Edubirdie.com is an online platform that connects students with freelance writers and tutors to assist with various academic tasks, such as writing papers, completing assignments, preparing for exams, and more. While edubirdie markets itself as a means for students to receive extra help with their studies, it remains a controversial service due to its involvement in academic work. This article will take an extensive look into edubirdie.com, including how it operates, benefits it may provide, and ethical concerns surrounding its business model.
How Edubirdie Works
Students who wish to use edubirdie’s services can browse profiles of available writers to find one that specializes in their subject area and meets their needs and budget. Once a writer is selected, the student provides details of the task along with instructions and deadlines. Common requests include writing new essays and papers, revising or editing existing drafts, completing assignments such as problem sets, and subject tutoring.
Payments are processed through the edubirdie website, with services priced based on factors like academic level, number of pages, urgency of the deadline, and complexity of the task. The site also operates on variable cost models, with per-word or per-page rates for writing and fixed costs for tasks like reviews or tutoring sessions. Once the order is placed, the writer has access to guidelines and commences work, interacting with the student through a messaging system if needed. The finished product is submitted on or before the agreed deadline.
Benefits of Using Edubirdie
Support for Busy Schedules: Edubirdie offers a solution for students who may be struggling to balance their academics with jobs, extracurriculars, family commitments or other responsibilities that leave little time for assignments. By outsourcing work to writers, students can request help within short turnarounds.
Subject Expertise: The site connects users to freelance writers specializing in different college majors from accounting to zoology, many with graduate degrees. This provides students access to tutors and researchers knowledgeable in their field of study.
Improved Grades: By having papers proofread or entirely written by experienced freelancers, edubirdie users argue their submissions will incorporate proper structure, argumentation, and academic writing style to appealing to professors. This may lead to higher marks.
Affordable Rates: While not free, edubirdie’s services cost less than private tutoring agencies or writing workshops. Its payment model also avoids long-term subscriptions.
Critiques of Edubirdie
Academic Integrity Concerns: The core function of edubirdie involves writers completing portions of or entire academic works that are then submitted as the student’s own. This constitutes contract cheating, undermining the integrity of educational assessments.
Plagiarism Risks: There is possibility submitted works done by freelance writers may contain plagiarized content if not properly referenced. Students can also have assignments plagiarized if writers resell papers to multiple clients.
Limited Learning Outcomes: While outsourcing work relieves time pressures, it means students are not actively engaging with assignments and may fail to develop comprehension of subjects or research and writing skills. This can hurt performance in subsequent courses.
Shortcuts Education: Critics argue that using services like edubirdie allows students to circumvent the learning process and earn degrees without having demonstrated proficiency determined by objective standards within institutions.
Effects on the Institution: Widespread contract cheating undermines the value of qualifications and harms schools whose assessment procedures and academic rigor are called into question. It also risks loss of accreditation for tolerating dishonest conduct.
Legal Concerns: Several countries have banned or legislated against essay writing services due to ethical issues. While some have argued edubirdie helps time-strapped students, others see it as enabling academic dishonesty. Schools also pursue plagiarism cases that can lead to expulsion.
How Edubirdie Addresses Criticism
In response to criticisms over dishonesty, edubirdie emphasizes it policies clearly state all work should be properly cited and is intended solely as reference material for students to incorporate into their own submissions with attribution. It also claims most users request services like proofreading rather than full papers to help avoid unoriginal material.
To address plagiarism concerns, edubirdie says all orders are run through software to check for copied content. Writers are also evaluated and held accountable for delivering unique, properly cited work. It also promises refunds if customers receive plagiarized papers.
On learning outcomes, the site notes it assists students who need temporary help to balance school with other responsibilities but does not market replacement of the education process long-term. It also offers tutoring, proofreading and sample work review to aid understanding.
Legality is a challenge as positions differ globally. Edubirdie argues if services supplement rather than replace student work, help limited access to aid, and promote academic integrity, they fall within reasonable assistance rather than dishonesty some laws target.
As contract tutoring becomes an established industry, edubirdie sees it playing a role alongside traditional education by offering flexible options. But it acknowledges the need for transparent, carefully monitored usage to avoid undermining academic standards or compromising assessment reliability. Overall, reasonable auxiliary help versus overreliance remains a debate.
Conclusion
In summarizing Edubirdie, while offering conveniences, its business model of writers completing academic works presents inherent integrity concerns and circumvents assessment objectives core to the educational process. Safeguards against plagiarism and ensuring student learning may not negate replacing independent accomplishment.
Temporary, supplemental assistance could alleviate time shortages for busy students if activities like tutoring and proofreading aid mastery rather than substituting for it. Regulation and careful oversight of such services may be required to find a balance benefiting learners without compromising academic standards or dishonest conduct. But full outsourcing poses risks difficult to mitigate and opposing viewpoints will likely continue debate on these services.
Andrew Stroud