Walden Originality Reports and Turnitin: What Students Should Know
Walden originality checking uses Turnitin, a similarity-detection service, to compare student papers with published sources, websites and earlier submissions. Many Walden assignments are checked automatically, and Walden students can often check drafts before final submission through the tools the university provides. Understanding what an originality report shows, and what it does not, helps students avoid accidental problems and read their results calmly. This guide explains how Walden originality reports generally work, how to interpret similarity, and the writing habits that keep work clearly original and properly attributed.
What a Walden originality report shows
An originality report highlights passages in a submission that match text in Turnitin's databases and gives an overall similarity percentage. Each highlighted passage links to the matching source.
Similarity is not the same as plagiarism. Properly quoted and cited passages, reference list entries, common phrases and standard terminology can all produce matches.
Instructors read the report, not just the percentage. A report with many small matches to references and common phrases is very different from one with a long, uncited passage copied from a website.
Walden's Writing Center and academic integrity resources explain how to read reports and how instructors interpret them.
There is generally no single acceptable percentage; what matters is whether each match is properly attributed.
The report also shows where each match comes from, such as a journal article, a website or another student's submission. Matches to student papers deserve the closest look, because they can point to reused text.
Walden originality draft checks
Walden has offered students ways to check drafts before final submission, often through a draft submission area in the classroom. Checking a draft lets you see matches and fix attribution problems before the instructor sees the final version.
Draft checks are most useful for spotting passages that are too close to a source, missing quotation marks and citations that were left out.
The report for a draft may differ from the final report, especially if earlier drafts are stored in the repository, so follow the guidance your course gives about draft submissions.
A draft check is a tool, not a target. The goal is properly attributed, original writing, not a particular number.
If your course does not offer a draft area, the Writing Center can advise on how to review your work.
Leave time for the check. Uploading a draft the night before the deadline leaves no room to fix what the report shows, while a check several days early does.
Paraphrasing and quoting for Walden originality
Good paraphrasing changes both the words and the sentence structure while keeping the source's meaning, and it still needs a citation. Replacing a few words in a sentence while keeping its structure is a common cause of high similarity.
A reliable method is to read the passage, close the source, write the idea in your own words, then check against the source for accuracy and add the citation.
Direct quotations need quotation marks, a citation and a page or paragraph number. Keep them brief; a sentence of your own that weaves two sources together will nearly always serve the paper better than a long quoted block.
Synthesis, combining ideas from several sources into your own point, naturally produces original writing, because the sentence is yours even when every idea is cited.
Common knowledge and standard terminology do not need citation, but when in doubt, cite.
Tables and figures adapted from sources need attribution too, with a note under the table naming the source, as APA 7 describes. Copied tables without credit are a frequent cause of matches.
Walden originality and academic integrity
Walden's academic integrity policy covers plagiarism, including self-plagiarism, which is reusing your own earlier work without permission, as well as other forms of misconduct.
Reusing a paper from an earlier course, even your own, can trigger matches and may require instructor permission. Building on earlier work with new writing and proper citation is usually acceptable when the assignment allows it.
Attribution errors are often accidental, the result of rushed note-taking or copied passages left in a draft. Careful notes that mark quotations clearly prevent most of them.
The current policy, and the process for any concerns, are set in the Walden Student Handbook and catalog.
Understanding the policy early avoids problems that are much harder to resolve later.
Group or shared work needs care as well. When a course allows collaboration, each student's submission should still reflect their own writing unless the instructions say otherwise.
Walden originality: reducing similarity in papers
Write from notes, not from open sources. Notes in your own words naturally produce original sentences.
Cite as you write. Adding citations during drafting, rather than at the end, prevents missing attributions.
Vary your sources. A paper built mostly on one source tends to echo it; synthesis across several sources reduces that.
Check the reference list. Matches to references are expected and acceptable, but formatting them correctly in APA 7 keeps the report clear.
Review highlighted passages honestly. If a match is a properly cited paraphrase, it is fine; if it is too close to the source, rewrite it.
Use a reference manager carefully. Tools that store notes alongside quotations make it easy to paste a quotation into a draft by mistake, so mark quoted text clearly in your notes.
Read your paper aloud before submitting. Sentences that sound like a source rather than like you are often the ones that need rewriting.
Walden originality and work from this desk
Every piece written on this desk is written from scratch for the student's assignment and checked for originality before delivery.
Sources are paraphrased and synthesized rather than copied, quotations are marked and cited, and every in-text citation matches the reference list in APA 7.
Writers do not reuse text from other students or other assignments, which is the most common source of unexpected matches in purchased work elsewhere.
If a student shares earlier work to build on, the writer extends it with new writing and appropriate citation, following the course's guidance on reuse.
The aim is simple: work that reads as the student's own, with every source properly credited.
Students who receive work from the desk can also run it through their course's draft check before submitting, which many find reassuring.
If an originality report ever raises a question about delivered work, send it to the desk and the writer reviews every highlighted passage with you.
Walden originality and Turnitin: questions answered
Does Walden use Turnitin?
Yes. Walden uses Turnitin to check submissions for similarity.
What similarity percentage is acceptable at Walden?
There is generally no single number. Instructors look at whether each match is properly attributed. A high score with every match properly cited can be fine; a low score with one uncited passage is not.
Can I check a draft before submitting?
Walden has offered draft checks in many courses. Follow your course's guidance. Leave enough time to fix anything the report shows.
Is reusing my own paper allowed?
Reusing earlier work may count as self-plagiarism without permission. Check the policy and ask your instructor. Building on earlier work with new writing and citation is usually safer.
Do references cause matches?
Yes, reference entries often match and are normally acceptable.
Is work from this desk original?
Yes. It is written from scratch for each assignment and checked before delivery.