Create and Manage Revisions or Drafts for Assignments in Turnitin

Introduction:

Instructors can manage draft submissions and final versions in Turnitin by adjusting Optional Settings within the Brightspace assignment setup.

Below are two possible solutions, depending on whether you want to allow resubmissions or retain draft history.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

Option 1: Allow Students to Resubmit to the Same Assignment
This option is best if you want to keep things simple and allow students to revise and resubmit their work to a single assignment folder. Note that each resubmission will overwrite the previous one, and papers will not be compared against each other.

• How to Set It Up (for Final Assignment Folder):

  1. 1. In the assignment setup, go to the Turnitin tab.
  2. 2. Click More Options → then select Optional Settings.
  3. 3. Under Submission Settings, choose:
    • Standard Paper Repository.
  4. 4. Under Similarity Report Options, choose:
    • Generate reports immediately (students can resubmit until due date).

Option 2: Create Separate Draft and Final Assignment Folders
This option is ideal if you want to retain each draft and compare them to the final version without flagging self-plagiarism. Create one or more draft assignments and a separate final assignment.

• How to Set Up the Draft Assignment(s):

  1. 1. In the assignment setup, go to the Turnitin tab.
  2. 2. Ensure that Originality Reports are enabled.
  3. 3. Click More Options → then select Optional Settings.
  4. 4. Under Submission Settings, choose:
    • Do not store the submitted papers in any repository.
  5. 5. Under Similarity Report Options, choose: 
    • Generate reports immediately (students cannot resubmit).

• Then, Set Up the Final Assignment Folder:

  1. 1.  Create a separate assignment for the final draft.
  2. 2. In the Turnitin tab, click More Options → then select Optional Settings.
  3. 3. Under Submission Settings, choose: 
    • Standard Paper Repository.
  4. 4. Under Similarity Report Options, choose:
    • Generate reports immediately (students cannot resubmit).

Troubleshooting Tips:

  • • Students report that their draft is flagged as plagiarized in the final submission
    • Check if the draft was stored in the Turnitin repository. If a draft was stored (e.g., using the Standard Paper Repository), it will be compared against the final version.
      • Solution: For draft assignments, make sure "Do not store the submitted papers in any repository" is selected.
  • • Students can't resubmit their work to the same folder
    • Check the Similarity Report settings. If the setting is "Generate reports immediately (students cannot resubmit)", only one submission is allowed.
      • Change to "Generate reports immediately (students can resubmit until due date)" in Optional Settings.
  • • Students' Similarity Reports are delayed or missing 
    • Check assignment deadlines and whether reports are set to generate immediately. 
      • ​​​​​​​Solution: In Optional Settings, verify that "Generate reports immediately" is selected.​​​​​​​
  • • Turnitin options or “More Options” are not visible
    • ​​​​​​​Make sure Turnitin is enabled for the assignment.​​​​​​​
      • Solution: On the Turnitin tab, check the box that says "Enable Turnitin for this folder." Then you'll be able to access More Options.
  • • Final paper is flagged for self-plagiarism from a draft
    • ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​This happens if both the draft and final were stored in the Turnitin repository.
      • Solution: Use "Do not store" for the draft assignment and "Standard Paper Repository" for the final.

Additional Resources:

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