Turnitin for students

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What is Turnitin?

Turnitin is software that compares your written work with existing written work from web pages, previously submitted assessments, library databases and publications.

Turnitin detects similarity; it does not detect plagiarism or academic dishonesty. It is up to you, and ultimately the person marking your work, to judge whether it demonstrates an appropriate level of originality and academic honesty.

How is Turnitin used?

While Turnitin is used to analyse similarity between new text-based document submissions and existing documents, it can also be used to provide feedback and marks for assessment tasks.

Subject coordinators will let you know how they use Turnitin in each subject, on which assignments, as well as outline their expectations of you in relation to the use of Turnitin. 

Turnitin identifies matching text and calculates this as a percentage, referred to as the ‘similarity percentage’ and indicates this by colour representing ranges of similarity.

  •   Blue: No matching text
  •   Green: One word to 24% matching text
  •   Yellow: 25-49% matching text
  •   Orange: 50-74% matching text
  •   Red: 75-100% matching text

Depending on how your subject coordinator has configured Turnitin, you will be able to:

  • see where matches occur in your document and the source of any matches that have been identified.
  • resubmit a modified version of your task before the due date.

If you are allowed to resubmit your task, you can use the information provided by Turnitin to make sure you have sufficient original material in your task and that you have cited and referenced your sources correctly.

Depending on the way the subject coordinator is using Turnitin, you may also be able to view your assignment feedback in the form of:

  • a mark for the task
  • comments throughout and/or at the end of the document
  • a voice comment
  • levels of achievement on a rubric or grading form
  • a combination of the above

Where do you submit your assignment through Turnitin?

To submit an assignment through Turnitin you need to go into your subject in either Canvas or UTSOnline (Blackboard). How you submit a Turnitin assignment depends on which of these your subject is running on.


Submit an assignment using Turnitin if your subject is in UTSOnline (Blackboard)

STEP 1 – Go to your subject in UTSOnline and locate your Turnitin assignment. Select ‘View/Complete’, which will take you to your Assignment Inbox.

The heading ‘Turnitin assignment’ followed by a link that reads ‘View/Complete’

STEP 2 –  On the ‘Assignment Inbox’ panel, select the ‘Submit’ button on the far right to begin the assignment submission process.

The Turnitin ‘Assignment Inbox’ panel as it displays in UTS Online (Blackboard). Listed in the panel are an assignment title and dates, followed by a link to ‘Submit’ the assignment. Other links are shown as unavailable, as the submission is not yet complete.

STEP 3 –  To upload your file:

  1. check that your first and last name are correctly shown
  2. add an appropriate submission title
  3. choose your file for submission
  4. select ‘Upload’
A Turnitin submission form as it appears in UTS Online (Blackboard). The form displays your first name, last name and a box to enter a submission title. There are three options for choosing a file. Finally links to Upload or Cancel the submission.

STEP 4 – You will then be taken to a preview screen where you can check that you are making the correct submission. Review the details of your submission and if correct, select ‘Confirm’.

The Turnitin submission confirmation preview as displayed in UTSOnline (Blackboard). A preview of your submitted file is shown alongside the submission details. At the bottom of the page are links to Confirm or Cancel the submission.

STEP 5 –  Once you have confirmed your submission:

  1. a ‘Digital Receipt’ will appear (as proof of your submission). The Digital Receipt will be emailed to your UTS email address. You can also print a copy from this window
  2. select ‘Return to assignment list’ button to go back to the ‘Assignment Inbox’
The Turnitin digital receipt as it displays in UTS Online (Blackboard) after a submission is complete. A green box congratulates you on completing your submission and says that you can print a copy of this receipt from within the Document Viewer. At the bottom is an link to Return to assignment list.

STEP 6 – From the ‘Assignment Inbox’ listing you can:

  1. see the similarity match as a percentage once Turnitin has processed your document (this could take a few minutes to process)
  2. select the coloured ‘similarity percentage’ indicator to launch Turnitin ‘Feedback Studio’ where you can see detailed originality information (if permitted), see feedback from your teacher (if provided) and download your digital receipt (proof of submission)
  3. resubmit a revised version of your task (if permitted)
  4. view the file you submitted
  5. download the file you submitted to Turnitin
The Turnitin Assignment Inbox as it displays after you have successfully submitted an assignment. It displays an assignment title, dates, similarity percentage, and a coloured similarity indicator, followed by links to Resubmit, View or Download your assignment.

Submit an assignment using Turnitin if your subject is in Canvas

Go to your subject in CANVAS and select ‘Assignments’. There are different ways assignments can be created by your subject coordinator in Canvas. Your assignments will look the same in the listing apart from the way they are named and the word “Turnitin”  might not appear anywhere at this stage. Your subject outline and your subject coordinator will have made clear which written assignment(s) use Turnitin for similarity checking.

A Canvas subject Upcoming Assignment list showing how the assignments in the list look similar.

Once you select an assignment in Canvas that uses Turnitin, the submission process that follows depends on which of two approaches your subject coordinator has taken to set up the assignment – A or B described below.

