Frequently Asked Questions
Turnitin for Students Q & A
Accessing TurnitinOriginality Reports
Privacy Issues
Submission Issues
Technical Support
Accessing Turnitin
Q: I can't find the Turnitin link on my vUWS page
A: Turnitin is not used in all units and may not be used for all assignments within a unit. Your lecturer will indicate if they are intending to use Turnitin in the Learning Guide and/or Unit Outline. The Turnitin link can be placed in any location of the vUWS page, so review folders that relate to the assessment. Also, your lecturer may have already responded to this question via the vUWS unit discussions boards and announcements. If the link cannot be found please contact your lecturer.
Q: How do I submit my assignment to Turnitin?
A: Please review the UWS Student Submission Instructions for the step-by-step overview. Alternatively, review the Animated Tutorial that demonstrates the process.
Q: I'm trying to upload my assignment to Turnitin and I cannot see the Submit button.
A: First, confirm that you are using the correct Turnitin link by checking the start date and time for the Turnitin assignment link. See example below:
Note you will need to restart your computer and log into vUWS to access the following popup message again.
If you are still unable to view the submit button, please review the following internet browser settings
Q: As a higher degree student, how do I access Turnitin?
A: You can submit your research paper to Turnitin and receive an Originality Report which will indicate the extent of 'originality' within your paper. You will be able to submit your paper as many times as you wish. These submissions will NOT be saved into the Turnitin database.
Turnitin is accessed from within the Higher Degree Research vUWS site. You will need to register to be eligible to access this site.
If you are not a member of this site, you can Self Register. Note ensure you are not logged into vUWS before attempting access to this site. Locate and select the link for Higher Degree Research: Resources for Candidates. At the prompt, enter in your MyUWS account ID and password to gain access to this site.
To locate the Turnitin link:
- Login into vUWS with your MyUWSAccount details
- Locate Higher Degree Research vUWS site from the course listing
- Once you are in the Higher Degree Research vUWS site, Turnitin is located in the 'Resources' section
- To submit your paper to Turnitin, go to: Turnitin > Submit to Turnitin
Note only the first submission of the paper will generate an immediate originality report. It can take 24 hours for an originality report to be available for subsequent submissions.
For further information see UWS Student Submission Instructions. Or, review the
Animated Tutorial that demonstrates the process.
Q: How do I login to Turnitin?
A: No separate login is required to access Turnitin via vUWS. Simply login to your unit vUWS page and proceed to appropriate link. For more information see the UWS Student Submission Instructions
Originality Reports
Q: Why didn't I receive an originality report after I submitted my Turnitin assignment?
A: You will not receive an originality report for your Turnitin assignment immediately if any of the following apply:
- Your lecturer has determined that students may not view the reports. Please check with your lecturer for confirmation
- Your lecturer may not have set the advanced options to generate originality reports for students. If it states "Not Available" under the Originality column, please contact the Turnitin Project Officer for further assistance
- Only the first submission of your assignment will generate an immediate originality report. It can take 24 hours for an originality report to be available for subsequent submissions
Q: What is an Originality Report and how do I access it?
A: An Originality Report provides information about your assignment including:
- Submission information
- Similarity index (percentage matches for text that matches other sources)
- The original submission with matching text highlighted
Report Availability:
The report will be available either within few minutes after the first submission or 24 hours if you have already submitted previously.
Accessing the report:
- Locate the relevant Turnitin link and click on the Show details link to view status of your submission.
- Click on the percentage and the report will be displayed in a new window
- Note this has nothing to do with the GradeMark column or the pending status
For further details about interpreting originality reports, please review the
UWS Turnitin student instructions. Alternatively, review the
Animated Tutorial.
Q: I have to attach the originality report to my hard-copy assignment but I cannot access the report.
A: If this is a subsequent submission, it may not generate in time as it can take 24 hours for an originality report to be available. Note if a grey box with two dashes should appear, this indicates that your paper has been submitted but the report has not yet been generated. Alternatively, you may wish to print off the
digital receipt instead.
Q: Why is there a difference in the word-count between the originality report and the word document?
A: The word-count used by Turnitin uses a complete word-for-word count of the paper, and therefore does not drop or eliminate anything. The Word count in MS Word excludes initial articles such as: 'an', 'a' and 'the'.
Q: How do I print an Originality Report?
