Anyone worried about Turnitin's detection/sensitivity in personal statements?

[tLANstud]

Hey everyone. I need your input on this. After reading that PharmCAS now utilizes the Turnitin service, I am starting to get a bit frustrated going back several drafts just to avoid setting the program off for "plagiarism." I have also heard some people submitting their own essays (probably non-admissions ones) into this program and have it rejected by professors due to some red flags for using the "three same words" found online and such.

Nevertheless, I have been Googling my own phrases just to find out that it has been used already! After revising like 5 different final versions, I have to search the internet some phrases to make sure they're not used, and if they are, I have to re-word them. Argh! Such wording with the same 2-5 words in conjunction with the same adverbs and prepositions (phrases like "this compassionate feeling is," "my sense of growth," or "professionalism within a healthcare context" and so forth) brings up quite a few results. I seriously thought these were original--at least in my mind without searching or copying anything else.

I have always wondered if this is something to be worried about or not since these phrases are quite ambiguous/common/self-procurement? Or in other words, I am not sure how the program would detect plagiarism (maybe more than 5+ words in same exact sequence?). I have a feeling that with thousands of application essays each year, slight common phrasing may be inevitable.

I have seen a sample what a PharmCAS prompt might look like with the Turnitin application for schools. I saw some PowerPoint slides showing "detection rate percentages" for each applicant and such. What do you guys think? Am I worrying for nothing? Is it up to the committee's discretion to determine whether it is copying other materials or not? Hmm.... 🙁

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[chemtopharm]

I don't think you've got anything to worry about, they are looking for large chunks of text that are plagiarized. There's no way you could write an essay with entirely novel phrasing, you will drive yourself crazy.

 

[netmag]

My question would be what if you end up re-applying the next year and pretty much wanted to use the same personal statement that you had last year? That's not an unrealistic scenario because most people's life story, reasons for wanting to enter the profession, etc.. aren't going to change that much from one cycle to the next. If you felt your current statement was very well written and just needed a few additions regarding some improvements over the year, would you still have to completely re-write it anyway just for the sake of making sure it didn't get flagged? That would be silly IMO.

I thought about this a few months ago and at that time of course PharmCAS didn't mention any details such as that. They did say that you had to consent to having your text added to the TurnitIn database which made me believe that future statements could be compared against it. I really wouldn't put it past them not to have put much consideration into something like that yet (i.e. re-applicants) so I told my friend who is currently applying that she should hope she gets in this year to avoid any possible confusion when the 2nd year of this TurnitIn thing comes around.

 

[xtsukiyox]

My question would be what if you end up re-applying the next year and pretty much wanted to use the same personal statement that you had last year? That's not an unrealistic scenario because most people's life story, reasons for wanting to enter the profession, etc.. aren't going to change that much from one cycle to the next. If you felt your current statement was very well written and just needed a few additions regarding some improvements over the year, would you still have to completely re-write it anyway just for the sake of making sure it didn't get flagged? That would be silly IMO.

That is a fantastic question. PharmCAS would be able to answer how they handle reapplication - how about e-mailing or calling to see what they say? Please let us know, I'd be interested in finding out.

To your original point - If you drafted the statement yourself, you have nothing to worry about. As chemtopharm mentioned, they're looking for chunks of it, not five word phrases. I'm pretty sure about half the statements out there use the five-word phrase "I want to be a pharmacist." Certainly not plagarism.

 

[owlegrad]

I am trying to imagine an essay where every five word phrase is completely novel.

They looking are plagiarism for, not ways new to express every thought paper on put.

Relax! You will be fine.

 

[tLANstud]

Ah, thanks for the suggestions and input. Maybe you guys are right.

I guess I should not worry and may be just over-analyzing it. *sigh* I'm a re-applicant, so my nerves are getting the best of me. Phrases and similar 3-word-descriptions like "challenging pharmacy school" or something along the lines of that always made me wonder if I'm plagiarizing or not.

 

[kcwang]

I thought this is interesting coming from the admission director of UCSF.
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Is it considered plagiarism if our suplemental essay for UCSF is nearly the same one we use for a supplemental essay at another school?



1. The definition of plagiarize (according to Merriam-Webster) is "to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own; use (another's production) without crediting the source."

2. Are the essay question/prompts so similar that you can use the same answer? Hmmm....
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http://pharmdadmissions.ucsf.edu/2011/10/is-it-considered-plagiarism-if-our.html

 

[Dnic]

If you're even concerned about setting off the Turnitin thing, then you have got to be copying somebody's writing. Yes, there are only so many regularly used adjectives and verbs in the English dictionary, so frequently similar sentences will probably be made in personal statements... everyone applying is trying to convey the same desire to attend pharmacy school. Have a lot of people read your statement and get some constructive advice. Also use a thesaurus 👍

 

[tLANstud]

If you're even concerned about setting off the Turnitin thing, then you have got to be copying somebody's writing. Yes, there are only so many regularly used adjectives and verbs in the English dictionary, so frequently similar sentences will probably be made in personal statements... everyone applying is trying to convey the same desire to attend pharmacy school. Have a lot of people read your statement and get some constructive advice. Also use a thesaurus 👍

It seems searching my own essay for 3-4 word structures bring up some results in Google--whether it was from an article, newspaper, journal, or not. And it brings up quite a few results, too! For example, searching "allowed my patients to (insert verb here)" brings up A LOT of searches. My concern was whether these simple phrases (whether they're the exact three words or so) being flagged is sensible or not. And I read that the program detects same phrases with different words from a thesaurus that would also be considered plagiarism, so it seems like it would be very hard to reword something and NOT get alerted. 😕

 

[owlegrad]

Seems pretty obvious, all you have to do is invent a new language and use that. Of course if turnitin can translate you are back to square one. So in addition to using a new language make sure to encrypt it as well.

Seriously, I know it is a stressful time but just think about it. No written work could possibly stand up to the scrutiny of needing every small group of words to be completely novel. It is screening for plagiarism, as long as you wrote it yourself you have nothing to fear.

 

[PharmMiss]

I guess this is the best part of not being a native English speaker. Who will want to steal your bad essay? jk. I would not worry about it IF you genuinely wrote your personal statement without relying so much on google. Nobody has can tell your story the way you did.

 

[confettiflyer]

i wouldn't worry about it, my undergrad utilized turnitin.com and i saw the reports that would come out. key similar phrases are highlighted and a percentage score is spit out. <10% match was fine, here's what the report looks like:

 

[trljjl03]

I think they're really only looking for whole sentences, paragraphs, or essays. Similar word order won't get you in trouble since there is only a finite number of ways to talk about your interest in pharmacy.