Academized is an essay writing service that provides students assistance with their schoolwork by having professional writers complete essays and other assignments. While these types of services aim to help busy students, they are also quite controversial as some argue that having others complete your schoolwork undermines the purpose of education. This article will provide an in-depth review of Academized’s services by evaluating aspects like quality, originality, customer service, and legitimacy to help students understand both sides of using such a service.
Quality of Work
The quality of work provided by Academized depends largely on the writer assigned to the specific order. Writers on their site have varying levels of experience, qualifications, and skills. For more straightforward assignments at the high school or undergraduate level, work is generally well-written and formatted properly with few issues. For more advanced graduate level work or very technical subjects, there is more risk of plagiarism, factual inaccuracies, or analysis that is not quite at the expected level.
Customers report mixed experiences with quality, with some receiving papers they were very satisfied with while others found work to be subpar or needing major revisions. This inconsistency is problematic and students taking a risk by using the service may end up disappointed if a less skilled writer completes their order. Academized does offer free revisions but this also introduces delays that may cause issues if tight deadlines exist. Overall, quality appears to be a gamble and cannot be guaranteed to meet the standards of the educational institution.
Originality and Plagiarism
Originality is the biggest concern with essay writing services, as having others complete assignments undermines the academic integrity policies at most schools. While Academized claims to provide 100% original content, this is difficult to ensure given the volume of orders they complete. Some techniques used like rewriting content from various sources or having multiple writers work on the same order introduce risks of unintentional plagiarism. Turnitin reports submitted by customers show some levels of plagiarism even after revisions in many cases.
While blatant copying is uncommon, more subtle plagiarism from reworking various sources is difficult to avoid entirely. This puts students using the service in an ethically grey area and at risk of punishment if plagiarism is detected. Guaranteeing uniqueness at scale is an immense challenge. Overall, originality cannot be fully trusted through Academized and students must weigh integrity concerns versus academic pressures driving them to use the service.
Customer Service
Customer service and communication is an important part of any customer-facing business. Academized attempts to provide responsive support through phone, email, and online chat. Reviews indicate mixed experiences with getting issues resolved in a timely manner. Delays in responses, challenges escalating concerns, and inconsistencies between agents are common complaints.
With foreign-based writers and support staff, cultural and language barriers also sometimes cause miscommunications that frustrate customers. Deadline extensions or refund requests can be an tedious process based on reviews. While representatives are usually polite, actually addressing issues and finding agreeable solutions is a weaker area. Customers report feeling like low priorities at times. Overall, customer experience seems to vary greatly depending on the specific situation and support rep handling it. Prompt, helpful service cannot be fully counted on.
Price and Value
Pricing at Academized is relatively affordable compared to some competitors. Base rates start around $11 per page for high school level work and increase incrementally up to around $20 per page for PhD level assignments. Additional services like urgent orders or native English editing cost more. This puts the service within budgetary reach of many college students.
Value is subjective. While the monetary cost is reasonable, using such a service involves risks to academic integrity and legitimate learning that are harder to quantify. If plagiarized or subpar work is submitted, it can jeopardize a student’s entire academic standing and career. The intangible ‘cost’ of undermining one’s own education should factor into any assessment of whether services like this deliver good value.
For students unable to complete assignments themselves due to valid time constraints or disabilities, outsourcing work may be reasonable to prevent failure. But for those using it to avoid doing their own work or benefiting from shortcuts, the value is more questionable when considering all costs involved. Overall value depends heavily on individual circumstances and priorities.
Legitimacy and Ethics
A major concern regarding essay writing services is whether using them is actually legitimate or ethical. Most college and university policies strictly prohibit submitting work written entirely by others as it violates academic integrity. While services argue they only provide assistance, the reality is papers are often turned in verbatim.
Even if altering some content to avoid plagiarism detection, the end product still does not represent the student’s own efforts and understanding. This undermines the credibility of their academic credentials. Schools dedicate resources to uphold standards and certify earned degrees have integrity. Outsourcing destroys that integrity whether intentionally or not.
From an ethics perspective, paying others to do schoolwork that should develop one’s own knowledge and skills could be seen as unjust. It is akin to cheating and prevents legitimate learning from occurring. It can also disadvantage honest students who put in real effort. While circumstances driving students to such services are understandable, it remains an ethically ambiguous area at best.
Overall, using essay writing providers like Academized exists in a grey zone. Despite intentions to just help busy students, the reality is it allows substituting others’ work for one’s own, harming integrity foundations of education. While some see it as a victimless way to save time, others view it as an integrity violation or failing to meet ethical learning standards. There are reasonable perspectives on both sides of this complex issue.
Final Verdict
After an extensive review considering key factors like quality, originality, customer service, price, and ethics, there is no clear verdict on whether Academicized is ultimately a good or bad option for students. Reasonable arguments can be made both for and against using such essay writing services.
It provides a convenient way for overwhelmed or struggling students to avoid failure, but risks plagiarism and harms academic integrity. Quality and support is inconsistent, but pricing is affordable. While intentions are to help, the reality often means substituting one’s own work.
Overall, there are too many caveats and variables to give a simple yes or no recommendation. Students must carefully weigh these tradeoffs based on their own circumstances and priorities. Quality of education, career implications, and ethical standards of their institution also impact the analysis. Ultimately, individuals must decide what costs they are willing to take on in exchange for the benefits such services provide. An informed and nuanced consideration of all sides is advised before utilizing Academized or similar providers.
Andrew Stroud