If you are a student, you might have heard of QuillBot, a popular online tool that is able to paraphrase any text for you. You might have also wondered if you can use QuillBot to rewrite your assignments and avoid accidental plagiarism and artificial intelligence (AI) detection by Turnitin, the most widely used software for checking academic integrity.
So, does Turnitin detect QuillBot? The short answer is “Yes, it does.” Turnitin can detect paraphrased text by QuillBot, whether it comes to AI-generated text or paraphrased plagiarism.
In this article, we will explain how Turnitin works, how QuillBot works, and why they are not compatible. We will also give you some tips on how to avoid plagiarism and write better papers without relying on paraphrasing tools.
Will Turnitin Detect QuillBot? [Key Takeaways]
- QuillBot is an AI-powered paraphrasing tool that is easy to use and access online. QuillBot does an excellent job of summarizing and grammar-checking as well.
- Turnitin is a program that compares your submitted written work with a vast database, generates a similarity report indicating how much of your work mirrors these sources, and acts as plagiarism detection software.
- Turnitin can detect QuillBot paraphrasing as AI-generated text or paraphrased plagiarism by analyzing the language, style, and context of your paper and the sources.
- Universities, colleges, and other educational bodies use Turnitin to keep their writing standards as high as possible.
- Using QuillBot to rewrite your assignments might lead to a violation of the academic integrity policies of your institution.
- The best way to avoid plagiarism and write better papers without QuillBot is to learn how to paraphrase properly yourself, using your voice and style, and citing the sources correctly.
- Grammarly is your safe place to go. You can use it to refine and improve your writing. The good news is that this enhanced version of your text doesn’t get flagged as AI-generated, making it difficult for Turnitin to detect. Writing original content and using citations is still required.
Why Does Turnitin Detect QuillBot?
If you use QuillBot to paraphrase a text written by AI writers like ChatGPT or someone else’s words, then Turnitin won’t miss it. However, it’s worth noting that the content generated by QuillBot in the form of paraphrased text is not considered AI writing.
Let me explain it to you. AI-generated content may sound and look very good, but it has certain characteristics that differentiate it from human-written texts. For example, AI texts tend to have more repetition, inconsistency, and errors. They also tend to have more generic and vague expressions, plus high levels of predictability.
Turnitin has a feature that can identify AI-generated texts by analyzing these characteristics. It can also compare your paper with your previous submissions and flag any significant changes in your writing style or quality.
Turnitin can reliably detect QuillBot because QuillBot is a paraphrasing tool. Paraphrasing tools often leave traces of the initial text in the paraphrased text. For example, they might keep some uncommon words or phrases or use similar sentence structures and patterns that Turnitin can find in the source.
Turnitin can recognize these traces by comparing your paper with its vast database of sources or looking for structures found in AI-generated content. It can also use natural language processing (NLP) techniques to measure the semantic similarity between your paper and the sources. Semantic similarity is the degree to which two texts share the same meaning or concept.
“As Turnitin and QuillBot continue to advance, they emphasize the significance of preserving authenticity in content creation. While Turnitin and similar tools serve as valuable guides, their best use lies in complementing, not replacing, the genuine effort and originality integral to crafting compelling content.” — Andre Oentoro, CEO and Founder, Breadnbeyond
What Does Turnitin Do Exactly?
Turnitin is popular plagiarism-detection software used by educational institutions to check if students’ work is original or if someone has copied from a primary source. Turnitin also has an AI writing detection feature that enables it to spot AI content with 98% accuracy.
Turnitin checks your paper against a huge library of academic journals, books, websites, and other student papers. It then generates a similarity report that shows how much of your paper matches these sources. Links to the sources are also provided as part of the similarity report.
Turnitin does not only look for exact matches but also similar matches. This means that it can detect when you change some words with synonyms or sentences from a source but keep the same meaning and structure. This is called paraphrased plagiarism, and it is considered a serious form of academic dishonesty.
Turnitin uses a sophisticated algorithm that analyzes the language, style, and context of your paper and the sources. It can recognize when you use synonyms, change the word order, or use passive voice to hide the source or the fact that AI has written the text.
“From personal experience, Turnitin does a reasonably decent job (85% -90%) in detecting and flagging content produced by AI. We use Turnitin to check sourced content from contracted freelance writers and ensure that it is plagiarism-free and AI-free. But Turnitin has often flagged ‘handwritten content’ as AI-generated, though these instances are only a few. There may still need to be a tool that can 100% flag AI content. However, Turnitin can successfully flag content that comprises AI content by more than 25%.” — Roman Milyushkevich, Chief Technology Officer and CEO, HasData
Can Turnitin and QuillBot Work Together?
QuillBot leverages AI to paraphrase all kinds of written work. It only takes a few clicks to paraphrase your text. Just paste it in the box and click “Paraphrase.” QuillBot will then generate a new version of your text that is supposed to be different from the original but still conveys the same meaning.
QuillBot is designed to improve your writing skills, avoid plagiarism, and save time.
