| Do not open Turnitin in multiple tabs or browser windows. Only use one browser tab to interact with Turnitin. |
The ‘assignment’ is the most fundamental part of Turnitin, allowing students to submit work online through Blackboard. Tutors should note that students can only submit single files to a Turnitin submission if they are to be checked for originality. For example if you have a two part essay which is split into seperate documents, you will need a Turnitin link for ‘Essay Part 1′, and a Turnitin link for ‘Essay Part 2′.
Turnitin does not currently have a facility for enabling group submissions. It is possible for an individual to submit a piece of work on behalf of a group, but only this individual will be able to see the submission. In addition, only the individual who submitted the work will have access to any marks and/or feedback added to the submission using GradeMark or added through the Blackboard Grade Centre.
IMPORTANT – Students should be advised to save and submit their final work in PDF format when submitting to Turnitin. This will ensure that any graphs and tables within submitted documents are correctly rendered in the Turnitin online viewer.
It should be noted that when viewing Turnitin submissions, the Turnitin word count may differ slightly from the word count shown in the original document (for example a Word document or a PDF). This is due to the variation in how different software will calculate the word count. For example, Microsoft Word has two different ways of calculating the word count depending on the configuration chosen by the user.
Similarly, other file types (such as PDFs) may generate a higher word count in Turnitin as it is only possible to count ALL words within a PDF rather than being able to exclude certain elements such as footnotes and endnotes.
Turnitin uses a word counting algorithm very similar to that of Microsoft Word. For everything except HTML, PDF, and PS file types, Turnitin relies on Microsoft Word’s word count system. Note: Turnitin does not count the words in textboxes, footnotes, and end-notes since these are not included by default (in Microsoft Word). However, users who have changed this setting in Word may see a different word count once they upload to Turnitin. We therefore recommend that the Turnitin word count is used as a guide only.
Once an assignment is complete, faculties should ensure that a local copy of all submissions is made in the event that you wish to retain easy access to these submissions after students have qualified (completed their course of study). Once students qualify, their user account will be disabled in Blackboard and access to Turnitin submissions made by these students may be removed.
Creating a Turnitin assignment – This guide explains how to setup a new Turnitin assignment within your Blackboard course. You will need to setup a new Turnitin assignment in order for your students to be able to submit their work. This guide covers both basic and advanced options.
Viewing submissions to your Turnitin assignment – This guide explains how you can check and view submissions made to a Turnitin assignment on your course. This allows you to see WHO has submitted (if not anonymous), as well as WHAT they have submitted. It also summarises the ‘Similarity Score’ for each assignment.
Deleting a submission from Turnitin – This guide explains how to delete a submission from Turnitin. This may be useful if you need to delete a submission that has been made in error, for instance the student has submitted the wrong file to the wrong assignment.
Synchronising your Blackboard course with a Turnitin assignment – This guide explains how to synchronise your Blackboard course enrolments with a Turnitin assignment. This can be useful at the start of a new semester when enrolments tend to be updated regularly.
Downloading Turnitin submissions – This guide will explain how to download Turnitin submissions. You can download files which students have submitted, or the GradeMarked papers for submissions. Anonymous assignment files downloaded will not contain identifiable information.
Exporting a GradeMark summary – This guide explains how to export a Grademark summary of an assignment as an excel file containing submission details and grades. You can then prepare this data for onwards transmission (for instance to Banner)
Anonymous Marking in Turnitin – It is possible to turn on anonymous marking for a Turnitin assignment. This page explains the things you need to be aware of if you are considering using anonymous marking.
Syncing Grades – This guide explains how to synchronise Turnitin grades with your course. You may need to do this if students report seeing an ‘Error 124’ message when trying to view Turnitin feedback through My Grades.