Using Turn It In

Turnitin is a third-party assignment grading tool that's integrated into the D2L Assignments area. Turnitin is most-famously known for its plagiarism-detection tool, which assigns a "similarly score" and highlights words, phrases, and sentences that appear in other essays and online materials. Turnitin also provides assignment commenting tools in the Feedback Studio, which can be used as an alternative to the grading tools in the D2L Assignment area.

This page describes how to:

  • Enable Turnitin for an assignment.

  • Interpret the Turnitin Similarly Report.

  • Encourage students to reflect on the results of the Turnitin Similarity Report.

  • Use commenting tools in the Turnitin Feedback Studio to provide feedback and assign a score.

  • Find additional Turnitin support and resources.

When should Turnitin be required?

  • When the instructor plans to use the Feedback Studio to add comments to a student's submission.

  • When the assignment requires the use of outside sources, and the instructor and/or student will use the Similarity Report to evaluate how the assignment has integrated information from outside sources.

  • Either for the rough draft or for the final draft, not both. The second submission will be similar to the first, and much of the text will be highlighted.

  • To verify that students are not submitting assignments they have written for another class or in another semester.

  • To verify that students are not submitting assignments submitted by another student.

When is Turnitin not effective?

  • When the assignment requires short written responses (such as a chapter worksheet), and all submissions will likely have similar language.

  • On the second submission of the same (or similar) document. For example, if the student is submitting a final draft after submitting a similar rough draft. The second document will be similar to the first, and much of the text will be highlighted.

  • When the assignment does not require information from outside sources, and the instructor will not evaluate the use of outside sources when grading the assignment.

How to Enable Turnitin on a D2L Assignment

(Enable Turnitin before students submit their assignment documents.)

Original Assignment Editor

In the original assignment editor, click on the Turnitin tab, and add a checkmark to "Enable GradeMark."

This option allows instructors to use the Turnitin Feedback Studio. This option is required in order to run the Turnitin Similarly Report.

Scroll down, and add a checkmark to "Enable Originality Check." This option enables the Similarly Report.

Below, add a checkmark to "Allow Learners (students) to see the Similarity Report." (This is optional. See discussion below on whether students should see the results of the Similarity Report.)

Additional options can be found near the bottom in the box for "More Options."

Click "Save and Close" when done.

New Assignment Editor

In the new assignment editor, click on the "Evaluation & Feedback" box, then click the link to "Manage Turnitin."

In the popup window, the settings are the same as in the original assignment editor.

Can Turnitin be enabled AFTER students have submitted their work?

Yes, it can.

It's a good idea to enable Turnitin beforehand because Turnitin requests student consent to run the Similarity Report when they submit their assignment. Students can't be notified or provide consent by running it afterwards.

To enable Turnitin after students have submitted their work, go into the assignment editor and enable Turnitin using the process described above.

Then, go to the assignment submission area (simply click on the assignment title), and click the folder-tray icon to submit the student's document for review. The Turnitin score will appear shortly.

Interpreting the Turnitin Similarity Report

The Similarity Report identifies text that is similar to another online source, and it assigns a percentage. A low percentage indicates that the document does not have language that matches an online source, while high percentage indicates that language is similar to another online source.

To view the Similarity Report, go to the assignment submission area (click on the assignment in the D2L Assignments area). A color-coded percentage will appear next to the submitted document. Click on the percentage box to open the Turnitin Feedback Studio.

In the Feedback Studio, click on the percent in the red column bar (where the arrow is pointing) to expand the "Match Overview" box and view online sources that match the text in the submitted assignment.

Text that matches an online source will be highlighted and assigned a number that corresponds to an external source.

In some cases, you can click on the source in the "Match Overview" box and view the full-text of the document.

However, some text may match an external online source you don't have access to.

Does a Match indicate Plagiarism?

A match does not automatically indicate evidence of plagiarism. A match indicates that words in the document are similar to words in another document, and they could be similar for the following reasons:

  • The document contains an accurate exact quotation from another source. (In this case, the document would need to use quotation marks and include a parenthetical citation. Use of exact wording may be considered plagiarism if there are no quotation marks and also no source introduction, no speaker tag, and no parenthetical citation.)

  • The document contains the title of an article, website, book. (This often happens in the Works Cited or References section. Simply mentioning the title of a document is not plagiarism.)

  • Two or more students have responded to a question on a worksheet in a similar way. (This is likely to happen as there is a limited way to answer the question.)

  • Two or more students are quoting class documents or referring to class concepts using similar language. (This is also likely happen if students are responding to or integrating information from the same document, or if they are using similar language to describe concepts from the course.)

  • The document contains a paraphrase that is too similar to the original source. (Ineffective paraphrasing is often considered a citation error or an ineffective use of outside sources, if the student's document also introduces the source, uses a speaker tag, or includes a parenthetical citation. Ineffective paraphrasing may be considered plagiarism if the student's document includes text that is too close to the original - such as substituting a few words - and it gives no indication that the information is from an outside source.)

