Your Originality Score Is Too High. Now What?
You've submitted your essay. The originality report comes back: 42% similarity. Your professor wants you to "improve" this before the final grade is decided.
But here's your dilemma: improving your originality score without actually changing your arguments means finding the right balance between citing sources and proving your own original analysis.
This guide provides 6 proven strategies to improve your originality score legitimately.
Strategy 1: Strengthen Your Original Analysis (Most Important)
What to Do
The most effective way to lower a similarity score is to add more original content—your own voice, analysis, and insights.
Steps:
- For every source you cite, add a paragraph (or several sentences) of your own analysis
- Don't just explain what the source says—critique it, compare it, or extend it
- Add your own examples that illustrate the principle
- Include counter-arguments and your responses to them
Why This Works
Originality detectors measure the percentage of your paper that matches existing sources. More original analysis = lower percentage.
Example:
Before: "Research by Smith (2020) shows that exercise improves mental health in college students. Studies have demonstrated similar effects in adults."
After: "Research by Smith (2020) shows that exercise improves mental health in college students. This finding aligns with my own observations of campus fitness center usage, where I noticed increased student engagement during high-stress periods like midterms. However, Smith's sample primarily consisted of first-year students; whether these benefits extend equally to senior-year students facing different stressors remains unclear. I would hypothesize that upper-level students might actually experience different relationships between exercise and mental health due to..."
Red Flag to Avoid
Don't add fluff. Additional content must be substantive analysis, not padding. Professors can spot filler instantly.
Strategy 2: Rephrase Key Sections Using Your Own Voice
What to Do
Identify your highest-matching sections (color-coded in Turnitin). Rewrite them completely from scratch, without looking at the original.
Steps:
- Highlight the section in Turnitin
- Read the original source material to understand it
- Close the source and your paper
- Write what you learned in your own words, from memory
- Only check the original to verify accuracy
Why This Works
True paraphrasing isn't synonyms for synonyms—it's genuinely reconstructing the idea in different words. This changes the linguistic patterns Turnitin detects.
Example:
Original: "The mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell, responsible for generating ATP through aerobic respiration."
Bad Paraphrase (Turnitin catches this): "The mitochondria represents the energy factory of the cell, accountable for creating ATP through aerobic respiration."
Good Paraphrase: "Cells rely on mitochondria to convert nutrients into usable energy in the form of ATP, a process that occurs when oxygen is present in the cellular environment."
Red Flag to Avoid
"Paraphrasing" by changing a few words is plagiarism. You must truly understand and reconstruct the idea.
Strategy 3: Improve Your Citation Formatting
What to Do
Sometimes high similarity scores result from how your citations are formatted.
Steps:
- Ensure all direct quotes are in quotation marks with citations
- For paraphrased content, use a dedicated citation (some citation styles require this)
- Use signal phrases to clearly distinguish your words from sources: "According to Smith, ..., but my analysis suggests..."
- Consider whether some cited content can be summarized more briefly instead of quoted
Why This Works
Turnitin highlights matching text regardless of citations. But if you clearly mark citations, professors understand the matching is legitimate. This doesn't lower the score, but it prevents it from being misinterpreted as plagiarism.
Strategy 4: Use Specific Examples and Data
What to Do
Replace generic statements with specific data, examples, and case studies that are unique to your paper.
Before: "Climate change affects crop yields in various regions."
After: "According to 2023 USDA data, corn yields in Iowa have declined by 3.2% annually since 2015, with drought patterns consistent with climate projections from the IPCC's most recent assessment, which I will analyze in the context of..."
Why This Works
Specific, cited data is less likely to match other papers in Turnitin's database. It's unique to your analysis.
Strategy 5: Add More of Your Own Visual Analysis
What to Do
Include original tables, graphs, or visualizations that you created from data or analysis.
Examples:
- Create a comparison table analyzing multiple sources side-by-side
- Generate a graph showing data trends you analyzed
- Develop a flowchart showing your analysis process
- Create a timeline showing evolution of an idea or event
Why This Works
Turnitin primarily detects text plagiarism. Original visual content isn't matched against the database, effectively lowering your overall similarity percentage.
Strategy 6: Restructure for Synthesis, Not Summary
What to Do
Instead of organizing by source (each paragraph about a different source), organize by idea (each section addressing a specific argument, pulling from multiple sources).
Comparison:
Source-Organized:
- Paragraph 1: Summary of Smith's research
- Paragraph 2: Summary of Jones's research
- Paragraph 3: Summary of Brown's research
- Paragraph 4: Your conclusion
Idea-Organized (Better):
- Paragraph 1: The main argument, drawing on Smith, Jones, and Brown to support different aspects
- Paragraph 2: Counter-argument and your response
- Paragraph 3: Your original analysis synthesizing the sources
Why This Works
Synthesis creates more original phrasing because you're combining ideas rather than presenting them individually. It also creates better scholarship.
The 10-Step Improvement Plan
For Papers with 40-50% Similarity
- Download your Turnitin report
- Read highlighted sections and assess: is each citation appropriate?
- Add 1-2 sentences of your own analysis after each major source reference
- Identify your top 3-4 highest-matching passages
- Rewrite those passages completely from memory
- Add specific examples, data, or case studies relevant to your argument
- Create 1-2 original visual elements (table, graph, or diagram)
- Reorganize body paragraphs to emphasize synthesis over summary
- Re-submit to Turnitin (if your institution allows)
- Repeat for any remaining high-matching sections
For Papers with 50-60% Similarity
Consider more substantial revision:
- Extend the paper with additional original analysis (adds more original content)
- Reduce reliance on direct quotations—paraphrase more extensively
- Restructure entirely around your original thesis, with sources supporting it
- Add a substantive section reflecting on what you learned or critiquing the sources
What NOT to Do
❌ Don't Just Delete Source References
That's plagiarism. If you keep content, cite it.
❌ Don't Use Text-Spinning Tools
Programs that automatically reword content are obvious to professors and still plagiarism.
❌ Don't Over-Paraphrase
Paraphrasing without citations is plagiarism. Always cite paraphrased content.
❌ Don't Assume High Similarity = Academic Dishonesty
You're improving a legitimate paper, not hiding plagiarism.
The Time Investment
Plan accordingly:
- Minor adjustments (40-45% similarity): 1-2 hours
- Moderate revision (45-55% similarity): 3-5 hours
- Substantial rewrite (55%+ similarity): 6-10 hours or more
FAQ: Improving Originality Score
Q: Will adding more words lower my similarity percentage?
A: Only if those new words are original analysis. Adding filler doesn't help.
Q: Should I remove citations to lower my score?
A: No. Improper removal of citations is plagiarism. All sources must be credited.
Q: Can I rewrite my citations in different ways to get new results?
A: No. The matching content is the cited material itself, not the citation format.
Conclusion: Improving Legitimately
Improving your originality score isn't about gaming the system—it's about developing stronger, more analytical academic writing.
The goal is to:
- Show your own thinking and analysis
- Support your ideas with sources (not replace them with sources)
- Create unique contributions to the conversation
When you do this authentically, your originality score naturally improves, and more importantly, your paper actually gets better.