In academic writing, paraphrasing is a very useful skill that students and other researchers should possess because it demonstrates their prowess in research and allows them to avoid plagiarism.
Since paraphrasing is very important within the academic context, there are online tools that have been developed to automate the paraphrasing process. Quillbot is one of the online paraphrasing tools that use artificial intelligence (AI) to rewrite texts, sentences, and entire paragraphs while retaining the original meaning.
The use of Quillbot among students is usually not entertained within academic contexts because it is regarded as unethical. That is why institutions may require students to submit their work through tools like SafeAssign or Turnitin to ensure that the submitted work is original and has been ethically done.
Can SafeAssign Detect Quillbot?
No.
Though SafeAssign can easily detect plagiarism because it compares the submitted work against documents that are available in its database, it is difficult for it to detect whether the paraphrased text has been done by Quillbot.
SafeAssign detects verbatim plagiarism whereby it compares the similarity of the submitted text to existing documents word-for-word. Quillbot, on the other hand, paraphrases using AI, meaning that it cannot be detected.
As long as SafeAssign lacks the capability of detecting AI-generated content, it will not detect Quillbot.
Can Turnitin Detect Quillbot?
Yes. Turnitin can detect Quillbot. You may be wondering how this is the case because we have just discussed that SafeAssign cannot detect it. Well, the best response to that is AI detection capability.
While SafeAssign may lack the capacity to detect content that has been generated or paraphrased by AI, Turnitin has that capacity. Therefore, if you as a student use Quillbot to paraphrase original text and you submit the paraphrased work as your own through Turnitin, your work will be flagged as plagiarized.
It will be a form of plagiarism whereby your work will have a certain percentage of AI content. The AI content is the paraphrased text.
How SafeAssign and Turnitin Detect Paraphrasing Tools
As noted, SafeAssign has not yet been able to detect text that has been generated by Quillbot. However, Turnitin can detect any AI-generated content such as paraphrased content.
Though the particular details of how Turnitin’s algorithms work to detect paraphrased or plagiarized content have not been publicly disclosed, it uses a few techniques to flag content that has been paraphrased. The techniques include:
1. Text Comparison
As aforementioned, the tool compared the submitted work against a database of existing documents, in addition to previously submitted essays and research papers. It scans for similarities in phrasing, sentence structures, and content to determine the level of similarity.
2. Originality Reports
When you use Turnitin, it produces an Originality Report highlighting any unoriginal or matching text within the submitted document. There is also a similarity index that shows the percentage of matching content with outside sources.
If the tool detects a significant amount of similarity or matches, it is flagged as plagiarized even though paraphrasing tools like Quillbot were used.
3. Paraphrase Detection
Turnitin uses advanced algorithms aided by AI to evaluate word choice, contextual meaning, and sentence structure. This helps the tool detect any instance of paraphrasing. It can detect the patterns that hint at the utilization of automated paraphrasing tools such as Quillbot.
4. Database Expansion
This tool constantly expands its database by indexing new sources like online content and websites. By doing so, it enhances its ability to identify content that has been generated by paraphrasing tools such as Quillbot.
Reasons not to use Quillbot for Academic Reasons
It is Plagiarism
The use of Quillbot is academically considered plagiarism even when the paraphrased content has not been flagged by plagiarism-detecting tools. When the paraphrased content that has been generated by Quillbot is detected by advanced tools such as Turnitin, then there is evidence of plagiarism.
If there is evidence of plagiarism within the academic context, the student is liable to face academic disciplinary actions such as failing the course or being suspended.
Lack of Contextual Understanding
Though Quillbot can paraphrase the text, it does not completely understand the nuances and context of the original text. This leads to a loss of meaning and the production of irrelevant content.
Overreliance on Technology
When students use Quillbot as a substitute for personal effort, it creates an overreliance on technology. It thwarts their academic growth because they are not personally engaging with the subject matter or conducting research.
Additionally, they are not developing their writing skills that can be fostered through attempting to paraphrase original work by themselves. This limits their critical thinking and analysis skills.
How Plagiarism Scanners can Improve Paraphrasing Detecting
Adding AI Detectors in their System
This is one of the best solutions to improve paraphrasing detection. Quillbot uses AI to paraphrase text. As such, the content is AI-generated.
Therefore, if plagiarism scanners include AI detectors in their system, they will detect such paraphrased content because it has been generated through AI.
Working Together with AI Detectors
Another way to improve paraphrasing detection is to work together with AI detectors. This can be in the form of partnerships whereby companies offering plagiarism-detection tools work together with companies that can detect AI.
Teachers to be Trained on Paraphrasing Tools
Teachers and other educators should be trained in paraphrasing tools. They should be aware that students are using such tools to cheat in their essays and papers. This will force teachers to require their students to submit their papers through plagiarism and AI-detecting tools such as Turnitin.
Doing Further Research
Plagiarism scanners should also do further research to find ways of beating paraphrasing tools like Quillbot. This is because such tools use AI; meaning that they are learning and becoming sophisticated with time.
To conclude this article, though there are online paraphrasing tools such as Quillbot that can rewrite existing work, it is considered academically unethical to use them because it is plagiarism. Additionally, some plagiarism-detecting tools like Turnitin can flag such content.
Therefore, if you don’t have a genuine reason to use tools like Quillbot, it is good to paraphrase your work to build personal writing skills and knowledge.
