Many students get nervous before submitting their essays or theses because they don’t know exactly what the Turnitin result will look like. It can be stressful waiting for a number that defines your hard work. This article provides a realistic Turnitin similarity report example to demystify the process.
By reviewing this guide, you will understand the basic layout and key components of the report. This helps you feel more prepared and confident to interpret your own results when you receive them.
A Realistic Turnitin Similarity Report Example
Below is a sample view of what a standard Turnitin similarity pdf report looks like. For the purpose of this illustration, we are using a document that received an overall 15% similarity score.
Please note that this is just an example for educational purposes. Your specific report will depend entirely on the content of your own writing.
What This Turnitin Similarity Report Example Shows
A Turnitin PDF report clearly summarizes similarity results in a static, easy-to-review format.
Here’s what this 15% similarity report example PDF shows:
1. Overall Similarity Percentage: Displayed at the end of the report on a separate page. In this example, the overall similarity is shown in red (15%), followed by the breakdown: 1% from internet sources, 0% from publications, and 14% from student papers, indicating how much of the text matches each type of source.
2. Highlighted Text Matches: Matched content is highlighted directly within the document text using different colors and superscript numbers (such as 1, 2, 3, etc.). Each number corresponds exactly to the number in the matched sources list; for example, if a highlight is marked with a 4, that specific content matches the source listed as number 4 in your report. This makes it easy to identify exactly where and which sources overlap with your writing.
3. Matched Sources List: The PDF includes a numbered or color-coded list of sources. Each source shows the percentage of matched text and its origin, such as online publications, academic journals, or student papers.
4. Excluded Items: If your instructor or Turnitin Reports provider has set up the assignment correctly, items like direct quotations (if formatted properly with quotation marks) and your bibliography/reference list are usually excluded from the total score. These areas should appear without highlighting.
Similarity Score Breakdown (Brief)
A very common question students ask when looking at a Turnitin similarity report example is, “Is my score good or bad?” Turnitin uses a color-coded scale to help guide you visually. Please refer to this article for more information about Turnitin color codes.
Important Note: Remember that similarity does not automatically mean plagiarism. Turnitin only matches text; it does not judge academic honesty. A moderate score could simply mean you used many correctly cited quotations, which is perfectly fine. Refer to this article.
So, is a 15% score like the one in our example acceptable for your final submission? There is no single universal answer. Acceptability is practical and depends entirely on three factors:
- Your Institution’s Rules: Some universities have strict caps (for example, requiring everything to be under 15%), while others are more flexible.
- The Type of Assignment: A literature review or a legal paper will naturally have a higher similarity score due to required quotes than a piece of creative writing.
- Lecturer Review: Ultimately, a human instructor reviews the context of the highlighted matches, not just the number. They check why the text is highlighted, not just that it is highlighted.
Conclusion
This guide is just one example of what you might see. Every report is unique to the paper submitted. The most important step is to always review your highlighted matches carefully before your final submission to ensure your academic integrity remains intact.
You can view or download the full PDF of this Turnitin similarity report example below
Please be assured that while we offer Turnitin check services, we never use a client’s paper on our website or as an example. Protecting your work is our priority; it is strictly against our policy to share or publish documents submitted to us, as we deeply respect our clients’ privacy. Any paper example posted on our website is created specifically for demonstration purposes and is NEVER a real student or client document.
Check out Turnitin AI Report Example.
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