Turnitin Draft Coach – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is Turnitin Draft Coach?
Turnitin Draft Coach supports students in delivering academic writing, using text similarity checking to highlight the importance of research and correctly citing sources. Students can effortlessly run a report to check their Google Docs for similarity against Turnitin’s vast database. Any matches are individually highlighted and can be reviewed in the easy to navigate side panel.
How do I access this tool?
To access the Draft Coach add-on, login to Google Docs using your BU id and password. For step by step instructions see here: Turnitin Draft Coach For Students
Is this different from Feedback Studio?
The add-on can be used alongside Turnitin Feedback Studio, however, it is built on the Turnitin Platform which is a different Turnitin environment. For this reason, things may look new and differ from what you are used to.
Does Turnitin store the submissions?
Docs are not indexed in Turnitin’s global repository when students use the Draft Coach add-on and run a Similarity Report in Google Docs.
What repositories does it match against?
Similarity Reports will search your students’ Google Doc against Turnitin global student repository, journals and publications, and a vast collection of archived and current internet pages.
Can I view my student’s Similarity Report using Turnitin Draft Coach?
Only the student that has run the report will be able to see their results. Draft Coach is a tool for assisting your student’s writing process and can help them work towards the final draft of an assignment before they submit to Instructors.
Why don’t I see the add-on in my Google Docs?
It’s most likely because you are in your private Google account. If you are logged into your BU Google account, try refreshing the page, and then try turning on the add-on again. Since Chrome is a Google browser, it may work better in Chrome than other browsers. If you need help with logging in to your Google account, contact ithelp@bu.edu.
Can I use this tool with Microsoft Word?
No, but you can upload your Word doc to Google, save it as a Google doc, and then run the check. If you need to make changes, use the results as a guide to make the changes to your Word doc.
How do I interpret the Similarity Report?
Turnitin provides details about how to interpret the similarity report. Read more: How do I interpret the scores?
Questions?
If you need additional information or want to speak with an Educational Technologist, reach out via askedtech@bu.edu.
About the Author: Maria Afzal, Educational Technologist
