how to upload an assignment to turnitin

Technology Enhanced Learning and Design

for the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health

Turnitin: A student guide to submitting an assignment

Reviewed: 11/07/2022

What is Turnitin?

Turnitin is software that is used by the University to help to identify plagiarised work. It allows you to submit your work via your Blackboard course, where an originality report may be generated. This report will highlight text in your submission that matches text from one or more of the following sources:

• other students’ work at the University of Manchester
• students’ work at other institutions
• academic publications
• Internet sources.

These reports are examined as a standard part of the assessment process. When your work is submitted to Turnitin, it will normally be added to an international database of student papers. Your name will not be attached to your paper. Other students’ work will then be compared to your work from that point onwards. If your submission is confidential, your tutor can make sure that it is not added to the database.

File types and sizes

Please note: the file size must be less than 100MB, it must have a minimum of 20 words, be less than 400 pages, and the standard file types allowed are:

• Microsoft Word (.doc/.docx)
• OpenOffice Text (.odt)
• WordPerfect (.wpd)
• PostScript (.ps/.eps)
• Hangul Word Processor (.hwp)
• Rich Text (.rtf)
• Plain text (.txt)
• Google Docs via Google Drive
• Microsoft PowerPoint (.pptx/.ppt/.ppsx/.pps)
• Microsoft Excel (.xls/.xlsx).

Further information on plagiarism

Further information on plagiarism is available from:

• ‘Guidance to Students on plagiarism and other forms of academic malpractice’
• ‘Academic Malpractice – Guidance on the Handling of Cases’

How to submit an assignment

Stage 1: access the assignment submission link.

• Log into your Blackboard course. The assignment submission link will usually be located in the ‘ Assessments ’ area on the left-hand menu.
• Click the link to upload your assignment . You must read and follow any instructions given by your course leader.

• To submit your assignment, click the ‘ Upload Submission ’ button.
• Clicking the question mark  icon will display any extra information provided by your tutor, including feedback release date and assessment criteria (if an assignment rubric has been attached).

Stage 2: Upload your document

• Next, you need to enter a ‘Submission Title’. You must check any instructions given by your tutor. In many schools in the University, it is essential that you enter your 7-digit ID number in the submission title box and that you remove any references to your name in the submission document itself. This is to comply with anonymous marking regulations. Do not use quotation marks in the submission title as this can cause errors. It is also important that you remove any reference to your name from the submission document itself.
• Select ‘Choose file’ and locate the file you wish to upload.
• (Optional) This allows you to upload a cloud submission, e.g. Google Drive, OneDrive or Dropbox document. 

Stage 3: Review your document

This stage allows you to check you have uploaded the correct document. You can ‘ Preview ’, ‘ Cancel Submission ’ or continue to ‘ Submit to Turnitin ‘ .

Stage 4: Complete the submission

Upon submission, you will see this screen:

a) You will see a confirmation that your submission was successful. (If this is not the case, please try and submit again).

b) You may have the option to resubmit your paper if this has been allowed by your tutor. Please note: It can take up to 24 hours for re-uploaded files to be processed; however, the submission time will be marked as the time that the re-upload occurred. If you need to re-upload your work and the resubmit button is not available, then please contact your tutor to discuss arrangements for this, as they will vary from course to course.

c) You have the option to download a copy of the paper you have submitted.

d) You have the option to download a digital receipt for the paper you have submitted. It is very important that you retain your digital receipt as a record of your submission.

Important note for users of Mac systems (MacBook, iMac etc.)

If your assignment document is created on a Mac computer and you intend to include images copied and pasted from a PDF source document, it is essential that you use one of the following methods to bring the images into your assignment document. For any Mac software, including the ‘Preview’ application, do the following:

• Use ‘ Shift + Command + 5 ‘ to open the Screenshot tool. (Alternatively, search for the Screenshot tool from your Launchpad or go to ‘ File > Take Screenshot > From Selection… ‘)
• Select the area of the page you wish to save as an image (the image will automatically be saved to the desktop).
• In Word, use ‘ Insert > Image ’ to import the image.
• Do not use the Select tool in Preview to copy and paste images from the PDF into your assignment document.
• ← Reading a Similarity Report
• Turnitin: A Student Guide to Downloading Feedback →

Submitting a Turnitin paper - Student Guide

Turnitin is a submission service designed to detect and prevent plagiarism and support online grading.

