitin\/","title":{"rendered":"Turnitin"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Turnitin checks student submissions against web pages, publications, and other student papers and creates a similarity report. Used well, it\u2019s a teaching tool that helps students learn to quote, paraphrase, and cite correctly, and it helps you start conversations about academic integrity. Turnitin is available in every Citadel Canvas course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-get-started\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Get Started<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h4 id=\"h-add-turnitin-to-an-assignment\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Add Turnitin to an Assignment<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In Course Navigation, click <strong>Assignments<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Click the <strong>+Assignment<\/strong> button at the top right.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>After adding the assignment title, instructions, points, and other details, in the <strong>Submission Type<\/strong> dropdown, select <strong>Online<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Under <strong>Online Entry Options<\/strong>, select <strong>Text Entry<\/strong>, <strong>File Upload<\/strong>, or both.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In the <strong>Plagiarism Review<\/strong> dropdown, select <strong>Turnitin<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Set the Turnitin options to fit your assignment.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Set the rest of the assignment options, such as Group Assignment, Peer Review, and Availability and Due Dates, and click <strong>Save &amp; Publish<\/strong> or <strong>Save<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h4 id=\"h-tell-students\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tell Students<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Let students know which assignments use Turnitin and how you\u2019ll use the reports. Every course\u2019s Start Here module includes an Understanding Turnitin Similarity Reports page for students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-understanding-similarity-reports\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Understanding Similarity Reports<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A similarity report shows where a submission matches other sources. <strong>A similarity score is not a plagiarism score.<\/strong> A high score doesn\u2019t always mean plagiarism, and a low score doesn\u2019t always mean there\u2019s no problem. There\u2019s no \u201csafe\u201d percentage. Always review the highlighted text yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 id=\"h-types-of-matches\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Types of Matches<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Turnitin\u2019s report may sort matches into the four groups below. Even if your report doesn\u2019t show these groups, they\u2019re a useful way to decide what kind of feedback a student needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th>Type of match<\/th><th>What it means<\/th><th>How to respond<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>Not cited or quoted<\/td><td>Matching text has no quotation marks and no citation<\/td><td>The most serious concern. Review it closely and talk with the student.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Missing quotation<\/td><td>The source is cited, but exact words aren\u2019t in quotation marks<\/td><td>Often a skill gap. Teach the student when quotation marks are needed.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Missing citation<\/td><td>Quotation marks are used, but the source isn\u2019t credited correctly<\/td><td>Often a citation or formatting error. Ask the student to correct it.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Cited and quoted<\/td><td>Matching text is quoted and cited<\/td><td>The academic standard. Check that the sources are real and used accurately.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h4 id=\"h-source-types\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Source Types<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Internet sources<\/strong> let you compare the student\u2019s text side by side with the matching web page.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Submitted works<\/strong> are papers from other students. They may be labeled as private content, so you can\u2019t view the full match. Review these carefully.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 id=\"h-flags\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Flags<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Turnitin may also flag signs that a student tried to trick the system:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Hidden characters:<\/strong> text colored white so it can\u2019t be seen, sometimes used to pad word count or lower the similarity score<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Text replacement:<\/strong> letters swapped with look-alike characters from another alphabet, so copied words don\u2019t register as matches<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Flags like these are a serious concern and call for a conversation with the student about academic integrity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 id=\"h-read-each-report-in-context\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Read Each Report in Context<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Review every highlight yourself.<\/strong> The color in SpeedGrader and the percentage in the report show you where to look. They don\u2019t tell you whether there\u2019s a problem.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Ignore expected matches.<\/strong> Correctly cited paraphrasing, reference lists, common phrases, and your own assignment prompt can all appear as matches.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Consider the assignment.<\/strong> Some assignments naturally produce similar language across students.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Look for patterns.<\/strong> An occasional citation mistake is a teaching moment. Repeated problems after feedback may be an academic integrity concern.