Submitting a Turnitin paper - Student Guide
Before submitting, we recommend you read guide: Tips and troubleshooting for online submissions. If you still encounter problems after reading the guide , please see How to report a problem submitting your online assessment
Turnitin is a submission service designed to detect and prevent plagiarism and support online grading. Turnitin is accessed via Minerva.
Avoid opening multiple Turnitin assignments simultaneously. This may result in submitting to the wrong assignment.
If you are uploading a file to Turnitin, do not add any information into the Text Input tab. This will overwrite your uploaded file submission.
On this page:
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.
File Size
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
Formats
Check the file type - Read the assessment brief to ensure that the file is in the right format.
Different assessments have different requirements. In general, PDF is recommended. To create a PDF it is recommended that you do this from Word Online by following this Microsoft guide on exporting a Word document as PDF. MS office products are available to all students at the university, for more information on how to access see guide, Using Microsoft Word for assessments - Student Guide. Turnitin will not accept image-based or scanned PDFs, as these files do not contain readable text. If you do not follow these steps you may risk creating a pdf that is not compatible with the system, though it may upload successfully it may make it unreadable to your marker.
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):
| Supported file formats |
|---|
| MS Word (DOC and DOCX) |
| MS Excel (.xls and .xlsx) The submitted version of an Excel file will display in Turnitin as if it had been saved as a PDF from Excel. Pay attention to the preview shown during the submission process to make sure the file appears as intended. The appearance of the file can be controlled by editing the page setup and print area settings for the file prior to saving it in Excel. |
| Corel WordPerfect |
| Adobe PostScript |
| HTML |
| Rich Text Format (RTF) |
| OpenOffice (ODT) Turnitin will not accept .odt files created and downloaded from Google Docs online, or “.doc” files created using OpenOffice. You should save your file as a PDF. |
| Plain text (TXT) |
| Google Docs, Slides and Sheets via Google Drive If using Google Drive to submit, third party cookies must be allowed in your browser. See the links below for guidance on specific browsers: Chrome guidance on Google's website Firefox guidance on Mozilla's website Safari guidance on Apple's website |
| Adobe PDF (PDF) |
| Hangul Word Processor (HWP and HWPX) |
| MS PowerPoint (PPTX) Turnitin converts the PowerPoint slide decl into a static PDF. Dynamic elements (presenter notes, embedded audio/video, animations, etc) are not included in the conversion. Any visual effects for text, such as shadows and 3D, should also be removed prior to submitting to Turnitin. Documents with a .ppt extension will not work, use .pptx instead. |
Filename
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
Navigate to your Turnitin assignment, this should be in the Submit my Work folder in the relevant Minerva Module.
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
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.
2. Upload your file
When you are ready to submit, select Upload Submission
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 cutting & pasting 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.
Do not add any information into the Text Input tab. This will overwrite your uploaded file submission.
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 preview version of your paper and will be asked to confirm the submission.
Check it is the correct submission.
My preview isn't loading. What should I do?
If processing for your submission takes longer than 30 seconds, you will see a pop up message appear that says ‘You must click confirm to complete your upload’
Your submission may take longer to process due to a large file size, images, tables, document structure or if Turnitin have a temporary processing queue. The paper will still be processed as long as the Confirm button is clicked.
Check your submission has been successful by downloading the digital receipt and a copy of your submission.
4. Submit
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
Make sure you download your digital receipt. This is proof of your submission. Click the download digital receipt icon
Or alternatively, click the prompt in the interface:
Once this has downloaded, open 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.
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 paper 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 paper 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 and has released the grade/feedback, you can access this by clicking the paper title or 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:
