What is TurnItIn? 

Turnitin is a plagiarism prevention tool that allows faculty at Webster University to check student papers and assignments for originality against Internet sources and a database of previously submitted student work. Within afew minutes, the Turnitin website will return an Originality Report ™, which consists of copies of the student papers highlighting any text that has a match. It is important to note that Turnitin does not determine whether plagiarism has occurred; it simply shows the matches. It is still up to the faculty member to determine whether matching text has been appropriately or inappropriately used by the student.

Why Should I Use TurnItIn?

Turnitin can be used by faculty as an effective tool to teach students the ethical and responsible use of information and copyrighted materials. Our experience in the classroom, the library, and the Academic Resource Center has been that many students do not intentionally plagiarize. However, in an era of easy cutting and pasting from online sources, they often unintentionally do so. With some simple practices using Turnitin, faculty can have a powerful teaching tool at their disposal. These practices include: 

1) Post the plagiarism policy statement in your syllabus:

Webster University strives to be a center of academic excellence. As part of our Statement of Ethics, the University strives to preserve academic honor and integrity by repudiating all forms of academic and intellectual dishonesty, including cheating, plagiarism and all other forms of academic dishonesty. Academic Dishonesty is unacceptable and is subject to a disciplinary response. The University reserves the right to utilize electronic databases, such as Turnitin.com, to assist faculty and students with their academic work.

2) Have students submit their own papers and requiring them to submit a draft that can be revised before the final is due.

3) Design assignments that provide additional plagiarism safeguards. Click here more information on plagiarism prevention efforts at Webster University.

4) Encourage students to become familiar with the writing, research, and plagiarism prevention resources available to them. Click here for the plagiarism prevention page designed for students.

Webster University encourages faculty to use Turnitin as a teaching tool so they can avoid using it “catching” tool, since the latter use means that important educational opportunities have been missed.

How do I use TurnItIn?

This webpage is designed to help you with using TurnItIn and it's companion product GradeMark. Select the pages listed on the left to watch video tutorials, read frequently asked questions, and download printable instructions.