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-ai-writing-detection-use-with-caution\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">AI Writing Detection: Use with Caution<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Turnitin also shows an AI writing indicator, which estimates how much of a submission may have been written by generative AI. <strong>The AI indicator is not proof that a student used AI, and it should never be the only basis for an academic integrity decision.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 id=\"h-why-the-ai-score-has-serious-limits\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why the AI Score Has Serious Limits<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>It can be wrong in both directions.<\/strong> It can flag work a student wrote on their own, and miss AI-written text, especially text that has been paraphrased or edited.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Independent testing found these tools unreliable.<\/strong> Researchers tested 14 AI detection tools, including Turnitin, and concluded they were \u201cneither accurate nor reliable.\u201d Simple editing or paraphrasing of AI-written text greatly reduced detection (Weber-Wulff et al., 2023).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Some writers are more likely to be wrongly flagged.<\/strong> In one study, AI detectors labeled more than half of essays written by non-native English speakers as AI-generated, even though students wrote them (Liang et al., 2023).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Low scores are especially unreliable.<\/strong> Turnitin shows scores below 20% as an asterisk instead of a number, because results in that range are less reliable and false positives are more likely.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>It can\u2019t show how a student used AI.<\/strong> Even an accurate score can\u2019t tell you whether a student used AI in a way your course allows, such as brainstorming or grammar help.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 id=\"h-what-to-do-instead-of-relying-on-the-score\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">What to Do Instead of Relying on the Score<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Treat the score as one piece of information<\/strong>, never as a conclusion.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Look at the student\u2019s process.<\/strong> Review drafts, outlines, version history, and earlier work in your course.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Talk with the student.<\/strong> Ask them to explain their ideas, sources, and how they completed the work.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Check your expectations.<\/strong> Make sure your AI expectations were clear for that assignment.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Follow The Citadel\u2019s academic integrity process<\/strong> if you still have concerns.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The strongest protection is assignment design. Process checkpoints, in-class work, oral explanations, and course-specific tasks show students\u2019 own thinking far better than any detector. See <a href=\"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/ceitl\/teaching-in-the-age-of-ai\/\">Teaching in the Age of AI<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/ceitl\/assessment-grading-and-rubrics\/\">Assessment, Grading, and Rubrics<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-use-turnitin-as-a-teaching-tool\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Use Turnitin as a Teaching Tool<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Set clear expectations.<\/strong> Explain your expectations for original work and citation in your syllabus and assignment directions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Check drafts.<\/strong> Let students submit a draft and review the similarity report with them, so they can fix quoting, paraphrasing, and citation problems before the final version.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Teach with the report.<\/strong> Walk through a sample report in class to show what good paraphrasing and citation look like.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Focus on learning.<\/strong> Use matches as a chance to coach students on using sources well, especially early in a course.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For more on academic integrity, see the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/ceitl\/academic-integrity-certificate\/\">Academic Integrity Certificate<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-get-help\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Get Help<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Turnitin resources:<\/strong> See Turnitin\u2019s guide to <a href=\"https:\/\/guides.turnitin.com\/hc\/en-us\/articles\/28457596598925-AI-writing-detection-in-the-classic-report-view\">AI writing detection in the classic report view<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>CEITL support:<\/strong> Email <a href=\"mailto:CEITL@citadel.edu\">CEITL@citadel.edu<\/a> for help setting up Turnitin or reading a report.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-sources\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sources<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Liang, W., Yuksekgonul, M., Mao, Y., Wu, E., &amp; Zou, J. (2023). GPT detectors are biased against non-native English writers. <em>Patterns, 4<\/em>(7), 100779. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.patter.2023.100779\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.patter.2023.100779<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Weber-Wulff, D., Anohina-Naumeca, A., Bjelobaba, S., Folt\u00fdnek, T., Guerrero-Dib, J., Popoola, O., \u0160igut, P., &amp; Waddington, L. (2023). Testing of detection tools for AI-generated text. <em>International Journal for Educational Integrity, 19<\/em>, Article 26. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s40979-023-00146-z\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s40979-023-00146-z<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Have a question? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/ceitl\/contact-us\/\">Contact CEITL<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Turnitin checks student submissions against web pages, publications, and other student papers and creates a similarity report. 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