On this page:

Before you submit Submitting your file Cut and paste submission Grading rubrics and forms  Keeping a copy of your Submission and Digital Receipt Resubmitting your work Viewing your feedback

Before you submit

If you encounter any problems during the submission process, please contact the IT Service Desk immediately.

Turnitin is accessed via Minerva. We do not recommend accessing Minerva via the UniLeeds App as you may have technical issues. Use a browser and go to minerva.leeds.ac.uk to access Minerva. To ensure you don’t experience issues when accessing Turnitin we recommend the latest versions of Chrome (installed on the student desktop), Edge Chromium, or Firefox. On a Mac, you can use Safari. Stay up to date with the latest versions.

Avoid opening multiple Turnitin assignments simultaneously. This may result in submitting to the wrong assignment.

Submitting your file

Follow your tutor's guidance.

Your tutor may tell you which type of file they expect you to submit, however for typical essay and report type assignments we recommend submitting as  PDF .  

The file size limit per assignment is 100MB (2MB for plain text files), and no greater than 800 pages in length. If your file is larger than this, you'll likely need to compress or remove images to submit. See the guide on Reducing Files

Check the file type -  In general, PDF is recommended.

Turnitin will not accept PDF files that do not contain highlightable text (e.g. a scanned file – usually an image) or documents containing multiple files. PDFs created using Adobe Acrobat® are officially supported. Web-based PDF creators should be avoided.

Turnitin will also accept the following file types (though if you have not been told to submit any particular format the best choice is PDF):

Do not use any of the following characters in your filename:

How to submit a Turnitin assignment

Video guide, written guide.

When submitting you need to:

1. Find your assignment

Find your Turnitin assignment (your tutor should tell you where it is).  

Select the assignment link.  

The Turnitin assignment area will open.

Click the question mark icon  to see assignment details including the  due date and any instructions .   

Other assignment details can be seen under Additional Settings  

2. Upload your file

The submission area will now open. You can submit an assignment  by  choosing  the   file  to  upload from your  computer ,  selecting  Cloud submission  (Dropbox, Google Drive ,  OneDrive  )  or  c ut ting  & past ing your text.  Always ensure your file has successfully saved on your computer by saving and then closing the file before attempting to upload it.  

Pay Attention while Submitting 

The submission area will open by default for file upload submissions.  

Select the  Upload Submission  option if not already selected. It isn't possible to upload multiple files or use multiple submission options.  

Add a  submission title  for the paper, and make sure you follow any instructions provided by your department  

If you are unsure if your file type is accepted, check the list provided earlier in this guide    

You have these options for uploading files: A  file on your computer  or upload from your personal  Dropbox  or  Google Drive  or your University  OneDrive :  

• Click Choose File to browse your computer, to locate and open the file you wish to upload  
• For files on your personal Dropbox, sign into your Dropbox account if asked, then select the file you wish to upload and click 'Choose'  
• For files on your personal google Drive, sign into your Google drive account if asked, then select the file you wish to upload and click 'Select'  
• For files on your University OneDrive, sign into your OneDrive account if asked, then select the file you wish to upload and click ‘Open’  

Click  upload  and review  

3. Review the file you're about to submit

You will be presented with a formatted version of your paper and will be asked to confirm the submission. 

Check it is the correct submission.

Click   Submit to Turnitin.

Wait until submission is confirmed   - you must wait until you see the words ‘Submission Complete!’ and a green tick.  

The window will close automatically  and you can  view  the details of your submission.   

5. Download your receipt

M ake sure you  download your digital receipt .  This is proof of your submission.   Click the  d ownload digital receipt  icon  

Or alternatively, the prompt in the interface:  

Once this has downloaded, o pen the digital receipt to see your submission id . Save a copy of your receipt in case you need it later ( e.g.  to your OneDrive account). This is the only acceptable proof of submission. 

