What Does Match Overview Mean on Turnitin?
Match Overview is the panel in Turnitin Feedback Studio that lists every source your paper matches, ranked from the largest match to the smallest. Each source has a number, a colour and a percentage, and the same colour highlights the matching text in your paper. In Turnitin's newer report view, the same information appears as "Match Groups" and "Sources".
What the Match Overview panel shows
| Item | What it means |
|---|---|
| Overall percentage at the top | Your total similarity score |
| Numbered sources | Each matching source, largest first |
| Colour of each source | The highlight colour used for that source in your paper |
| Percentage beside each source | How much of your paper matches that source alone |
| Source type | Internet, publication or student paper |
Colours identify sources. They do not rank how serious a match is. A red source is not worse than a blue one. More: Turnitin report colours explained.
Match Overview vs All Sources
- Match Overview shows the best match for each part of your text. Each passage is counted once.
- All Sources shows every source that matched, including ones hidden behind a larger match. It is useful when you want to see where else a passage appears.
Match Overview in the newer Turnitin report
Turnitin's newer Similarity Report replaces Match Overview with two views:
- Match Groups: Not Cited or Quoted, Missing Quotations, Missing Citation, and Cited and Quoted. This tells you why text is flagged.
- Sources: the ranked source list, similar to the old Match Overview.
Our sample similarity report below uses the newer layout, with the match groups and top sources on its score page.
Match groups and sources on a real report
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.
How to use Match Overview to lower your score
- Start with source 1. The top two or three sources usually account for most of your score.
- Click a source to jump to the matching text.
- Quote and cite it, or rewrite it in your own structure and cite it.
- Ignore tiny matches of common phrases.
Full walkthrough: how to read a Turnitin report.
Frequently asked questions
What is Match Overview in Turnitin?
The Feedback Studio panel that lists every matching source, largest first, with a number, colour and percentage for each.
Do the colours in Match Overview mean anything?
They identify sources only. A red source is not worse than a blue one.
Where is Match Overview in the new Turnitin report?
It is replaced by Match Groups and Sources, which show why text is flagged and where it comes from.