Encourage Students to Interpret

the Turnitin Similarity Report

Instructors have the option to allow students to view the Turnitin Similarity Report - see instructions above for enabling this optional setting. When students view the report, they can evaluate the use of outside sources in their document, reflect on their writing, and revise their work (if there is a subsequent draft).

However, students don't always follow best practice when they view the Similarity Report, so they may need guidance on how to interpret the report and decide on revisions. For example, a student may fix a citation error in which a paraphrase is too close to the original by deciding to transform the paraphrase into a long direct quotation rather than rephrasing the idea in a more original way. In this example, the student takes the easier approach of quoting the source exactly instead of the more-difficult, higher-level approach of explaining someone else's idea in his or her own words.

It's useful for students to view the Similarity Report when they have an opportunity to reflect on their writing (perhaps through a journal or a written response activity), and when they can revise their document for a subsequent submission.

Strategies for Effective Use of Outside Sources

Students may be encouraged to reflect on their writing by reviewing the following suggestions:

  • Incorporate information from outside sources logically - ex. to provide an example, to present data, to explain an idea, to illustrate unique use of language, etc.

  • Use quotation marks when copying exact language, and use ellipses and brackets for any changes.

  • Avoid long blocks of quotation - try to paragraph or summarize instead.

  • Paraphrase information from an outside source fully - do not only replace words with synonyms.

  • Introduce an outside source before a quotation or paraphrase, or use a "speaker tag."

  • Include an in-text parenthetical citation after any quotation, paraphrase, or data. Citations go after the information or at the end of the sentence, not at the end of the paragraph.

  • Use source introductions and parenthetical citations together to create a "citation frame" or a "citation border" when information from outside sources is incorporated into more than one consecutive sentence.

  • Generally, information from outside sources should account for no more than a third or half the paragraph. The student's paragraph should contain more than information and ideas from outside sources. Student's paragraphs should also contain a topic sentence or paragraph claim, an explanation of the idea in the topic sentence, an introduction to outside sources, and a response or analysis of information from outside sources.

  • Avoid writing paragraphs where each sentence contains information from an outside source.

  • Do not recreate the argument or organization of ideas as they appear in an outside source.

Use the Feedback Studio to Comment on Assignments

Turnitin has its own set of commenting tools in the "Feedback Studio" that can be used to provide comments and generate a score. In order to use the Turnitin Feedback Studio, the Turnitin Grademark tool needs to be enabled in the D2L Assignment Editor - see instructions above. There are two ways to enter the Feedback Studio.

One way to enter the Feedback Studio is to go into the assignment submission area (simply click on the title of the assignment in the D2L Assignments area), then click the pencil icon in the column for Turnitin Grademark.

A second way to enter the Feedback Studio is to go into the D2L grading area and to launch Turnitin.

First, go into the assignment submission area (by clicking on the title of the assignment in the D2L Assignments area), then click the student's name, the title of the student's document, or the "Evaluate" button.

Next, click "Launch Turnitin" in the upper-right corner of the document preview area.

Commenting Tools

In the Feedback Studio, commenting tools are located in the top-right set of boxes in blue.

There is also a space to assign a score for the assignment at the top of the page. The score can be assigned either through the Feedback Studio or through D2L's assignment grading area.

QuickMarks or Tags

One of the commenting tools in the Feedback Studio is a collection of "QuickMarks," which function as tags. The tags are pre-created comments (such as "Awkward" or "Citation Needed") you can use to add to the student's document and potentially speed up the grading process.

To use the QuickMark, select some text in the student's document, then click on an available QuickMark tag or search for other tags.

Instructors can also add their own custom QuickMarks for comments they make frequently.

Another way to select a QuickMark tag is to highlight text and to select the QuickMark icon on the left (which looks like a checkmark inside a box). Then select one of the commonly used QuickMarks or search for another tag.

End Note Comment

Another commenting tool in the Feedback Studio is an End Note, where instructors can type overall comments for the assignment or record a voice comment.

An end note is useful for providing overall comments that apply for the whole assignment.

To add an end note comment, click on the comments tool in the top-right set of boxes in blue. (The comments tool looks like a box with a pencil.) Then, type a comment or record a voice message.

Embedded Comments

Another commenting tool in the Feedback Studio is an embedded comment - a text box that is added within the document.

These comments serve as in-text or marginal comments an instructor traditionally makes on the side of a document, and they are useful for commenting on specific issues found in a sentence or paragraph.

To add an embedded comment, highlight a portion of text and select the comment icon in the middle (which looks like a character dialog bubble). Then type a comment.

On the bottom right, the typed comment can be added into the QuickMark library so it can become a tag for future use. Comments can also be color-coded to help students identify patterns.

Turnitin Resources & Support

Turnitin has many resources for instructors, including email support, live video webinars, recorded videos, online articles, and more.

For more information and support, contact Online Learning.