As a blogger, I often use it and it always fascinates me. QuillBot helps me make great summaries and bullet lists out of texts that are too lengthy. Not to mention this tool’s paraphrasing capability, which is where it shines the most. Read more about my experience in this comprehensive QuillBot review.
However, there are two main problems with using QuillBot for academic purposes.
- QuillBot is not 100% reliable: AI tools provide outstanding help, but human intervention is often recommended. Sometimes, QuillBot produces grammatically incorrect or nonsensical sentences that can ruin your paper. The paraphraser might change the meaning or tone of your text in subtle or drastic ways that can misrepresent your arguments or sources.
- QuillBot might not be used ethically: Rewriting your assignments with QuillBot to avoid detection is cheating. You are not showing your understanding or analysis of the topic. You are not giving proper credit to the authors whose ideas and words you are using. By trying to crack the algorithm behind Turnitin, you are violating the academic integrity policies of your institution and risking serious consequences.
Utilizing QuillBot for your scholarly texts is acceptable only in case you make use of its spelling and grammar-checking capabilities.
How to Write Better Papers Without QuillBot
Paraphrasing with QuillBot might be tempting, but it’s not suitable for academic writing. Whether Turnitin is used by your teacher to detect plagiarism and AI-assisted writing (or not) doesn’t really matter. Taking dishonest shortcuts is never a good way to achieve your goals. Students should use their knowledge and skills to handle tasks instead of trying to circumvent Turnitin.
Sometimes it might happen that your words and ideas closely resemble someone else’s or even your own previously submitted assignments. Even though it’s not intentional, it can still cause problems. Maybe you haven’t heard of self-plagiarism before, but it’s a real thing.
The best way to avoid unintentional plagiarism and write better papers without QuillBot is to learn how to paraphrase properly yourself. Paraphrasing is not just changing some words or sentences from a source. Paraphrasing is more about improving your own work and writing skills.
To paraphrase properly, you need to follow these steps:
- Research the topic of your assignment carefully to understand the main points and the details well.
- Think about how you can restate the main points and the details in your own words to avoid plagiarism detection, without changing the meaning or preferable tone.
- Write your paraphrased text without looking at the sources, using your own vocabulary and sentence structure.
- Cite the source correctly according to the citation style you are using.
- Ask someone else, such as a peer, a tutor, or an instructor, to review your summary and give you feedback.
- Use online grammar checkers to improve the readability and overall quality of your text.
- Run your text through a reliable plagiarism checker like Turnitin. The latter may not be accessible to students yet, but there are plenty of other options available online.
By following these steps, you will be able to write a paraphrased text that is original, accurate, and clear. You will also be able to demonstrate your critical thinking and creative skills and avoid unintentional plagiarism and Turnitin detection.
Conclusion
QuillBot is a popular online tool that paraphrases texts effectively and easily. However, QuillBot is not a good option for scholarly purposes. QuillBot can produce low-quality, inaccurate, or unethical texts that can harm your paper and your reputation. If used with the wrong motivation, Turnitin will detect QuillBot paraphrasing as AI-generated text or paraphrased plagiarism.
The best way to avoid plagiarism and write better papers without QuillBot is to learn how to paraphrase properly yourself. Paraphrasing requires reading, understanding, restating, writing, and citing the sources correctly.
FAQ
Can Turnitin detect paraphrasing?
Yes, it can. Turnitin can identify paraphrased plagiarism, even if it is done by paraphrasing tools like QuillBot. It also has the ability to detect paraphrased AI content. However, Turnitin may not always distinguish between text that is AI-paraphrased and text that is AI-generated, and it is constantly updating its detection abilities.
How does Turnitin detect paraphrasing?
Turnitin compares submitted text, using advanced detection techniques, with a vast database of academic content. It checks for similarities in phrases, synonyms, and sentence structures to identify potential paraphrasing or plagiarism. When it comes to identifying paraphrased AI-written texts, it looks for patterns that are unusual in human writing.
Does QuillBot pass Turnitin?
QuillBot can help you pass Turnitin if you only use it for correcting spelling and grammar errors. Moreover, your paraphrased text should be original and not generated by AI.
Will grammar checkers affect my similarity report on Turnitin?
Using grammar checkers won’t make a big difference to your similarity report on Turnitin unless they change words into ones that match someone else’s work. From tools in Google Docs or MS Word to online tools like Grammarly, they are all accepted and won’t be perceived as AI-written content by Turnitin’s algorithm.
Does the way I use quotes matter to Turnitin?
Yes, using quotation marks correctly around what you directly borrow from somewhere else helps show which parts are not yours when you write footnotes or endnotes; this helps avoid higher similarity scores on Turnitin reports.
If I write in different languages, will Turnitin still work?
Yes, Turnitin offers an optional service called Translated Matching, which allows students to submit content in a non-English language while retaining the ability to match against Turnitin’s vast database of English language content.
Is it advisable for students to use services like QuillBot for paraphrasing?
While QuillBot can help students rephrase their writing, students need to maintain academic integrity and use AI tools like these responsibly, ensuring proper citation and originality in their work.
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Article by
Nikola Baldikov