Why has the Similarity Report not generated?

If you have successfully submitted your paper but cannot view your Similarity Report, it may be due to the assignment settings that your instructor has chosen. If the assignment has been created to generate reports on the assignment due date, you will not be able to view your Similarity Report until that date has passed. Instructors may also restrict students from ever viewing their Similarity Report. Please contact your instructor for more information.

Turnitin will not generate a Similarity Report for 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

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

  •  Apple Pages

  •  Text with visual effects

If resubmissions are allowed within an assignment, report generation is impacted by how many resubmissions you have made. The behavior for this differs depending on what type of assignment you are using. Please check which type of assignment you are using by viewing this guide and refer to the appropriate section below: 

Classic Standard Assignment

• The first three resubmissions will generate a new Similarity Report straightaway. After three resubmissions, a 24-hour wait is enforced to generate Similarity Reports for all subsequent resubmissions. Therefore, Similarity Reports for a fourth resubmission and onwards will take 24 hours to generate.

New Standard Assignment

• You will be able to resubmit 3 times within a 24-hour period. You will need to wait until the next calendar day to resubmit again, and receive a new report if you exceed this limit.

Even though the file type may be supported, you may have formatted the file in a way that is unsupported. Please see further details on two file type examples below:

• Adobe® PDF - Turnitin will not accept PDF image files, forms, or portfolios, files that do not contain highlightable text (e.g. a scanned file - usually an image), documents containing multiple files or files created with software other than Adobe Acrobat®.
• Microsoft PowerPoint® (.pptx, .ppt, .ppsx, and .pps) - Text with visual effects is not supported, and it is recommended that any visual effects such as shadows and 3D be removed before submitting to Turnitin. 

  The third-party theme ‘Slate’ is not supported when used in the creation of a PowerPoint file. When the 'Slate' theme is applied, the text in the document becomes unselectable after the file is converted into a PDF, preventing Turnitin from extracting it.

During times of service disruption, report generation may be affected. If you are experiencing issues and should have a Similarity Report, view our Turnitin system status page to check for any service disruptions.