Turnitin Draft Coach Now Available for Students

The start of a new semester means a return to writing reports and papers, and students this fall have a new tool to assist in the process. Turnitin Draft Coach is an add-on to Microsoft Word Online that allows students to perform grammar review, citation checks, and a preliminary originality review. The service is available by default when students begin drafting a new document in Word Online.

“This new tool will help students take some of the anxiety out of the writing process,” said John Lowe, associate director of Learning Systems for Library Academic Technology Services (LATS), a department of the University Libraries. “It allows them to catch mistakes and errors early, before they have to submit a paper to their professor through the main Turnitin service.”

The addition of Turnitin Draft Coach came as a result of a collaboration between the University Libraries and the University Writing Center (UWC). The UWC, which is located on the second floor of Moody Memorial Library, offers personal consulting for students of all levels at any point in the writing process, from idea brainstorming to final drafts.

“We are excited to offer this service to our students. We think it will help in teaching citation practices, developing more independent and confident writers, and intervening earlier in the writing process so that students can avoid undue stress around the submission process,” said Dr. Kara Poe Alexander, director of the UWC.

Students are allowed three reviews per document, with each pass further refining a draft into a more polished form prior to final submission. The service appears as an option under the Turnitin tab in Word Online. For more details, including a step-by-step guide, visit https://www.baylor.edu/helpdesk/index.php?id=985895.