Turnitin launches Clarity tool to enhance academic integrity

Turnitin has launched Turnitin Clarity, a new tool aimed at supporting academic integrity in educational institutions amid rising AI use.

The tool, which is an extension to the existing Turnitin Feedback Studio, offers a dedicated composition space for students where they can draft assignments with transparency. Students can receive AI-generated feedback on their writing, helping to improve their work, provided that it is permitted and prompted by the educator.

Turnitin Clarity provides an all-in-one platform for educators to establish and communicate the acceptable use of AI within assignments. It aims to assist students in using AI responsibly and allows educators to view students' writing activities as well as access insights that help assess originality. "Universities, schools and the wider community have come to recognise that academic integrity requires understanding, leveraging and coexisting with AI," commented James Thorley, Regional Vice President for Asia-Pacific at Turnitin. "As generative tools become more prominent, Turnitin Clarity will give students a digital learning environment in which they can transparently demonstrate the originality of their work from start to submission, and empower educators to have more constructive, insight-driven conversations. It's about highlighting the importance of assessing the process of learning as much as the end product."

Annie Chechitelli, Chief Product Officer at Turnitin, remarked on the bridging function of Turnitin Clarity between students and educators, stating "Students will need to use AI in their future careers. With Turnitin Clarity, educators can begin to understand how students use it and identify ways to incorporate it into their writing, without hindering their academic progress."

The platform will support administrators by providing transparency and data to bolster institutional academic integrity and AI usage policies, ensuring that assignments and learning goals are met both with and without AI assistance.

One of the key elements of Turnitin Clarity is the opportunity it presents for students to learn how to use AI tools responsibly. The optional AI writing assistant feature, which can be enabled by educators, serves as a foundational tool for students to integrate AI into their writing process in a responsible way.

Furthermore, Turnitin Clarity allows educators to observe the full scope of a student's writing process, not merely the final submission. This capability includes tracking drafting processes, such as pasted text, typing patterns, construction time, and draft history, which can be viewed via a video playback function and simplified reporting.

The insights provided by Turnitin Clarity aim to ensure transparency and facilitate constructive dialogue between educators and students, highlighting the originality of a student's written work through various integrated features such as similarity checking and AI writing detection.

Chechitelli emphasised the importance of these capabilities in promoting fair and equitable grading, mentioning, "Turnitin Clarity helps ensure more fair and equitable grading by leveling the playing field. These capabilities allow the educator to set expectations on the permissible use of generative AI alongside the assignment's instructions and rubric. Students can compose and turn in their work with confidence."

Turnitin Clarity is set to become available as a paid add-on for all Turnitin Feedback Studio customers starting in the third quarter of 2025. It is anticipated to bring together the educational community through its composition and feedback features, enhancing both teaching and learning while maintaining high standards of academic integrity.