Note
It usually takes 24 hours for Turnitin to generate a report, however at busy times this can take more than that. Please allow plenty of time before the assignment deadline in order to receive the similarity report back and make any changes needed. You will receive an email from Turnitin to your student email as soon as you submit.
You will see the similarity of a submitted document as a % in a colour coded box on the submission page for your assignment. You can view the report by clicking on the percentage, this will bring you to Turnitin.
Turnitin uses a colour-coded system when displaying matching similarity. Blue indicates no similarity and green indicates some similarity. In these circumstances matched text is very likely due to references, questions and cover sheets being the same. When the colours are yellow, orange, or red, further investigation is recommended.
Please note that the colour-coded system only indicates if text is matching another source. It cannot determine if referencing, quotation or assignment templates are correct, so the percentage of a report might be high but academic judgement is always required on your behalf - no case of suspect impropriety will be reviewed if it's based entirely on a higher percentage score without a lecturer verifying that those matches cannot be accounted for.
In summary:
Blue: No matching text
Green: One word to 24% matching text
Yellow: 25-49% matching text
Orange: 50-74% matching text
Red: 75-100% matching text
In this video, you can learn more about how the Turnitin Similarity Report can help you with your writing, how to interpret it, and what resources are available to help.
In this video, you can learn about the differences between plagiarism and text similarity, when text similarity is expected in your writing, how to ensure that it is appropriate, and what resources are available to help.
Check your references
Ensure that all direct quotations are in quotation marks and all sources are accurately referenced.
Review your paraphrasing
Ensure that all information or ideas are paraphrased or rewritten in your own words.