3 What does a Turnitin report look like?

When you open your report, you will see a percentage, a list of matched sources with a smaller percentage on the right, and corresponding highlighted matches in the main body of your assessment submission on the left. An example is shown in Figure 2.

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Figure 2 A Turnitin report

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Screenshot showing a Turnitin report. On the left-hand side is part of an essay. Some of the text is highlighted in grey, red and pink. Other parts of the text are left unhighlighted. The highlighted areas also have a corresponding number next to them.

Next to the essay in the centre of the screen is a tool bar.

On the right-hand of the screen is the ‘Match Overview’. It displays 46% in bold red then beneath is a list from 1 to 5. Each number is coloured differently and has a title, either ‘publication’ or ‘internet source’ written underneath, and a percentage next to it.

Figure 2 A Turnitin report

To access the list of sources that Turnitin has matched to your assessment, you need to click on the number listed in the tools block in the centre of your report.

Figure 3 The tools block in the centre of your report

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A website tool bar. The first icon is a layer icon and is blue. The second is also a layer icon, but this is coloured red and has the number 50 underneath. The third icon is a cog.

Figure 3 The tools block in the centre of your report

It is important that you explore these buttons and tools so you are familiar with the report. There are additional videos and blogs that might help you on the Turnitin website [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] .

The list of sources matched to your work are hyperlinked, so you can click on each to take you to the website or publication that your work has been matched to.

If the match is to another student, you will not be shown the other students work, but you should still check the text that has been highlighted in your own document.

In Figure 4, you can see three matches to student papers (these will not be shown to you) and one match to a website (#3). If you click on that link, you will be taken to the website where you will see the matching text.

Figure 4 A list of matched sources in a Turnitin report

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A zoomed in image of the ‘Match Overview’ in a Turnitin report. At the top are the words ‘Match Overview’ and then directly underneath is 50% in bold red. Beneath this percentage is a list from 1 to 4. Number 1 reads 1 Submitted to Open Uni…. Student Paper. 45%. Number 2 reads 2 Submitted to Griffith C…. Student Paper. 1%. Number 3 reads regents.universityofcali…. Internet Source. 1%. Number 4 reads Submitted to University…. Student Paper. 1%.

Figure 4 A list of matched sources in a Turnitin report

All matches should be checked to ensure you have cited, referenced and paraphrased successfully. In the next section you will learn how to understand your similarity report in more detail.