Academic integrity

La Trobe University Library La Trobe Library

Academic integrity

Achieve@Uni
La Trobe University Library La Trobe Library

Academic integrity

Achieve@Uni
La Trobe University Library La Trobe Library

Academic integrity

Achieve@Uni

What is Turnitin?

Turnitin is a program used to detect plagiarism.  It matches your text against a database of documents to determine how similar it is, then produces an originality report, which highlights the text to show the amount of matching.  At La Trobe University you will need to submit your assessments through Turnitin.

How do I submit assessments to Turnitin?

  • find the relevant subject page and assessment
  • follow the prompts to enter Turnitin
  • select 'My submissions' tab at the top of the page
  • enter a submission title and part (if relevant)
  • click 'Browse' to select the file you wish to submit
  • check the box to confirm that the submission is your own work
  • you can now view the submission in the 'submission box' on the summary screen
  • you will receive an email confirmation that you have submitted your assessment

Note: all files submitted to Turnitin must be text based, not scanned copies

These reports are usually ready in 10-15 minutes of submission, sometimes longer if the assessment is large.  The following colours highlight the amount of matching text:

  • blue - no matching text
  • green - 1-24%
  • yellow - 25-49%
  • orange - 50-74%
  • red - 75-100%

There is no single percentage which indicates an acceptable level of matching in a Turnitin report.  Different assessment tasks require different amounts of matching text, some types of text are legitimate matches such as:

  • the assessment topic
  • quotations (some tasks require more quotations than others)
  • reference list (this should match, as it indicates that it has been formatted correctly)
  • key technical terms or phrases which cannot be paraphrased

More information

  • In some subjects you can submit your assessment to Turnitin, then receive an originality report for feedback multiple times before final submission
  • you can then see if there is a problem with your use of information, and improve your work
  • your lecturer or tutor will advise if this is an option in your subject
  • your first report will be available quickly, but subsequent reports may take at least 24 hours
  • if you do have this option, it is strongly recommended that you use it

Further information