Chapter 7 · Practice 2 of 4
Understand that a similarity score is a signal, not a verdict
Why it matters
Turnitin's own guidance says its similarity score shows how much of your text matches other sources; it does not decide whether you plagiarised. A high score can come from properly quoted and cited material, and a low score does not prove there is no problem. A person reviews the matches.
Limits are set by policy, and they differ by country, university and level of study. Some published examples:
| Policy | What it says |
|---|---|
| HEC Pakistan, Graduate Education Policy 2023 (MS and PhD) | Up to 19% similarity may get the benefit of doubt, but any single source at 5% or more without citation must be revised. References and the table of contents are removed before checking. |
| UGC India, 2018 regulations (masters and research theses) | Up to 10% is minor with no penalty; above 10% to 40%, above 40% to 60% and above 60% are increasingly serious levels. |
| University of Lahore, Islamabad campus (BS FYP) | Up to 18% allowed, with warnings and possible failure above that on repeated attempts. |
Undergraduate projects usually follow the department's own rule, so ask your FYP coordinator for the limit that applies to you.
Do
- Ask your coordinator which similarity limit applies to your report
- Read the matches, not only the percentage
Avoid
- Treating a low score as permission to skip citations