Discussion 2

Turnitin Student FAQ

1. What is Turnitin? Turnitin is an online resource that checks submitted papers for originality and proper citations practices. Turnitin highlights passages in a student’s paper that match other sources, so as to help avoid unintentional plagiarism.

2. Where do I access Turnitin?

Turnitin can be accessed directly through Waypoint. When submitting a paper, you will have the option to first turn in a draft of your paper, which will be run through a Turnitin check.

3. What is the difference between a “Draft for Originality Check” submission and a “Final” submission? The “Draft for Originality Check” submission allows you to submit your paper for a Turnitin Originality Check. The results will then be made available through the ‘Click Here to View Report’ option that will appear once the check is complete. This submission method allows you to view any potential plagiarism occurrences or improper citations and make the necessary changes.

The “Final” submission should only be used when you are ready for your paper to be graded. Once a “Final” submission is made, students are no longer allowed to utilize the Turnitin Originality Check. If you have run your assignment through the “Draft for Originality Check” step and do not need or want to make any changes based off of the corresponding report, you can submit the same paper as a “Final” submission.

4. Will I be able to view all the submissions that I made for each week of my course?

Yes, all of your submissions will remain visible throughout the course. Additionally, both the type of submission and the corresponding time stamp will appear for students to reference.

5. Since I can utilize the Turnitin resource, does the instructor have a zero-tolerance policy for plagiarism? Since Turnitin is an originality tool that identifies unattributed and misattributed material, as well as commonly used words or phrases, instructors are expected to carefully analyze the Originality Check to determine potential academic dishonesty. Ultimately, an instructor can file an Academic Dishonesty report concerning a student at his/her discretion. Given this fact, the hope is that by making Turnitin available through Waypoint, students will be able to easily incorporate this valuable tool into their existing routine of checking and submitting their work.

Proprietary information of Ashford University. Created by Faculty Development-Academics-MB-7/25/13