A:
- You cannot print from the screen. You must select the print icon, located at the bottom left of the screen. This will prepare a readable, PDF version of the Originality Report
- Click on the "Click here to download your file" link in the pop-up window and choose the "open" button
- Then, choose the "Print" icon from the top left of the screen
If you are required to only print-off the page that indicates the percentage:
- Scroll to the page that indicates the percentage
- At the print screen, ensure you change the option to "current view" and then click on "OK" to print
- This will ensure that you are only printing off the page that you need for your hard-copy submission
Q: I'm trying to open my Originality Report and receiving the error: No service currently active
A: There could be a number of reasons why this error is occurring. Please try the following:
- Select the 'Originality' button from the top left corner to refresh the report
- Ensure you are using a Turnitin Supported Web Browser. Also, to make sure that Turnitin functions properly, you need to enable Cookies and Javascript
- For further assistance, please contact the Turnitin Project Officer
Privacy Issues
Q: Can my submitted assignment be seen by other students?
A: When a student submits their paper into Turnitin, it is checked against other student papers and saved into the Turnitin database. If any text of a student paper matches that of another student paper, within the Originality Report, the following message will be displayed:
If a student (or lecturer) then clicks on the link, the following message will be displayed:
The 'instructor' (or unit coordinator) for the matched paper, must give permission to release the paper for viewing and it can only be released to another 'instructor'. Therefore, students will not be able to view another student's paper.
Submission Issues
Q: How do I access and print the digital receipt for my assignment?
A: The digital receipt is a printable confirmation of a successful assignment submission via Turnitin. The digital receipt contains the unique paper ID number, user name, submission date and time, class name, assignment title, and a copy of the submitted work. This receipt can be printed off and attached to the hard-copy as proof of submission via Turnitin.
To access the digital receipt:
- Log into vUWS and from the Course List page choose the relevant unit
- From Course Tools, choose the Mail option. Alternatively, you can use the Mail icon from the Course List page, which is located to the left of the screen
- The mail in-box will display a message called: Turnitin Digital Receipt
- Check the box against the latest receipt generated.
- Then, click on the "create printable view" button.
- This will allow you to print the receipt.
Q: How do I know my assignment has been successfully submitted?
A: Please review the following FAQ
Note if a grey box with two dashes should appear, this indicates that your paper has been submitted but the report has not yet been generated.
Q: Do I have to submit a hard copy as well as submit a copy of my assignment through Turnitin?
A: Your lecturer will determine the assignment submission requirements. This is typically detailed in the Learning Guide and / or Unit Outline. You will need to confirm with them their preferred submission process.
Q: I can't submit my paper to Turnitin?
A: You may be trying to submit a file in a format which is not accepted by Turnitin. Turnitin will only accept files in the following formats:
- Microsoft Word (DOC and DOCX)
- Corel WordPerfect
- HTML
- Adobe PostScript
- Plain text (TXT)
- Rich Text Format (RTF)
- Portable Document Format (PDF)
Note: PDF documents must contain text to be submitted. PDF files containing only images of text will be rejected during the upload attempt. To determine if a document contains actual text, copy and paste a section or all of the text into a plain-text editor such as Microsoft Notepad or Apple TextEdit. If no text is copied over, the selection is not actual text. Also, if a PDF file is saved as a protected file it cannot be submitted to Turnitin. To successfully upload your paper to Turnitin, you will need to remove security settings.
Turnitin does not accept submissions saved in Microsoft Works or AppleWorks format. If you are using either of these programs, please save your paper in RTF (rich text format) or submit your paper by cut and paste.
If you are still experiencing a problem, also review the following FAQ
Q: How do I upload a PowerPoint presentation to Turnitin?
A: Download CutePDF (free)
- Open your original document and from the File menu choose Print to display the Print dialog box.
- Choose the CutePDF Writer as the Printer (DO NOT select "Print to file" option).
- Ensure to change the setting of "Print What:" to "Notes Pages". This will ensure that notes are also included
- You will then be prompted to save your file
- Your File will then be converted to PDF
- Upload the coverted file to Turnitin as normal
Q: How do I resubmit an assignment to Turnitin?
A: You can submit as many times as you like to Turnitin. Re-submitting an assignment is handled in an identical manner as a first time submission to an assignment. Re-submissions will completely overwrite the original submission. Note papers can only be re-submitted until the assignment due date. If the setting to allow late submissions after the due date is turned on, only students who have not yet submitted a paper will be able to submit. Alternatively, use the late submission link, if available. For further assistance, please contact your lecturer.
Q: What happens if I have sent the wrong file?
A: If it is before the due date, all you need to do is resubmit again and this will overwrite your previous submission. Your lecturer is not able to see any previous submissions. Remember that it could take up to 24 hours for your originality report to appear if it is subsequent submission. If it is after the due date, please contact your lecturer for further advice.
Q: Which file types does Turnitin accept for upload?
A: Please refer to the following FAQ
Q: How do I submit late via Turnitin?
A: Please review the following FAQ
Technical Support
Q: Where do I go for technical help?
A: Contact the Turnitin Project Officer, Tracy Donelly on 9852 5938 or lib-turnitin@uws.edu.au
Outside business hours, you may contact
Information Central or Online Librarian.
