Turnitin is a plagiarism detection tool that can help you improve your writing skills by identifying areas where you may have included unoriginal content in your writing – perhaps you didn’t paraphrase, or perhaps you forgot to cite your source. After submitting your writing, Turnitin will compare your writing to article databases and other information available online. You’ll receive a report showing areas where you need to address in order to avoid plagiarism.
A Similarity Report is generated after submitting your document to a D2L Assignment folder that is using Turnitin. Turnitin can run a grammar and writing mechanics check on your paper, as well as check your work for originality, comparing it against various online databases and journals. The Similarity Report will highlight key areas in your work, showing a breakdown of matching sources – this could include direct quotes or sections too closely resembling the wording found in another source. If your instructor has allowed you to submit a draft, you may use this report to fix any areas identified as grammatical errors, a missed citation, or perhaps a need for rephrasing.
Note: Turnitin must be enabled by faculty in their D2L course. Turnitin is administered by MSUM's Online Learning staff.