About Turnitin

Turnitin helps instructors evaluate the originality of students’ work by comparing electronic documents to online sources and the Turnitin database. The software returns a Similarity Report which rates submitted assignments and highlights text that appears elsewhere. Faculty can have their students submit their assignments to Turnitin, or they can use it to assess suspect submissions (e.g., assignments without works cited pages, assignments without drafts, etc.).

Note: UMass Amherst protects our students' intellectual property by storing all papers submitted by students in a dedicated database. This database is not directly searchable by other schools that subscribe to Turnitin. Only UMass Amherst faculty can search our student papers (exclusively for the purpose of grading course assignments). Instructors from other universities using Turnitin may request anonymous copies of papers which match submissions to their courses from UMass instructors.

In addition to similarity reports, the Turnitin Feedback Studio includes a set of robust tools for grading and delivering feedback to students:

• Feedback Summary provides tools for recording voice and text comments for students.
• Quickmarks allows for quickly adding preset and custom comments into papers.

Note: We strongly recommend using the latest version of Chrome or Firefox browsers. If you experience issues with Turnitin, please clear your browser's cache. If the difficulties persist, please try another browser.

Turnitin in Moodle Vs. the Turnitin Website

UMass Amherst instructors can use Turnitin within Moodle or they can use the Turnitin website to assess students' assignments. Both are provided courtesy of the UMass Amherst libraries, but the two methods do not work in conjunction with one another. Student assignments submitted through Moodle cannot be seen by the instructor on the Turnitin website and vice versa.

	Moodle	Turnitin Website
Access	Instructors must have a Moodle course to access Turnitin in Moodle (Request Your Moodle course). Instructors and students will log in to your Moodle course and access Turnitin assignments directly through Moodle (no second login or account creation is required).	Instructors must request an account on the Turnitin website (contact turnitin@library.umass.edu). Students must establish an account on the Turnitin website.
Support	Instructors, see Add a Turnitin Assignment in Moodle or refer to the Turnitin Moodle Direct V2 instructions for instructors (on the Turnitin help site). Instructors can also get help from the Instructional Media Lab at 413-545-2823 or instruct@umass.edu. Students, see Submit a Turnitin Assignment in Moodle, call the IT Help Center at  413-545-9400 or submit an online help request.	Instructors and students can contact turnitin@library.umass.edu or see Plagiarism Prevention Services.
Grading	A grade item is automatically added to the Moodle gradebook for each Turnitin assignment. Grades marked in the Turnitin interface are synced to the Moodle gradebook.	You cannot grade assignments from the Turnitin website. Note: Even though you can view Turnitin assignments created in Moodle through the Turnitin website, you cannot grade them from there. Access Turnitin assignments through Moodle to grade student submissions.

 

Should you use Turnitin in Moodle or on the Turnitin Website?

Because student enrollment and login are handled through Moodle, Turnitin within Moodle is ideal for instructors who already have a Moodle course or are teaching a large course.

The Turnitin website is more practical for instructors who wish to submit just a few suspect papers for review and do not wish to use Moodle for their course.

Get Started with Turnitin in Moodle

• To use Turnitin in Moodle, instructors need to request a Moodle course.
• To learn how to create a Turnitin Assignment in Moodle and read Similarity Reports, see Add a Turnitin Assignment in Moodle or Turnitin Moodle Direct V2 guide for instructors (on the Turnitin help site).
• Students, see Submit a Turnitin Assignment in Moodle.

Inform Your Students About Turnitin

We recommend that instructors include text in their syllabi informing students that they are using Turnitin and discuss it during their first class meeting. More generally, we also recommend that you discuss the policies covering academic honesty included in the University's Academic Honesty Policy and Procedures and the Faculty Senate's Resources for Preventing Plagiarism.

The following are sample paragraphs you may wish to include in syllabi:

If you plan to use the Turnitin similarity detection services for ALL assignments in your course...

As a condition of continued enrollment in this course, you agree to submit all assignments to the Turnitin for textual comparison or similarity review for the detection of possible plagiarism. All submitted assignments will be included in the UMass Amherst dedicated database of assignments at Turnitin and will be used solely for the purpose of checking for possible plagiarism during the grading process and during this term and in the future. Students who do not submit their papers electronically to the service will be required to submit copies of the cover page and first cited page of each source listed in the bibliography with the final paper in order to receive a grade on the assignment.

If you plan to use the Turnitin similarity detection services for selected, suspect assignments...

Students should be aware that suspect assignments (e.g., those without drafts, without works cited pages, or with large departures in style) may be submitted to Turnitin by the instructor for the purpose of checking for possible plagiarism. Submitted assignments will be included in the UMass Amherst dedicated database of assignments at Turnitin and will be used solely for the purpose of checking for possible plagiarism during the grading process during this term and in the future. Students must provide an electronic copy of their assignment to the instructor for submission to the service when plagiarism is suspected, in order to receive a grade on the assignment and to avoid possible sanctions.

Get More Help

Turnitin in Moodle

• Instructors: Contact the Instructional Media Lab at 413-545-2823 or instruct@umass.edu.
• Students: See Submit a Turnitin Assignment in Moodle, call the IT Help Center at 413-545-9400 or submit an online help request. 

Turnitin Website (sponsored & supported by the UMass Amherst Libraries)

Both instructors and students should contact turnitin@library.umass.edu. For more information about using the Turnitin website at UMass Amherst, see Plagiarism Prevention Services.