Edubirdie is an online essay writing service that connects customers needing writing assistance with freelance writers who can complete various writing tasks and assignments. The company was founded in 2013 and is based in Cyprus. While essay writing services can help students who need assistance, they are also controversial due to ethical issues around academic integrity and potential plagiarism. This article will provide an overview of Edubirdie’s services and business model, discuss some of the controversies, and examine credible reviews from customers and industry experts.
Edubirdie Marketing and Services Offered
Edubirdie markets itself primarily to students who need help completing homework, essays, research papers, lab reports, speeches, dissertation chapters and other writing assignments. The company homepage states that their goal is to “help overwhelmed students develop their potential and avoid stress by outsourcing routine writing tasks.” Customers can describe their assignment and deadline on the website, then freelance writers bid on the work. Once a writer is selected, they complete the paper from scratch and it is submitted to the customer for grading.
In terms of specific services offered, Edubirdie advertises help with assignments across all academic levels from high school to PhD/university levels. They write on any subject including math, physics, chemistry, biology, literature, languages, women’s studies, social sciences, and business/economics. Key services include research and topic selection help, editing and proofreading, paraphrasing services, plagiarism checks, formatting to citation styles like APA, MLA and Chicago, and powerpoint/presentation creation. The core service is providing fully written papers, and customers can request samples from writers before hiring them.
Edubirdie Pricing and Payment Methods
Pricing on Edubirdie depends on various factors like academic level, word count, timeline, subject difficulty, and writer availability/demand. As a base rate, customers can expect to pay between $10-30 per page for high school level work, and $15-35 per page for undergraduate or graduate college level assignments. Rush fees apply for assignments with deadlines under 5 days. Additional costs occur for features like urgent delivery, plagiarism reports or revisions. Customers pay securely through the website using PayPal, Visa, Mastercard or Bitcoin. Once the order is submitted, writers have the ability to view unpaid jobs and bid for the work.
Writers, Quality and Plagiarism Checking Procedures
Edubirdie maintains a global pool of freelance writers of varying qualifications to select from. Writers upload profiles listing education history, subjects of expertise, qualifications and samples of previous work. They complete a vetting process and skills test set by Edubirdie to assess writing and English language abilities. Top-rated writers who complete many orders satisfactorily gain “master” and “expert” titles. Edubirdie states all papers are written from scratch and pass through quality control including “thorough” plagiarism checks using Copyscape. The depth and accuracy of their quality assurance is difficult for outsiders to verify.
Controversies and Criticism of Edubirdie
While essay writing services provide a useful resource for students, they are also controversial and pose ethical issues. Major criticisms of Edubirdie and similar companies include:
Academic Integrity: Submitting papers written by others violates university policies on plagiarism and undermines the value and purpose of education. It is essentially “contract cheating.”
Quality Inconsistency: There is no guarantee a freelance writer fully understood the assignment parameters or has the qualifications advertised. Some customer reviews note poor quality or incomplete papers.
Potential for Plagiarism: Despite checks, it is difficult to completely rule out inadvertent or intentional plagiarism in custom-written papers. Errors could pass through quality control.
Support of Unfair Advantage: Using writers gives students who can afford the fees an advantage over others who complete their own work. It raises questions about the merits of earned grades.
Student Dependence and Learning: Relying on writing services can inhibit independent research, time management and self-learning skills developed through hands-on coursework. Over-dependence may affect future career readiness.
Misleading Marketing: Critics argue websites like Edubirdie use search engine optimization and social media advertising to mislead students into believing the services are recommended by educational institutions or that using writers is acceptable “homework help.”
Edubirdie Customer Reviews and Trustpilot Ratings
Third party review sites provide mixed insight into customer satisfaction with Edubirdie. On Trustpilot, they have accumulated over 4,000 reviews yielding a “Bad” 1-star rating. The site notes review activity may not fully represent the overall customer experience. Common complaints include delays in receiving orders, poor paper quality, difficulty contacting support, and instances of suspected plagiarism. More positive reviews praise fast turnarounds or support response times but note higher prices. In general, reviews highlight inconsistency in quality and service among writers. Edubirdie could potentially manipulate reviews, so independent verification would be needed. Academic forums also feature critical discussions of websites like Edubirdie from an ethical education perspective.
Conclusion – Controversial Service With Unethical Implications
While online writing services provide one solution for students needing urgent help, organizations like Edubirdie raise valid ethical issues concerning academic integrity, potential for plagiarism, unfair advantages, and undermining of independent learning. The inconsistent quality reported in customer reviews also brings into question claims of thorough plagiarism screening and writer vetting processes. From an educational standpoint, routinely outsourcing assignments may negatively impact skills development and preparedness for future coursework and careers. Students under financial, medical or personal hardship requiring temporary assistance present a complex situation deserving sympathy and alternative solutions from educational institutions. While meeting a market demand, commercial writing services likely facilitate activities contradictory to core missions of higher education.
Andrew Stroud