You have not finished until you see a confirmation of a successful submission on your screen and you save your Turnitin receipt with your submission ID.  

Cut and paste submission

In some scenarios you may wish to use the Text Input option to submit to Turnitin. The steps are similar except you choose the text input option to submit instead of a file upload.

• Select the  text input  option   
• Add a  submission title  for the paper  
• Paste or enter the text  
• Click  Upload and Review  
• Wait until submission is confirmed and download your digital receipt  

Grading rubrics and forms

If there is a link under GradeMark/rubric in the Assignment information, your work will be graded with a rubric.  To check, expand the assignment information by clicking the question mark.

If there is a link under GradeMark/rubric in the Assignment information, your work will be graded with a rubric. Click the link to view the rubric.

This will open the rubric details where you can see the criteria. If you have questions about the rubric, you should contact your tutor.

Keep a copy of your submission and receipt

Keep an electronic copy of your submitted paper and digital receipt in a safe place in case there is a problem with the submission.

You can always return to view this information by clicking on the Turnitin assignment link.

If you want to see your original submission click on the  download icon:

To get a copy of your digital receipt, click the download digital receipt icon:

Resubmitting your work

If your assignment allows for resubmission, you can open a new submission window by clicking the  upload icon  (a tray with an up arrow) for your previous submission.   

You have three resubmission attempts for each assignment. After the third upload, you will have to wait 24 hours before making another resubmission to that assignment.  

Resubmission is only possible before the assignment deadline. After that point, you will need to contact your School to request a new submission attempt.  

Please be aware that resubmitting will completely overwrite your past submission, including the submission date. Your previous submission will not be recoverable.  

Remember to download a new receipt for any resubmissions.

Viewing your marks and feedback

If your tutor has used Turnitin to grade your paper and/or provide feedback, you can access this by  clicking the grade.

Once the Turnitin paper opens, feedback should automatically load. There may be feedback to the right of your paper (via comments or an assessment rubric):  

If you cannot see this feedback section, click on the feedback icon:  

You may have feedback entered directly onto your paper - you may see text inserted or a comment icon to click - click a bubble comment to see what your instructor has said:

• Turnitin Guides
• Administrator hub
• Release notes and known issues
• Welcome to Turnitin Guides

Welcome to Turnitin’s new website for guidance!

In 2024, we migrated our comprehensive library of guidance from https://help.turnitin.com to this site, guides.turnitin.com. During this process we have taken the opportunity to take a holistic look at our content and how we structure our guides.

This page is here to help you orientate yourself with these changes and update your resources

What's new?

We have restructured the content to help you navigate it more efficiently.

We are consolidating numerous pages to make our individual guides more valuable as well as removing duplicated content.

For example, our Similarity Report guidance on help.turnitin is repeated in numerous places to cater for each individual integration and license type. On guides.turnitin this content will exist in a single place to allow for users of all integrations and licenses to find it easily. We have made slight modifications to these guides to help you understand which guides are pertinent to you and your institution.

Our guidance search has greatly improved

As a result of our content restructure, the search functionality for guides.turnitin has improved. Use the search bar at the top of any page to locate the guidance you’re searching for.

Dedicated student and administrator guidance hubs

Visit the Student hub area to locate student guidance. For students who access Turnitin via an LMS or VLE, check out the subsection Submitting to Turnitin .

Visiting the Administrator hub area to locate administrator guidance and release notes. 

iThenticate and Crossref Similarity Check guidance is now located on a separate site

To improve the experience for our iThenticate and Crossref Similiarity Check customers we have move their help content onto a separate help site, guides.ithenticate.com . This will improve the search for all users.

We have also created an orientation page for this site to help users become acclimatised.

Some guidance is no longer grouped within the LMS umbrella

Some guidance which was previously provided under each LMS has been moved to sections that reflect those workflows’ outcomes. Use the table below as a cheatsheet to quickly locate guidance.

