Students
Check an essay before you hand it in and catch the quote that lost its quotation marks.
How it works
How to check a text for plagiarism
Six steps. In our test a check took about 20 seconds for 440 words and about 40 seconds for 1,000 words.
Paste your text or upload a file
PDF, Word (docx), rtf, txt or Markdown. A check reads 40 words at least and 1,500 at most.
Check the language
The checker reads which language the text is in and searches the web in that language. If it guessed wrong, pick the right one under the text.
Run the check
The checker searches the web for the most distinctive sentences of your text, reads the pages that come back and compares every sentence with them.
Read the matches
Every matched passage is highlighted in your text, marked as word for word or close wording, with the number of its source.
Open the source
Each source links to the page it was found on, so you can put the two passages side by side.
Fix what needs fixing
Add quotation marks and a citation, or rewrite the passage in your own words with the paraphrasing tool and cite the source.
Plagiarism checker
What a plagiarism checker does
A plagiarism checker compares your text with pages on the web and shows which passages match, where they match and which source each match comes from. Blurwrite's plagiarism checker marks each passage it finds and lists its source, so you can quote it, cite it or rewrite it before you hand the text in or publish it.
Copied sentences are often accidents. A quote loses its quotation marks in a later draft, a note taken from an article ends up word for word in an essay, or a writer you hired reuses a paragraph from an older piece. Those are exactly the passages this check is built to catch.
It is strongest where it matters most: wording taken from the web word for word or nearly so. In our own test of 14 texts copied from web pages, it found all 14. It searches the open web, the pages a search engine has indexed, in the language your text is written in.
Reading the result
How to read a plagiarism report
The result has three parts. The match share is the share of your text, counted in words, that sits in sentences matching a page on the web. It is split into two kinds: word for word, where at least half of a sentence's five-word runs appear on the page, and close wording, where at least 60 percent of a sentence's content words match. Highlighted passages show each matched sentence in your text. Sources list each page with the share of your text that matches it.
A match is not a verdict. A correctly quoted and cited passage is supposed to match its source, and names, set terms and common phrases match many pages. The passages that need your attention are the ones that match a source without quotation marks or a citation.
Which match share is acceptable? Schools, journals and clients set their own rules, so read the passages rather than the figure. Every match should end up either quoted and cited, or rewritten and cited.
Two checks, one place
Plagiarism checker vs AI detector
Copied text and AI-written text are different problems, and readers and schools look for both. Run both checks on the same text before you hand it in.
| Plagiarism checker | AI detector | |
|---|---|---|
| What it looks for | Wording that already exists on web pages | Writing that reads as machine-written |
| What it compares with | Pages on the open web | Nothing outside the text: it reads how the text is built |
| What you get | A match share, highlighted passages and their sources | A figure with its range, a confidence rating and a mark on each sentence |
| On which plans | The paid plans | A free daily check, and the paid plans |
Who reaches for it
Who it is for
Teachers and lecturers
See whether a passage in a submitted text appears on a web page, and open the source in one click.
Editors and publishers
Check commissioned articles before they go live.
Content agencies
Check a writer's draft before it goes to the client.
Bloggers and marketers
Make sure a page does not repeat text that is already published elsewhere.
Writers in a second language
Check that sentences from the sources you read have not ended up word for word in your draft.
Scope
What the check covers
- It covers the open web: pages a search engine has indexed. Paywalled journals, student-paper databases and private documents are outside it, which is also why it is not a replacement for your university's own system.
- It is built for copied and closely copied wording. Text that has been heavily reworded is rarely found.
- It shows where your text matches a source; you decide what to quote, cite or rewrite.
- Members’ checked text, shares and source counts are stored for 365 days. History entries can be deleted, and history switched off.
More tools
Same box, other jobs.
AI detectorOne figure with our confidence rating and a mark on every sentence.AI humanizerRewrite flat, machine-sounding text so it reads like a person.Grammar checkerEvery issue named and explained, fixed in one click.SummarizerKey sentences, a paragraph or bullets at the length you set.ParaphraserSay the same thing in different words, in eight modes.Word counterWords, characters, sentences and reading time as you type.Character counterCharacters with and without spaces, against common limits.
Questions
Questions about this tool
Is the plagiarism checker free?
Not yet: the plagiarism checker is coming soon and is not live. It is planned for the paid plans, with 10,000 words a month on Basic, 25,000 on Plus and 40,000 on Pro.
How does a plagiarism checker work?
It searches the web for the most distinctive sentences of your text, about one for every 60 words, and compares every sentence with the pages that come back. When a sentence matches a page, it is marked in your text and the page is listed as the source. The match share tells you how much of the text was found elsewhere, and the highlights tell you exactly where.
How much plagiarism is acceptable?
There is no single number: schools, journals and clients set their own rules. The match share is the share of your text, in words, that sits in sentences matching pages on the web, and quoted, cited passages count too. Read the highlighted passages instead of the figure: each one should be quoted and cited, or rewritten and cited.
Is the result the same as my university's check?
No. Universities use their own systems, which also compare work with earlier submissions and subscription databases. Blurwrite checks your text against the open web. Use it to catch copied or uncited passages before you hand a text in, and follow your institution's rules for the final check.
Which languages does it check?
The search runs in the language your text is written in for English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Polish, Turkish, Russian, Indonesian, Arabic and Hindi, and with English settings for any other language. We have measured it on English, German, Spanish and French. Chinese and Japanese, written without spaces between words, are not compared reliably.
Can a plagiarism checker detect AI writing?
No. A plagiarism checker looks for text that already exists somewhere, and AI writing is usually new text that matches nothing. To check for AI writing, run the same text through the AI detector, which reads how the writing is built, sentence by sentence.
What happens to the text I check?
The checker is for signed-in members only. Your checked text, shares and source count stay in your account history for 365 days, then are deleted. You can delete any or all entries on the history page, or switch history off so nothing more is kept. Only the word count is counted against your monthly allowance. To search, a few distinctive sentences are sent to a web search service, and the pages found are read from their own sites.
How do I remove plagiarism from my text?
Open the source, then decide. If you meant to quote it, add quotation marks and a citation. If you meant to use the idea, rewrite the passage in your own words and cite the source. The paraphrasing tool helps with the rewrite, and the citation is what makes the idea yours to use.
Check your text before anyone else does.
Coming soon: the plagiarism checker is being built and is not live yet.