Student Handbook 2026/27
16. Plagiarism and Referencing
16.1. How Turnitin works
Turnitin is an online text-matching tool used at Queen Mary to support academic integrity. It compares submitted work against a range of sources and generates a similarity report, which may help identify instances of potential plagiarism or poor academic practice.
Submitting Your Work
A Turnitin assignment is set up by a member of staff, typically via QMplus. You will access the assignment online and upload your work by the deadline.
Once submitted, Turnitin compares your work against a range of sources, including:
- Current and archived web content
- Previously submitted student papers
- Published books, journals, and academic articles
Turnitin Reports
For each submission, Turnitin generates two key outputs:
1. Similarity Index
The Similarity Index is a percentage indicating the amount of text in your submission that matches content found in Turnitin's databases.A high similarity score does not automatically mean plagiarism has occurred, and a low similarity score does not necessarily mean that references have been used correctly. The similarity score must be reviewed alongside the nature of the matched text and the way sources have been used and referenced.
2. Similarity Report
The Similarity Report provides a detailed breakdown of matched text, identifies the sources of any matches, and highlights areas that may require further review. The report can help you identify missing citations, over-reliance on source material, or other referencing issues before final submission.