How to Check Similarity on Turnitin (Before and After Submitting)
Checking similarity on Turnitin means getting a similarity report, which older versions called the originality report, and reading the right parts of it. You can do it through your course after submitting, or before you submit with a pre-check. This guide covers both routes and tells you what to look at first.
Checking similarity on Turnitin: which route fits you
| You want to | Route |
|---|---|
| See the score of a paper you already submitted | Route 1: through your course |
| Check similarity before submitting | Route 2: a pre-check |
| See your AI score too | Route 2: a pre-check |
| Check a thesis chapter by chapter | Route 2: a pre-check, one slot per chapter |
Route 1: Check similarity through your course
- Submit your file to the Turnitin-enabled assignment in Canvas, Moodle, Blackboard or Brightspace.
- Wait for the report. Turnitin says reports are usually ready within minutes.
- Open the assignment and click the similarity percentage or coloured icon beside your submission.
- The report opens in Turnitin's viewer in a new tab.
Platform walkthroughs: Canvas, Brightspace, and every other platform.
The catch: you only see the report if your instructor allows it, the check happens after you have already submitted, and the AI score is normally hidden from students.
Route 2: Check similarity before you submit
Turnitin does not sell individual accounts to students. If you want to check originality on Turnitin before your official submission, a pre-check service is the practical option:
- Create an account and buy a slot.
- Upload your .docx or .pdf.
- Receive a Turnitin similarity report and AI writing report, usually within minutes.
- Revise, then submit to your course with confidence.
What to look at first in a plagiarism report
- Overall Similarity. The headline percentage. Useful, but not the verdict.
- Filters. Check whether the bibliography and quotes are excluded. If not, the score is inflated.
- Not Cited or Quoted. The match group markers check first. Every match here needs a citation, quotation marks or a rewrite.
- Top sources. One source above roughly 5% is worth fixing even if the total is low.
- Submitted works. Matches to other students' papers get the most scrutiny.
The full walkthrough is in how to read a Turnitin report.
What a Turnitin similarity check returns
Both screenshots below come from the same 24-page, 6,364-word paper. The similarity report found 1% overall similarity. The AI writing report flagged 51% of the qualifying text as likely AI-generated. Tap either one to see it full size.
Screenshots shown for illustration. Your own reports arrive as full PDFs in your dashboard.
Similarity, originality and plagiarism: same report?
| Term you hear | What it refers to |
|---|---|
| Similarity report | Turnitin's current name for the matching report |
| Originality report | The older name for the same report, still used in Canvas settings and by many instructors |
| Plagiarism report | An informal name for the same report; Turnitin itself does not decide plagiarism |
| AI writing report | A separate report estimating AI-generated text |
Frequently asked questions
Can I check similarity on Turnitin without submitting to my course?
Turnitin does not sell individual student accounts, so through your institution you only see a report after submitting to a Turnitin-enabled assignment. A pre-submission service is the alternative.
Is the originality report the same as the similarity report?
Yes. Older versions of Turnitin called it the Originality Report. The current name is Similarity Report.
Does a Turnitin similarity check show plagiarism?
It shows matching text. Whether a match is plagiarism depends on whether it is quoted and cited correctly, which a person decides.