Key takeaways
- An AI flag triggers review, not automatic rejection—at most reputable universities.
- Your response should include drafting evidence, source notes, and a clear explanation.
- Proactive disclosure of permitted AI use prevents many flags from becoming investigations.
Receiving notice that your thesis was flagged for AI-generated content is deeply unsettling, especially when you wrote the work yourself or used AI only within permitted bounds. Understanding the typical institutional process helps you respond effectively and protect your degree timeline.
What triggers the flag
Most universities now run Turnitin or equivalent tools on thesis submissions before examination. An AI writing percentage above the institutional threshold—often 20%—or specific flagged passages trigger a review by your supervisor, graduate office, or academic integrity committee.
The typical review process
- 1Initial notification with the AI report and flagged passages identified.
- 2Meeting with your supervisor to discuss your writing process and tool use.
- 3Request for supporting evidence: drafts, research notes, data files, version history.
- 4Possible referral to an academic integrity panel if explanations are insufficient.
- 5Decision: clearance, required revision, or formal misconduct finding.
How to prepare your response
Gather everything that proves authorship before the meeting. Google Docs version history, timestamped Word drafts, Zotero or Mendeley libraries, handwritten notes, email exchanges with your supervisor about chapter drafts, and raw data files all demonstrate a genuine research process.
If you did use AI within policy limits
Disclose exactly which tools you used, for which tasks—brainstorming, grammar, translation—and which sections you wrote entirely yourself. Show how AI output was transformed through your analysis. Transparency at this stage often resolves cases that secrecy would escalate.
If you did not use AI at all
False positives are documented, particularly for non-native English speakers and students who write in highly formal academic register. Present your drafting evidence calmly. Request that flagged passages be reviewed by your supervisor who knows your writing style across prior submissions.
Possible outcomes
- Clearance with no further action—the most common outcome when evidence is strong.
- Required revision of flagged sections before examination proceeds.
- Delay of viva pending rewritten chapters.
- Formal misconduct finding with grade penalty or degree revocation in proven deliberate cases.
Getting expert help with revisions
If flagged sections require substantial rewriting under a tight deadline, our thesis support team reworks passages by hand to reflect your research argument and restore the originality examiners expect.