The growing trend of paying for homework help services has become a controversial topic in recent years. While some see it as an avenue for struggling students to get academic assistance, others view it as cheating. Let’s take a deeper look at the popular homework help service known as Addit and examine both sides of this complex issue.
What is Addit?
Addit is an online marketplace that connects students seeking homework help with tutors and subject matter experts who can provide step-by-step solutions and thorough explanations. Students create a profile with their academic level and subjects needed. They can then browse available tutors, see their qualifications and ratings from previous clients. Once a tutor is selected and paid for, they work directly with the student via messaging or video chat to complete homework assignments.
Addit offers help with a wide range of high school and college subjects including math, science, English, history, coding, engineering, and business. Tutors typically have advanced degrees in the subjects they tutor. Payments are made directly through the Addit platform, with prices varying depending on the tutor, complexity of the task, and deadline. While some view it simply as a tutoring service, others argue it enables and encourages academic dishonesty.
Arguments For Using Addit
Supporters of homework help services like Addit argue they provide a valuable resource for students who are truly struggling with comprehension or balancing school with other responsibilities like jobs and family obligations. When used judiciously, they believe it can help students learn challenging concepts with the guidance of subject matter experts, rather than giving up in frustration or submitting subpar work.
Advocates also point out that Addit tutors don’t simply do the work for students – they teach methods and explain steps. This helps students develop problem-solving abilities and long-term understanding rather than just memorizing answers. And unlike other “do my homework for me” sites, Addit maintains professional standards by having tutors register with credentials.
When facing a crush of assignments or time constraints outside of their control, Addit gives students an option rather than forcing them to choose between poor performance or not completing coursework at all. Some also argue in an increasingly competitive admissions environment, using tutoring resources shows initiative rather than cheating. As long as students still learn the material, the means of receiving help should not be criticized.
Arguments Against Using Addit
Critics contend Addit crosses an important line by allowing others to complete homework which is intended to assess student comprehension. While tutors may explain steps, having someone else think through and write up the answers means the submitted work does not genuinely represent the student’s own abilities and understanding. This undermines the entire purpose of graded homework assignments.
There are also concerns it can become too easy for students to rely on Addit rather than developing self-learning skills. With the option for instant expert gratification online, the incentive to struggle through problems and examples themselves is reduced. And once students get used to someone doing their work, it may discourage independent effort and critical thinking long-term.
Plagiarism is another risk, as there is no guarantee submitted homework solutions created by tutors will be properly cited or paraphrased by students. This could lead to academic integrity violations down the road. And screening tutors for credentials does not necessarily validate their ethics or ability to work within academic integrity policies.
Moreover, critics argue using Addit crosses a line even if the intention is just to understand concepts better. The risk of inadvertently encouraging dishonesty or creating dependency is too great, and allowing others to complete homework provides unfair advantages over students who solve problems themselves without outside help beyond normal tutoring or group study sessions.
Addressing Issues of Academic Integrity
While the demand for homework help services is understandable given student pressures, most experts argue the risks to academic integrity are too severe to condone homework completion by third parties. Some propose regulated alternatives that could address integrity concerns while still providing struggling students with support.
One idea is for Addit to transition to a pure tutoring model where homework is not directly completed, but concepts are explained, examples are worked through cooperatively, and students submit their own independent work. Platforms could also impose stricter review of submitted assignments to check for direct copying or similarities to work done by tutors for other students.
Schools themselves could offer ample regulated tutoring resources to reduce the appeal of unsupervised help sites. Things like mandatory study halls with on-demand tutors, group homework sessions, and assignment check-ins with professors can help students get timely assistance within integrity guidelines. Early intervention for students falling behind also eases pressures that may drive them to questionable help sites in desperation.
Ultimately, Balancing academic support with integrity is complex with reasonable perspectives on both sides. Regulating rather than banning homework services could be an optimal compromise, as long as independent effort and comprehension remain the top priorities over convenience or competitive edge seeking. With cooperation between schools and tutoring platforms, policies can be crafted to maximize learning gains while minimizing integrity risks for students. But the issue will continue being debated as new technologies test traditional models of education.
The debate around using homework help services like Addit highlights the balancing act between supporting students and maintaining academic standards. While providing assistance to struggling learners is understandable, completing assignments for others risks enabling dishonesty and weakening the assessment process. With policy reforms and emphasis on regulated tutoring over direct completion, risks may be mitigated while needs are still addressed. But finding the right approach will take open discussion and flexibility from all parties.
Andrew Stroud