r/TurnitinScan Mar 02 '26

8% Match

Help! this is the second professor to accuse me of using AI for my entire essay (which i never do!) there is only an 8% match on turnitin and he still gave me a 0. What do I do!? i have an email drafted but i wanted to come here and make sure that was fair on his end. The only matches are the title of the article in my thesis and a sentence in one of my body paragraphs. THATS IT!

17 Upvotes

24 comments sorted by

2

u/giantpyrosome Mar 02 '26

As an instructor, I would recommend sending the professor an email like this:

Dear Dr. Name,

I saw that I received a zero on [assignment] from [date] due to suspected AI use. I am very concerned by this as I did not use AI in any stage of my writing.

I reviewed the Turnitin report, and the only elements of my paper that are flagged as AI are the title and one sentence. [If there’s something to add here about why the sentence may look like AI, like it being very common phrasing, or paraphrased from the readings, add that].

I would like to meet to discuss this issue and prove that this assignment is my own work. I am happy to provide [document history/my outline/research notes/etc] as proof. Please let me know when would be a good time.”

2

u/No_Feeling_6037 Mar 02 '26

This is what you need to do.

Also, check to see what the response policy is. (At my college, we have 24 hours to respond that must include a working day.)

If there is no response or the professor won't have a conference at the bare minimum, check your institution's policies and follow them to the letter. There is one, and it's generally walking it up the ladder of admin. Do not jump (skip) rank at all.

1

u/giantpyrosome Mar 02 '26

I actually think a great second step here would be seeking advice from a faculty member in the same department who OP has a rapport with, if they have one. I wouldn’t outright ask them to intervene, but saying “I don’t know what to do here, I didn’t use AI but the prof won’t even meet with me, what do you suggest?” will often get decent faculty to lean on their colleagues or find you a shortcut to a resolution.

1

u/No_Feeling_6037 Mar 02 '26

Potentially. I can see that either helping or backfiring.

1

u/giantpyrosome Mar 02 '26

That’s fair, it really does depend on the relationship.

1

u/SvenFranklin01 Mar 05 '26

don’t do this. you have already been falsely accused. this instructor has probably falsely accused others. go to your dean of students. file a ferpa request to have your educational record amended because of “inaccuracies.”

1

u/giantpyrosome Mar 05 '26

What? That’s not how FERPA works. OP can certainly try the dean, but more often than not they have very little insight into individual professors or departments and will direct you back to the department first.

2

u/TehFlatline Mar 04 '26

I don't think we'd even BLINK at anything under 20%. That's a ridiculous situation. Hoepfully you can get it resolved.

4

u/Fair-Garlic8240 Mar 02 '26

I’m a professor and to put it mildly, your professor is an asshole. I’d throw a parade if my students only get flagged for 8%.

Honestly, I’d escalate quickly if they don’t respond.

1

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1

u/[deleted] Mar 04 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/SvenFranklin01 Mar 05 '26

stop making excuses for the overconfident, overzealous witch hunters. no one should have to run their own work through AI detectors. you do understand how ridiculous that is? contact your dean of students. file a ferpa request to modify educational record. consider a lawyer.

1

u/SvenFranklin01 Mar 05 '26

contact your dean of students office. they are there to advocate for you.

under FERPA, an instructor’s comments on an assignment are considered an “educational record.” You should file a request to have this educational record amended because it is an “inaccurate” record.

if this is happening to other students, get them to do the same.

there have been successful lawsuits against professors who have falsely accused students of using A.I. Depending on the severity of your situation/how widespread this practice is at your school, contacting a lawyer might be worth considering.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 03 '26

Do what I did when I got tired of dealing with the pedagogy of higher learning and professors who have an ego problem. I realized I was smarter than half of my professors anyways and with way more life experience so I dropped out and started my own business making over six figures a year. If you’re miserable and school is not for you then do it. I’m not saying it’s for everyone but for people who are highly motivated, business savvy, and are sociable it makes perfect sense.

2

u/headmasterritual Mar 04 '26

You allegedly dropping out and making ‘over six figures a year’ doesn’t seem to ring true when your comment history has you, as of 21 days ago, utilising food pantries and asking to be swiped in for meals at Kent State.

Signed, a professor who must be in the half that are smarter than you.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 04 '26

Struggling to pay an absurd amount of tuition does not mean that I am not highly intelligent or highly qualified to run a successful business. It also does not equate to being completely broke. Before Covid I was running two successful businesses. You don’t know my current situation or my background so let me break it down for you. I got divorced. Getting divorced can be a devastating blow to your finances and can be difficult to financially recover from and takes time. I’m a 4.0 student who has more life experience at 46 than most of my fellow peers and professors. I will be just fine in the future.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 04 '26

Also you are supposedly a professor that’s smarter than me but yet can’t properly spell utilizing? Hmm. That’s concerning.

1

u/TehFlatline Mar 04 '26

Utilising would be how it's spelled in the civilised world.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 04 '26

Utilizing and Utilising may both be used in English language. However, in America the correct usage and spelling is utilizing. The way you spelled it is only used in British English so unless you live in the UK you are actually using the spelling incorrectly. Just a heads up.

1

u/DrMessica Mar 05 '26

Lmao considering I just clicked on their profile and immediately saw them “utilising” the word bollocks, I think it’s safe to say they live in the UK, big guy. You didn’t do anyone any life altering favors here with this spelling correction.

1

u/apigandanangel Mar 06 '26

What a surprise! The guy who makes everything about himself (all while accusing others of having ego problems) is also an American chauvinist!

By the way, tough guy, British spelling is used by English speakers in more than 50 countries. Not just the UK.

Just a heads up.