Many students often
rely on custom essay-writing services to get their paper or essay written
within the specified deadline. They choose this option for many different
reasons – they may not have sufficient time to research or lack the knowledge
to write a compelling essay. Whatever the reason, these essay-writing services
are increasingly popular.
However, it is
important to point out that there are also certain ethical issues associated with
the idea of using these writing services. In almost every educational
institution in the United States, using these services is considered a form of
cheating. There is another viewpoint as well – some people think cheating is
wrong only if it affects other people. In case of essay writing services, a
student gets better grades for their essays and the school itself enjoys better
reputation; therefore, you cannot say the idea is wrong or harmful. Professor Richard Gunderman in his article for The Atlantic magazine said that: "These services have names
such as College-paper.org, and Essayontime.com. Bestessays.com claims that
"70% of Students use Essay Writing service at least once [sic]" and
boasts that all its writers have M.A. and Ph.D. degrees."
Are there instances
when using these services is harmful?
By digging deeper,
you will realize that there could be a few situations when using essay-writing
services may affect others in a negative way. For instance, if your school asks
you to write an essay and grades you on a curve, then it may affect hardworking
students, as their work may not be as
impressive as the one submitted by the
student who has asked a professional to write him/her an essay.
Similarly, there is
another instance when using an essay writing service is not good for others.
For instance, a student who has not invested any time and effort in writing an
essay and still secures good grades for submitting a professional written
essay, he/she will cheapen all the hard work done by those students who didn't
use an essay writing service. Moreover, if it is found that students in any
particular institution cheat a lot, it will affect its reputation and, at the
same time, will also make things difficult for those who have worked hard to
get their degrees.
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| Photo: Stockvault |
The Existence of
Essay Writing Services
Interestingly, many
people doubt the existence of essay writing services. It is due to this
particular reason that you cannot talk much about the ethical side of essay
writing services when many people don't take it as a problem. It is quite the
same as it was witnessed during the Great Leap forwards in China.
During this period, millions were dying and
people were worried about the seriousness of the problem. On the other hand,
there were political leaders who were completely unaware of the severity of the
issue. You can see the same thing happening with the essay writing services, as
many people are bent on discussing the ethical and moral aspects of these services
but many others are reluctant to take it as a problem.
Essay Writing
Services are Ubiquitous
The biggest problem
many ethical people have to deal with is that they cannot do anything about
these essay-writing companies, and that's mainly because they are present
everywhere in the world. That's the reason why it is hard to take a stance on a
problem that is not just an American problem.
In fact, most of the
companies serving people in the United States are based in a foreign country.
This raises another question: will these services be unethical if the money
stays in the country? Some believe that no one in the United States would
consider it a problem if these companies pay taxes to the American government
on the money they make. It is true that you are not doing anything illegal to
buy or sell essays, which is why many people don't take it as a problem at all.
These people also
have other concerns about using these essay-writing services. For instance:
· One common concern is that you shouldn't be using these
services because you will never know anything about the writer – there are
good, bad, and average writers, and the money a company asks for doesn't tell
anything about the quality of the writer.
· Another ethical aspect of the problem is that many
companies ask you to pay a lot of money, but the price is usually not relative
to quality – you often get substandard work.
· Almost everyone is aware of the fact that no one can stop
them from using these writing services, but if they get caught, they will face
serious consequences – you may be rusticated from your school and have your
credits stripped from you.
· These writing services can affect the grading curve,
which will ultimately be devastating for good students who will fail to find a
place in their preferred colleges.
· Yet another nasty object is that most of these
essay-writing companies are unregulated, they may be offering third world and
Middle Eastern terrorists a way to make money. It may be a concern, but you can
overcome the issue by getting to know the company you're buying from.
· Another unethical thing associated with the problem is
that the whole idea is quite useful for richer students. Considering the price
these companies charge, not every student can use their services, which is why
a rich but an average student can get good grades.
· One important ethical problem is that many people use an
education visa to come to America and then involve in illegal activities. They
purchase essays from online essay-writing companies to stay in the college.
The fact of the
matter is that there sure are several ethical aspects of the problem, but it
doesn't mean you cannot use it for ethically sound reasons. If a student falls
ill for a few weeks and the deadline for submitting an essay is fast approaching,
asking a professional company to write an essay would be the best bet. What it
means is that it is hard to make any concrete decision – it basically depends
on how and why a student contacts these essay-writing companies.
Korah Morrison, UCLA student,
owner of Blogoloola blog.
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