Does Speechify affect my Turnitin score?
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Students across the globe are constantly on the lookout for tools that can assist them in their academic journey. With platforms like Turnitin and Speechify...
Students across the globe are constantly on the lookout for tools that can assist them in their academic journey. With platforms like Turnitin and Speechify being widely used, many wonder how these tools interact and if using Speechify can affect their Turnitin score. In this article, we’ll dive into the innerworkings of the platforms and answer this question.
What is Turnitin?
Turnitin is a popular online service utilized by educational institutions to detect and prevent plagiarism in student papers. By comparing submissions against its vast database of previously submitted student papers, published works, and internet sources via SimCheck, Turnitin provides educators with a similarity report indicating the percentage of content that matches other sources.
How Turnitin works
Once a student's work is submitted before the due date, Turnitin processes the piece of work, scanning for matches with content within its database. The outcome of this scan is the similarity score, represented as a percentage. A breakdown of this score can be viewed in the similarity report, which flags areas of matching text. This doesn’t automatically indicate plagiarism. Turnitin scores simply provide a basis for the review process, prompting educators to look closely at matches and determine whether they are appropriately cited or a result of copying.
What is Speechify?
Speechify is a text to speech platform that can convert any digital or physical text into audio files, enabling users to listen to any written content. Designed primarily to assist individuals with dyslexia, visual impairments, or other reading challenges, Speechify harnesses advanced text to speech technology to deliver a natural and smooth listening experience. By transforming webpages, articles, documents, and other written materials into audio format, Speechify allows users to consume content on the go, making reading more accessible and flexible. Over time, the platform has gained popularity among a wider audience, including students, professionals, and anyone looking to multitask or simply enjoy a hands-free reading experience.
How Speechify works
At its core, Speechify leverages advanced computer science algorithms to analyze text and convert it to a wide range of natural-sounding voices. A user inputs their chosen text, which Speechify then processes and reads out loud. The application can be used for everything from reviewing academic papers to understanding complex readings.
Top factors affecting your Turnitin score
Navigating the academic world often means grappling with a plethora of tools designed to maintain the integrity of scholarly work, including Turnitin. As students submit their papers, many wonder, "What affects my Turnitin score?" The answer lies in the intricate breakdowns of a student's work, analyzed against a vast database of academic and non-academic texts. In fact, several factors influence the Turnitin similarity percentages, such as:
Word-for-word matches
One of the primary reasons for a high similarity percentage on Turnitin is the presence of direct copies of text from sources that have not been appropriately cited or paraphrased. When students directly lift content from books, articles, websites, or other students' works without giving proper credit, Turnitin's algorithms detect these verbatim overlaps. Such instances can be a clear indication of plagiarism if not referenced correctly.
Common phrases
Not every match on Turnitin necessarily indicates plagiarism. The software can sometimes flag commonly used phrases or idiomatic expressions that are prevalent in everyday language or within specific academic fields. For instance, phrases like "climate change impacts" or "supply and demand" might be present in numerous papers on related topics, leading to a similarity match.
Small matches
Turnitin might detect a series of small, fragmented matches from various sources. These could be frequently used terms, especially in specific subjects or fields of study. While these matches might seem inconsequential individually, collectively, they can contribute to a higher similarity percentage.
Citations and reference lists
Proper academic writing necessitates the use of citations and reference lists to give credit to original authors. While they are an essential part of scholarly work, Turnitin can sometimes flag these sections if they match other sources too closely, especially if the same citation style and structure are used. It's important to note that a flagged bibliography doesn’t always indicate plagiarism but is simply a similarity in referencing.
Student's writing style
Turnitin doesn't just look for exact word matches; it can also identify similar structures and patterns in writing. If a student's paper closely aligns with another's in terms of sentence structure, argument flow, or overall style, the software might register this as a similarity. However, this doesn't necessarily mean one student copied another; it might simply be a case of two students approaching a topic in a similar manner or using comparable research materials.
Does Speechify affect my Turnitin score?
The straightforward answer is: No.
Speechify operates on a different spectrum from Turnitin. While Turnitin focuses on text comparison, Speechify is geared towards text to speech conversion. Using Speechify to listen to content will not affect your Turnitin score.
Why Speechify does not affect your Turnitin score
Speechify can be used with confidence in academic endeavors because of its:
Inaccessibility to Turnitin
When using Speechify, users can be confident in the privacy and security of their text. This is because any text typed or converted on Speechify is not indexed or accessible on the broader internet. Unlike some platforms where data might be stored or become searchable, Speechify ensures that user-generated content remains private and offline. As a result, this text cannot be added to the Turnitin database and, therefore, will not be identified as plagiarized or duplicated content in future Turnitin scans.
SOC 2 compliance
SOC 2 (Service Organization Control 2) is a rigorous auditing procedure that entities undergo to ensure they handle customer data securely and uphold the highest standards of confidentiality and privacy. Speechify's adherence to SOC 2 compliance demonstrates its commitment to robust security measures and the safeguarding of user data. This means that user data on Speechify is not only kept confidential but is also managed in a way that minimizes risks and vulnerabilities.
Privacy policy
A clear testament to its dedication to user privacy, Speechify's privacy policy emphasizes non-sharing of personal and textual data. Users can be assured that their texts or any personal information won't be shared, sold, or distributed to third parties. This reinforces the idea that the content users convert to speech on the platform remains exclusive to them and won't inadvertently land in databases like Turnitin.
Use Speechify to proofread
With the added assurance that using Speechify will not impact their Turnitin score, students can confidently utilize the platform not only for its primary text to speech function but also as an innovative method to refine and perfect their academic submissions.
Leveraging Speechify as a proofreading tool offers a unique advantage to students. While reading a text allows for surface-level understanding, hearing it audibly can unearth inconsistencies, grammatical errors, or awkward phrasings that might have been initially overlooked. By converting written assignments into audio format, students can experience their work from a fresh perspective. Try Speechify for free today and take your studies to the next level.
Frequently Asked Questions
To prevent plagiarizing, consult your syllabus, ensure your piece of work is written in your own words, and use proper citations for all sourced content.
Turnitin's LTI (Learning Tools Interoperability) integration allows educational institutions to seamlessly integrate Turnitin's plagiarism detection services into their Learning Management Systems (LMS).
A 33% similarity on Turnitin is considered high and may indicate potential plagiarism or improperly cited sources.
A 40% similarity on Turnitin is viewed as significant and can raise concerns of academic integrity.
A 44% similarity on Turnitin is substantial and might suggest possible content overlap with other sources.
A 20% similarity on Turnitin, while lower, can still be concerning depending on the nature of the matched content.
A 25% similarity on Turnitin is moderate but requires reviewing to ensure proper citation and originality.
It is possible to get a 100% on Turnitin if a document matches entirely with existing content in the database.
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Cliff Weitzman
Cliff Weitzman is a dyslexia advocate and the CEO and founder of Speechify, the #1 text-to-speech app in the world, totaling over 100,000 5-star reviews and ranking first place in the App Store for the News & Magazines category. In 2017, Weitzman was named to the Forbes 30 under 30 list for his work making the internet more accessible to people with learning disabilities. Cliff Weitzman has been featured in EdSurge, Inc., PC Mag, Entrepreneur, Mashable, among other leading outlets.