Calculating assignment word counts
The two main coursework/assignment submission options in Blackboard Ultra are:
the
Blackboard assignment dropbox
the
Turnitin assignment dropbox.
Word counts in Blackboard assignments
In Blackboard assignment dropboxes there is no default word count functionality (except for students when they type directly into the submission text box). You can calculate the assignment word count by highlighting all the text in the submission interface, right clicking and selecting ‘Copy’ and then ‘Paste’ into a blank MS Word document and checking the word count at the bottom left of the screen. Alternatively, an attached file can be downloaded by clicking on the download icon in the top right of the marking and feedback interface.
The downloaded file can then be viewed in a text editor such as MS Word and the word count can be viewed at the bottom left of the screen.
Alternatively enable Turnitin in the Blackboard assignment settings prior to submission. This setting is available on the right hand side, under your assignment's Content and Settings.
To view the word count, open the submission …
… click on the similarity percentage in the top right corner:
This will open the Turnitin interface, the word count is visible at the bottom in full screen or by clicking the i icon and selecting File
Viewing the word count in the Turnitin assignment dropbox
For Turnitin submissions, staff can view the word count via the Feedback Studio. Click on the name of the submission in the Turnitin Assignment dropbox:
This will open the feedback studio interface. The word count appears at the bottom of a fullscreen browser window. It is also available from the Submission Information ⓘ icon in the toolbar on the right hand side:
Remember, the word count in Turnitin is not always 100% accurate (see notes below).
The word count may have small inconsistencies between MS Word and Turnitin, and between different file type submitted (Word doc or pdf file).
The word count includes all text in the submission, including any cover page, references & bibliography, etc, though doesn’t include images, non-text elements.
The Template functionality available via the Turnitin assignment settings, does not exclude elements from the word count (it excludes elements from the Similarity check).
To determine a truly accurate word count, copy/ view the text in MS Word or Google Docs.
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