Alamo Colleges District

Uploading a Paper to Turnitin Using Canvas (as a student)

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Turnitin logo with blue paper and arrow

If your instructor is requiring you to submit a paper via the Turnitin dashboard in Canvas, you will upload the file using the following steps. Submission requirements have also been provided to ensure your paper meets Turnitin's criteria for files submitted to their system.

Uploading a Paper to Turnitin in Canvas

Click Upload Submission to begin.   

Upload document submission button
  1. The first step will be to "Upload" your document. Title your submission and click Select a file to upload.
Title your submission and Select a file to upload
  1. Once you have uploaded your file, then click Continue.
Review the information and click Continue
  1. On the "Review" step, you will have the opportunity to preview your document and verify it is the correct document. From here you can either Cancel Submission or Accept Submission & Save it for your instructor to view and provide feedback.
Preview your document and accept your submission
  1. Wait until you receive the "Submission Complete!" screen before closing the window.
wait until you receive the submission complete before closing the window
  1. You will receive confirmation on the Assignment page that your Submission uploaded successfully.
You will receive confirmation on the assigment page about your submission uploaded successfully
  1. On the same confirmation page, you can download a Digital Receipt by clicking the icon next to the download button.
Download the digital receipt from the icon

A Digital Receipt provides information regarding your submission and will aid in troubleshooting any technical issues.

It is highly recommended that you keep digital receipts for all Turnitin assignments.

save all submission digital receipts for your class

Submission Requirements

Turnitin will only accept the following file types:

  • Microsoft Word (.doc/.docx)
  • OpenOffice Text (.odt)
  • Word Perfect (.wpd)
  • PostScript (.ps/.eps)
  • HTML
  • Hangul Word Processor file (.hwp)
  • Rich text format (.rtf)
  • Plain text (.txt)
  • Google Docs via Google Drive
  • Adobe PDF (.pdf)
  • Microsoft PowerPoint (.pptx, .ppt, .ppsx, and .pps)
  • Microsoft Excel (.xls and .xlsx)

Files for upload must:

  • be less than 40mb;
  • have a minimum of 20 words; and
  • be less than 400 pages.

It is recommended that you access Turnitin from a supported web browser:

  • Firefox
  • Chrome
  • Safari
  • Microsoft Edge

Please visit Turnitin Support for additional system requirements.

For technical assistance with Turnitin submissions, please contact the District IT Help Desk or your college's instructional technology support center.

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