Packback generates an Originality Fingerprint for Discussion and Writing assignments (Deep Dive and Originality Review), which can be viewed by educators after an assignment is submitted. Depending on the settings for your assignment, you may be able to generate/view your Originality Fingerprint prior to submitting your assignment. If you do not have access, ask your educator about it. They may be able to turn it on.

The Originality Fingerprint contains the following two indicators: 

• Uniqueness 
• AI Risk

The Uniqueness indicator represents the percentage of your content that is not matched to other sources. Packback checks external sources (found anywhere on the web) and internal sources (content from previously submitted Packback assignments). Learn more about it here.

The AI Risk level represents the likeliness that your content was written by generative AI. Packback’s algorithm examines word choice and sequence in the student’s text to produce this risk report. Humans tend to write with more ‘surprising’ words than AI, which follows a statistical pattern when generating text. Learn more about it here.

The two indicators (Uniqueness and AI Risk) are determined independently. This means that you could have a high Uniquess indicator (few matches detected) and a moderate or high AI Risk indicator (higher chance of AI-generated text) or vice versa. AI-generated text is not published, so it would not appear in a scan of existing sources. 

Using the Originality Fingerprint in Discussion Assignments 

Packback’s Originality Fingerprint gives you insights into your work before you submit a Discussion post. This tool helps you review your writing for potential issues, including the uniqueness of your writing and checks for AI-generated text, so you can make improvements and feel confident submitting your best work.

Where to Find the Originality Fingerprint

When you are writing a Discussion post (Question, Response, Counterpoint, or Supporting Point), you’ll see the Originality Fingerprint panel in your Instant Feedback panel to the right of your post. It appears just below the Alerts panel on the right side of the screen. Simply click "Run Originality Report".

 

 

 

Packback has a feature called the AI Risk indicator that checks if your work might have been written with the help of generative AI tools. These tools are getting pretty good at writing, but they shouldn’t be used to replace your unique voice!

The AI Risk indicator is built into Packback’s Discussion and Writing assignments to help you learn and grow as a writer! Packback looks at the words you use and how you put your sentences together. AI writing tends to follow patterns, while human writing is more creative.

 

What does my AI Risk indicator mean?

• Low: This means your writing sounds like it was most likely written by a human.
• Medium: This means some parts of your writing might look a bit like they were generated by AI. Don't worry, this can happen even if you wrote everything yourself!
• High: This means a lot of your writing looks like it could have been written by AI.

Using the AI Risk Smart Highlighter:

When an assignment has an overall AI Risk of Medium or High, a smart highlighter panel will appear in the AI Risk Report to show which parts of the text are most likely to contain AI-generated text. You can click the arrows in the smart highlighter to view each section of text that potentially contains AI.

 

What should I do if my score is Medium or High? 

• Don't freak out! Your educator knows that the indicator isn’t always perfect. They'll look at your writing and talk to you if they have any questions.
• Own your work: The best way to avoid a high AI Risk indicator is to write everything yourself, using your own ideas and your own words.
• Use AI tools responsibly: If you do use AI tools for brainstorming or to get started, make sure you heavily edit and revise the output so that the final product reflects your own thinking and voice.

What happens when I use the feedback from Packback’s AI writing assistant in Deep Dives or Writing Lab?

Packback's AI writing assistant is designed to provide feedback and suggestions on grammar, structure, and clarity. It helps you improve your own writing, not replace it. Unlike some AI tools that generate entire paragraphs or essays, Packback's assistant doesn't write original content. It simply helps you refine your existing work. Any modifications you make based on the feedback are still ultimately your own. Therefore, the use of Packback’s AI writing feedback in the platform should not impact your AI Risk indicator. 

Why does Packback have this indicator?

Packback wants to help you develop your own writing skills and learn how to express your ideas in your own unique way. That's what makes learning fun and helps you grow!

Remember: Even though generative-AI tools can be helpful, the most important thing is to learn how to think for yourself and communicate your own ideas effectively.

 

Using the Originality Fingerprint in Writing Assignments

You can view your Originality Fingerprint when drafting your Deep Dive or Originality Review assignment if the feature is enabled for your assignment.

 

Where to Find the Originality Fingerprint for Originality Review Assignments

If the feature is not enabled while drafting your assignment, you can still view your Originality Fingerprint after your assignment is evaluated. Click on your grade to view your evaluation and then click “Back to Submission” to see your Originality Fingerprint.

 

Where to Find the Originality Fingerprint for Deep Dive

When drafting your Deep Dive, you’ll see an Originality Fingerprint panel in the sidebar. After you have written at least 100 words, you can click the “Run Originality Fingerprint” button to generate your report. After the report appears, click “Review” next to the Uniqueness and AI Risk sections for more details. As you continue writing and editing your assignment, you can click the “Refresh” button to regenerate your report. You can only click this button once every five minutes.

 

A snapshot of your Uniqueness and AI Risk indicators is available on the assignment page in the Submission tab after you start a draft or submit your assignment.

 

Originality Review

After uploading a file, your Originality Fingerprint is automatically loaded in the sidebar. Click “Review” next to the Uniqueness and AI Risk sections for more details. You can also view your Originality Fingerprint after you submit your assignment. 

 

A snapshot of your Uniqueness and AI Risk indicators is available on the assignment page after you start a draft or submit your assignment.

Have questions?

If you need technical assistance or have questions about the functionality of your Deep Dives assignment, please reach out to our Support Team at help@packback.co.