Approach A: assignment submission process

STEP 1 – After selecting a Canvas assignment, if the page in Canvas looks like this, select ‘Submit Assignment’. 

A Canvas Assignment page displaying the Assignment title on the left, a ‘Submit Assignment’ link on the right, a due date, points allocated and submission type.

STEP 2 – You will be taken to the ‘File Upload’ page where you:

  1. choose your file(s) for submission
  2. select ‘Submit Assignment’ to upload your file
The File Upload page that displays when submitting a Canvas assignment. Shows options to choose a file to upload, add another additional file, or find a file you’ve already uploaded to Canvas. This is followed by a comments field, and links to Cancel or Submit Assignment.

STEP 3 – After you select ’Submit Assignment’, you will be returned to the assignment page where you will have confirmation that your assignment has been submitted. From here you can:

  1. ‘Re-submit’ your assignment (if permitted)
  2. view your ‘Submission Details’ to see detailed originality information, feedback from your teacher (when provided) and launch the Turnitin ‘Feedback Studio’
  3. ‘Download’ your submission file
A Canvas Assignment page as it displays once you’ve successfully submitted an assignment. There is a notice on the right side of the screen that confirms “Submitted!” followed by links to your submission details and the submitted file. There is a link to Re-submit Assignment.

STEP 4 – If you chose to view your ‘Submission Details’ (in the previous step), you will be able to:

  1. see your Grade (if marked’) and ‘Show Rubric’ used for marking (if available)
  2. ‘Re-submit’ your Assignment (if permitted)
  3. download your submission file
  4. launch the Turnitin Feedback Studio by selecting the coloured ‘similarity indicator’ (the similarity analysis could take a few minutes to process)
  5. ‘View Feedback’ from your teacher (when provided)
  6. ‘Save’ a written Comment, recorded Media Comment and attached file
The Submission Details page in Canvas displays the assignment grade (if available), the marking rubric (if available), the date and time the assignment was last submitted and a link to Re-submit Assignment (if available). There is box with a link to your file, a coloured similarity indicator/link and a link to View Feedback (if available). In the lower right there is a Comment text entry box, link to record a Media Comment, link to Attach File and link to Save the comment.

STEP 5 – If you chose to launch the Turnitin Feedback Studio by selecting the coloured ‘similarity indicator’ (in the previous step 4.4) you will be able to:

  1. view your submission in the ‘Document Viewer’
  2. see feedback from your teacher (if provided)
  3. inspect detailed originality information and adjust similarity views, filters and settings
  4. download your ‘Originally Submitted File’, your ‘Digital Receipt’ (proof of submission) and view submission information
  5. view a ‘Text-only Report’
An assignment submission as shown in Turnitin’s Feedback Studio. The submission file is in the centre of the screen. To the left is a document navigator, and to the right are document viewing and feedback options. There is a link for a Text-only Report format at the bottom of the page.

Approach B: Turnitin assignment submission process

STEP 1 – After selecting a Canvas assignment, if the next page in Canvas looks like this, select ‘Upload Submission’.

An embedded Turnitin window within a Canvas Assignment page. At the top of the window is a tab headed ‘Assignment Dashboard’. In the middle of the window is a link to ‘Upload Submission’.

STEP 2 – After you have selected ‘Upload Submission’, a pop-up window will prompt you to:

  1. add a submission title
  2. choose your file for submission
  3. select the ‘Upload and Review’ button
A Turnitin Submit File pop-up window in Canvas that is shown when uploading a file submission, where you give your submission a Title and choose a Submission File. Two additional tabs are displayed: Text Input and Cloud Submission. At the bottom of the Upload Submission tab is a link to Upload and Review.

STEP 3 –  After a few moments, you will be presented with a preview of your assignment submission. Inspect the details to ensure that your are making the correct submission. If correct, select ‘Submit to Turnitin’.

A Turnitin Submit File pop-up in Canvas as shown when reviewing a file before final submission. A small preview of the file uploaded is displayed alongside the file details, followed by links to Preview Submission larger, Cancel Submission or Submit to Turnitin.

STEP 4 – Your submission upload will take a few moments. You will be returned to your ‘Assignment Dashboard’ with a message “Submission uploaded successfully”.

The embedded Turnitin window within a Canvas Assignment page after a file has been successfully uploaded. A notification reads that the “Submission uploaded successfully”. This is followed by the Paper Title, the date Uploaded, Grade (if available), a coloured similarity indicator, similarity percentage, and finally, links to re-submit, download your submission, or download a digital receipt (proof of submission).

On the ‘Assignment Dashboard’ you can:

  1. view the file you submitted
  2. see your grade (if marked)
  3. see the similarity match indicated as a colour and percentage (the similarity analysis could take a few minutes to process). Selecting these launches the Turnitin ‘Feedback Studio’ where you can view your submission and see detailed originality information (if permitted), see feedback from your teacher (if provided) and download your digital receipt (proof of submission)
  4. resubmit to upload a revised version of your task (if permitted)
  5. download the original file you submitted 
  6. download the digital receipt (proof of submission) for the file you submitted