TurnItIn's signature feature is Originality Check, which compares student submissions against a database of 40+ billion websites, 300+ million student papers, and 100+ million academic books and publications.
Yes, Originality Check will help you detect plagiarism. But really, Originality Check is an invaluable resource for teaching students to avoid plagiarism.
The recommended best practice for Originality Check is to configure your assignment so that students may check drafts' originality repeatedly by submitting and overwriting drafts until the actual due date. Jump to directions for this configuration
TurnItIn Demonstrations:
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TurnItIn Training Videos:
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TurnItIn Instructor Training Pages:
(clicking the image below will lead you to text tutorials on TurnItIn's website)
Configuring so that students may check themselves over multiple drafts:
On the "New Assignment" page, click for "More Options."
Then, under the menu, "Generate Originality Reports for Student Submissions," choose the second option, "Immediately (can overwrite reports until due date)." This link leads to the precise moment in the "Creating Assignments" video tutorial that demonstrates this configuration. Watch until 2:02.
