The Difference Between Excluding Bibliographies and Quotes of Turnitin

Turnitin provides two important options when generating plagiarism reports: “Exclude Bibliography” and “Exclude Quotes”.

But what’s the difference between them?

Understanding Bibliographies and Quotes

When writing a paper, it’s common to cite the work of others.

These references are typically listed at the end of your paper in a section labeled Bibliography, References, or Works Cited.

Within the main body of the text, citations are often marked with symbols like [1] or similar indicators.

Key Differences

Exclude Bibliography

Bibliographic entries often contain standardized text, such as article titles, journal names, or book details. These elements can match other submissions or online sources, inflating the similarity index unnecessarily.

When the “Exclude Bibliography” option is enabled, Turnitin ignores matches found in sections typically labeled as Bibliography, References, or Works Cited. This ensures that the similarity score reflects the originality of the main body of the work rather than the cited sources.

Exclude Quotes

Direct quotes naturally match existing sources, as they are exact reproductions of someone else’s words. Enabling the “Exclude Quotes” option allows Turnitin to disgard text enclosed in quotation marks or formatted as block quotes, provided the quotes are correctly attributed.

This helps focus the analysis on the originality of the writer’s own ideas and minimizes the impact of properly cited material on the similarity index.

Which Option Should You Use

Both options can reduce the similarity index but focus on different aspects of the text:

• “Exclude Bibliography” removes matches from reference sections.
• “Exclude Quotes” ignores quoted material within the main content.

If you want to evaluate the originality of your own writing, enabling both options may provide a clearer picture.

However, if your work will be submitted to an institution, it’s best to consult your instructor or follow your school’s guidelines to ensure your settings match their requirements.