Articles in this section

• Turnitin release notes
• Integrations release notes
• Known issues
• Integrations known issues

Get Started

Setting up your Turnitin classes is easy when you know how. In just four quick steps, learn more about Turnitin's class management tools and how to get your students started. At the end of this tutorial, you can put these simple steps into practice.

1. Create Your Password

You'll need your email address and last name to create your Turnitin account password and set your security information; this information can be found in your welcome email. You can then log into Turnitin and begin customizing your account.

2. Create a Class

The creation of a class is the first step towards using the Turnitin services available to your institution. A Turnitin class groups assignments, helping you to organize student submissions. Once your classes have been created, you can start creating assignments.

• Click the All Classes tab from any Turnitin page to direct you to the homepage
• Click the green Add Class button
• From the Create a new class page, select the class type, and complete the fields marked with an asterisk
• Select the class end date
• Click Submit to add your class to Turnitin
• Once your class has been created, you will be provided with the Class ID and enrollment password, which will allow your students self enroll

3. Create an Assignment

Once your class is ready, it's time to set up your first assignment. A Turnitin assignment forms the basis of accepting student submissions. Once your assignments are set up, you start adding students to your class.

• Click the relevant class name
• From your class, click the green Add Assignment button
• Enter an assignment title
• Opt to only allow students to submit file types that generate Originality Reports or to allow any file type
• Next, select your assignment's start date, end date, and post date; the assignment post date is the date from which your students can view your feedback
• To customize your assignment further, click the optional settings button to reveal an array of options; each option will be accompanied with contextual help icons
• Click Submit to add your assignment to your Turnitin class

4. Add Students

There are three routes available for adding students. You may find it convenient to add students one by one, or add a large portion of students at once by uploading a list. Alternatively, why not allow your students to enroll themselves at their own pace?

Add Students One by One

You may prefer to use this method when adding fewer than ten students.

• Click Home from any Turnitin page to direct you to the homepage
• From the Class homepage, click the Students tab at the top of the page
• Click the Add Student button to the right
• Enter the student's first name, last name, and email address
• Click Submit to add the student

Upload a List of Students

For adding ten students or more, you may find it quicker and easier to upload a list.

• In a Word™ or plain text file, each student should be written as: first name, last name, email address format with one student per line. In Excel™, separate the first name, last name, and email address into different cells in a column.
• From the student list, click the Upload List button
• Click the Choose file button and browse for the plain text, Word™, or Excel™ file that you wish to upload
• Once the file has uploaded, click the Submit button to upload
• Check the student details displayed on screen, then click yes, submit to add the students, or no, go back to amend the file

Allow Students to Self-Enroll

Allowing students to self-enroll can save you time.

• Make a note of the seven-digit Class ID for the class you would like your students to join
• Next, select the cog icon under Edit
• From the Edit Class page, make a note of the enrollment password
• Pass the Class ID and enrollment password to your students
• Ensure this information is kept safe at all times

Ready to Start Using Turnitin?

Or why not download this page as a PDF for later reading? This information and more is available at guides.turnitin.com !

• BUE Library
• TurnItIn for Students: User Guides, Manuals & Tutorials:

Resubmit a Paper

Turnitin for students: user guides, manuals & tutorials: resubmit a paper.

• Turnitin Coordinators
• Create a Turnitin Account
• Enroll in a Class
• File Types Accepted by Turnitin
• Advice on Submitting Excel Files to Turnitin
• Forgot your Password
• Print the Originality Report
• Switching between Feedback Studio, Turnitin Classic & Text Only Views
• View Instructor's Feedback
• Drop a Class
• Turnitin Draft Coach

Note: Resubmission attempts are shared between you and your instructor. If they attempt to resubmit on your behalf one of your attempts will be used.

If resubmitting is not enabled, your instructor must manually delete your previous submission to allow you to submit a second file.

If resubmission is enabled then you have the ability to overwrite your previous submissions until an assignment's due date..

• Go to your assignment's dashboard.
• Select the "resubmit" icon and upload your file.

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• Last Updated: Aug 20, 2024 1:02 PM
• URL: https://bue.libguides.com/Turnitin2_Students