How to interpret the Similarity Report – EN

In this article, we'll walk you through the steps of using the Similarity Report and provide some tips for interpreting the results. Here you can find our comprehensive Plagiarism Check guide. 📖

What does a "high" or "moderate" risk of plagiarism mean?

At Scribbr, the free plagiarism check gives you an initial indication of the amount of plagiarism found in your document. The risk is estimated based on the number of similarities found between your document and our extensive databases. The different risk levels give the following indication:

High Risk: When high-risk plagiarism is detected, the quantity of similarities found is substantial and the likelihood that those similarities contain plagiarism is high, further revision is advised.
Moderate Risk: For moderate risk, there are similarities found in your document that could indicate plagiarism, but not a large amount. We advise you to review these similarities to make sure that your document is Plagiarism free.

It is important to remember that similarities do not always indicate Plagiarism. The risk message is there to indicate whether we have found similarities that are worth reviewing.

What does my Similarity Score mean?

Your similarity score represents the percentage of text in your document that matches existing sources in our database. It's important to understand that not all similarities indicate plagiarism. Here's what to keep in mind:

Acceptable Percentage of Plagiarism: Ideally, your work should not contain any plagiarism. Even a score of 1% requires reviewing each similarity to determine if revisions are necessary. Remember, plagiarism checkers detect similarities, not necessarily plagiarism. Acceptable similarities may include properly cited quotes, in-text citations, or commonly used phrases.
Getting a Similarity Score of 0%: A similarity score of 0% signifies that our plagiarism software didn’t find any similarities between your document and other documents in our database. This is a significant achievement, as only 1 out of 150 students achieve this milestone on average. Congratulations on maintaining high originality in your writing! 🎉

What do I do with found similarities?

When similarities have been found in your document, it is important to go over each one and take further actions. Be critical when going over the matches, as not all similarities have to be plagiarism.

Plagiarism refers to the act of using someone else's ideas, words, or work without proper acknowledgment or permission. It is considered a serious violation of proper Academic writing and should be avoided in your own research or writing.

To ensure that there is no plagiarism left in your document, you will have to go over the similarities and take one of the following steps for each match:

Rewrite if plagiarism: If plagiarism is detected, it's essential to rewrite the text using your own words to ensure that the document is your own original work. You can rewrite your text directly in the Similarity Report (❗ Make sure to download the file when you are done - changes are not saved).
Add correct citation: For information you want to use from a source, add the correct citation to give credit to the original author. If you already provided a citation, make sure it is according to the guidelines of the reference style.
Mark the similarity as resolved: Exclude similarities where you added a correct citation or that don’t require action, such as common phrases or citations.You can easily resolve similarities by clicking the ‘Resolve’ button.

What to do if you don't recognize a source found by the Plagiarism Checker

It's possible to encounter unfamiliar sources when using the Plagiarism Checker. Here's what you should do if you come across a source that you don't recognize:

Analyze the found similarity: An unrecognized source in your Plagiarism Check report could mean that another publication has cited the same information you used.
Search for your original source: Try to locate and cite the primary source you initially used. If you're unsure which source this is, consider citing the source identified by the Plagiarism Checker.
Cite appropriately: Make sure the information used is properly cited. If you're unable to identify your original source, it's advisable to cite the source found by the Plagiarism Checker to maintain academic integrity. You can use the Scribbr Citation Generator to easily create citations.

🆕 What’s new about the Similarity Report?

Some of you may notice the new interface we have for the Similarity Report. Here are the main advantages of the new Similarity Report:

We now have an interactive report in which you can make edits directly ✍️
You can easily resolve each solved similarity as you move through the document
You can download the edited .docx file from your similarity report

Some things to keep in mind

When using the new Similarity Report, please keep the following in mind:

Your formatting may look a bit different than you’re used to after downloading the file. If you have already put in all the effort for a perfect layout 🪄, we recommend you to make changes in your own document directly instead of editing it in the Plagiarism report.
If you use the online editor, your edits won’t be saved unless you download the report in a Word-document*

We’re working on solving the above-mentioned limitations as soon as possible!

*Want to save your document but don’t have a Word account? Please reach out to our Support team. They are more than happy to convert your document to a different format.