Glossary

Scaffolding refers to the structured support and guidance provided to help students build their knowledge and skills step by step. In academic writing, scaffolding might include examples, templates, or feedback that enable you to develop greater independence over time.

The similarity index is the percentage score shown on a Turnitin report. It represents how much of a submission matches other sources in Turnitin’s database. This percentage does not automatically mean plagiarism — it should be interpreted in context, as some matches (for example, references or common phrases) are expected.

A similarity report is the document produced by Turnitin after a piece of writing is checked against its databases. It highlights areas of text that match other sources, helping students and staff identify where proper citation or paraphrasing may be needed.