This article explains how to enable Turnitin Feedback Studio (OriginalityCheck and GradeMark) on a D2L Assignment folder. 


See it in action! The Turnitin Feedback Studio Training video, below, demonstrates how to setup and use the tool.


OriginalityCheck inspects student work for improper citation or potential plagiarism by comparing it against an academic database consisting of journals and publications, the internet and archives, and a student submission repository. GradeMark allows instructors to edit and grade student papers online, as well as provide inline comments on student submissions.


Setting up a Turnitin Assignment

Step 1: Setup the Assignment Folder

An important first step in creating a Turnitin-enabled Assignment folder is to setup the Assignment folder completely before enabling Turnitin. This includes setting up the date restrictions, grading (out of score) and grade associations, and file submission preferences. For more information and assistance on setting up an Assignment folder, see the Assignments Setup article


Step 2: Enabling Turnitin on the D2L Assignment Folder

Once the Assignment folder is setup, to enable Turnitin Feedback Studio, simply navigate to the Turnitin tab and activate the "Enable Turnitin for this folder" checkbox option. 


The system will activate Turnitin. It may take up to a minute for Turnitin to activate, during which time, you will see a spinning circle.


Once complete, determine if you want to "allow learners to see Turnitin similarity scores in their submission folder." This checkbox toggles whether students will have access to the Originality Report results. 



Determine the frequency for originality check. For an automated process, use "Automatic originality checking on all submissions."


Set the date that GradeMark feedback will become available to learners. If this date is in the future, learners will not be able to view your feedback. 



Click the "More Options in Turnitin" button to customize your Turnitin settings. 




Step 3: Review Turnitin Settings

The "Title," "Max Grade," "Start Date," "Due Date," and "Feedback Release Date" will carry over from the D2L Assignment folder. 


Set the "allow submission of any file type" to "Yes." This setting will allow Turnitin to process all possible files. 


Turnitin can only process an Originality score and activate GradeMark on the following file types: 

  • Microsoft Word (.doc/.docx)
  • OpenOffice Text (.odt), WordPerfect (.wpd)
  • PostScript (.ps)
  • HTML
  • Hangul Word Processor file (.hwp)
  • Rich text format (.rtf)
  • Plain text format (.txt)
  • Microsoft PowerPoint (.pptx, .ppt, .ppsx, .pps)
  • Microsoft Excel (.xls, .xlsx)
  • Adobe PDF (.pdf)*

    *Turnitin will not accept PDF image files, forms, portfolios, files that do not contain highlightable text (e.g. a scanned file), documents containing multiple files, or files created with software other than Adobe Acrobat. 


Turnitin can NOT process the following file types: 

  • Password protected files

  • Microsoft® Works (.wps) files

  • Microsoft Word 2007 macros-enabled (.docm) files

  • OpenOffice Text (.odt) files created and downloaded from Google Docs online

  • Document (.doc) files created using OpenOffice, as they are not 100% Microsoft Word equivalent

  • Apple Pages

  • Spreadsheets created outside of Microsoft Excel (i.e. .ods)

  • Text with visual effects


Note: Many students may be using Apple Pages (Word equivalent) or Numbers (Excel equivalent). Turnitin cannot read this file type. We have a student article that explains how to convert Apple Pages documents into Microsoft Word documents. Please recommend to your students. 



Click "Optional Settings" to view additional settings. Once the settings (described below) have been reviewed, click "Submit" to save. Then click "Save and Close" on the D2L Assignment folder page to finish creating the assignment. 



Allow Late Submissions: This setting is not changeable in Turnitin. Submission permissions will follow the restrictions on the D2L Assignment folder. 


Compare submitted papers against the following sources: These search options allow the instructor to select which Turnitin repositories student submissions will be checked against when processing Originality Reports. 


Originality Report generation and resubmissions: This setting allows the instructor to choose when Originality Reports are generated. The recommended setting is "generate reports immediately (resubmissions are allowed until due date)." This will process a report within a few minutes after student submission and will process a report for each submission until the D2L Assignment folder closes. 


Exclude bibliographic materials from Similarity Index for all papers in this assignment? This setting allows the instructor to exclude text appearing in the bibliography, works cited, or references sections of student papers from being checked for matches when generating the Originality Report. This setting can be overridden in individual Originality Reports. 


Excluded quoted materials from Similarity Index for all papers in this assignment? This setting allows the instructor to exclude text appearing in quotes from being checked for matches when generating Originality Reports. This setting can be overridden in individual Originality Reports. 


Excluded small matches? This setting allows the instructor to exclude matches that are not of sufficient length (determined by the instructor) from being considered when generating Originality Reports. This setting can be overridden in individual Originality Reports. 


Allow students to view Originality Reports? This setting is not changeable in Turnitin. This setting will follow the D2L setting.


Submissions to this assignment will be stored in: This setting allows the instructor to choose whether papers will be stored in the Turnitin paper repository. The benefit of submitting papers to the paper repository is that papers submitted to the assignment repository are checked against other submissions within your current and previous classes, if selected.


Add PeerMark assignment: This option is not applicable as PeerMark is not currently part of the Turnitin integration. 


Attach a rubric to this assignment: This setting allows the instructor to attach a Turnitin rubric to the assignment (different than a D2L rubric).


Enable grammar checking using ETS e-rater technology: if enabled, GradeMark will provide grammar and other writing trait feedback options.


Would you like to save these options as your defaults for future assignments. This saves the current set of options and applies it to future created Turnitin Assignment folders. 


Viewing Originality Check and Marking a Student Submission with GradeMark

Once students have submitted their assignments to an Assignment folder with Turnitin enabled, an Originality Report will be generated and you can use GradeMark to evaluate the submission.


After a student submits a document, Turnitin will begin to process the report. An incomplete report will display as "in-progress" under the "Turnitin Similarity" column. It typically takes 15 minutes for a submission to process.


A completed report will display a results bar, like the one shown below. The bar will display the perceived percentage of plagiarism found in the document, as well as a color-coded guide for quick reference. Blue equals a low-percentage of perceived copied material and red equals a high-percentage of perceived copied material.



To view the Similarity Report and evaluate the submission with Grade Mark, click "Evaluate."



Then click on the Turnitin Similarity indicator icon to enter Turnitin. 



View the Turnitin results and provide GradeMark feedback. For more information on using the Turnitin Feedback Studio interface, see the training video below or visit Turnitin's website


Be sure to enter a score for the student at the top of the page. When you're finished, close the Turnitin tab to return to the D2L Assignment folder window. 



Click the "refresh" icon to update the score from Turnitin. 



Then click "Use this score" to send it to the evaluation area for D2L. 



Enter any additional feedback in the D2L area and click "Publish" to save the feedback and release it to the student.



You can move on to the next student by clicking the "Next Student" link.



Training Video

Robert Trent, a Customer Success Consultant from Turnitin, presents Feedback Studio at KU.

Watch it full screen!