Turnitin is an online system that helps you to manage the
submission of assignments and coursework. It allows you and your students to
check writing for referencing omissions, citation issues, and potential
instances of plagiarism. At MIC students and staff members access Turnitin
through Moodle, our virtual learning environment (VLE).
When Turnitin was introduced at MIC, it was accessed
directly through the www.turnitin.com website. This required the generation of a username and password and the
creation of class IDs and passwords. As Turnitin is now integrated with Moodle,
you and your students no longer have to use the www.turnitin.com website; you can access the
service directly in your Moodle courses simply by generating a Turnitin assignment.
This integration eliminates the need to have a separate account on the www.turnitin.com site and ensures a seamless assignment upload experience for
students.
When a document is submitted to Turnitin, it compares the
text in the document against its database of electronic materials and the
internet. Turnitin’s databases contain vast amounts of web content, previously
submitted assignments, and subscription-based journals and publications. The
results are illustrated in a Similarity Report. This report highlights any
matches found and the overall percentage of matched text (known as the
‘Similarity Index’). It also gives a breakdown of the overall percentage and
provides links to the source of each section of matched text.
Turnitin can be used as a tool to help students to develop
their academic writing. If the Turnitin assignment is configured to allow
students to see the Similarity Report of their submission, and to allow
resubmissions, this can help students to identify referencing omissions or an
over-reliance on direct citations. They can then produce a second draft of
their writing and resubmit.
Lecturers can always view the Similarity Reports of their
students’ submissions and they can use these reports to identify weaknesses in
a student’s academic writing. Lecturers can also use the Similarity Report to
help them give feedback to students on their academic writing.
Turnitin is not a Plagiarism Detector!
Turnitin also includes a set of tools for grading and delivering feedback to students. This is covered in a separate guide on grading and feedback. If you would like to learn more about the grading and feedback tools available in Turnitin, contact the Learning Enhancement and Academic Development Centre (LEAD).