Turnitin Similarity Reports Explained: What Score Is Safe?

Students panic at a similarity percentage without knowing what it measures. Turnitin compares your text against publications, web pages and student papers, then reports how much matches. Matching is not automatically misconduct — a properly quoted and cited passage still shows as a match.

What inflates a score legitimately

• Reference lists and bibliographies, unless excluded.
• Standard method or equipment descriptions in lab reports.
• Long block quotations, even when cited correctly.
• Common phrases in legal, medical and technical writing.

Is there a safe percentage?

There is no universal threshold — many departments look closely above 15–20%, but a 30% score made entirely of cited quotations and references can be fine, while a 6% score containing one uncited paraphrased paragraph is not. Read the matches, not just the number.

How to lower a score honestly

• Paraphrase in your own sentence structure, then cite the source anyway.
• Convert long quotations into summary plus a short quoted phrase.
• Exclude bibliography and quoted material in the report settings if your school allows it.
• Replace generic boilerplate with your own description of what you did.

Get your paper checked free

EduWriter Online Academy attaches a Turnitin similarity report free to every delivered assignment, essay and thesis, and also runs standalone checks on work you wrote yourself. Send the file on WhatsApp and you get the percentage plus the full report PDF back.