Edubirdie is an essay writing service that provides academic assistance to students. While some see it as a helpful study aid, others argue it encourages academic dishonesty. This article explores both sides of the edubirdie debate in an objective manner.
How Edubirdie Works
Edubirdie connects students who need writing assistance with freelance writers who can complete various types of academic papers and assignments. Students submit details about the paper guidelines and deadline, then edubirdie writers bid on the order. Students select the writer and pay electronically through the edubirdie website once the paper is completed.
Edubirdie offers assistance on all types of written assignments from various high school, undergraduate, and graduate level courses. This includes essays, research papers, case studies, lab reports, dissertation/thesis chapters, coursework, and more. Turnaround times can range from 3 hours for a short paper up to 20 days for longer assignments.
Prices vary depending on academic level, number of sources/references required, word count, and deadline. On average, an undergraduate level essay is $18-22 per page for a standard 7-10 day deadline. Rush orders within 3 days can be 2-3 times the standard rate. Edubirdie also offers discounts and special rates for return customers.
Edubirdie has over 5,000 freelance writers with diverse academic backgrounds from over 80 countries. Writers apply and are screened for qualifications like academic degrees, publication history, and sample written work. Top rated writers have a success score showing their history of on-time deliveries and customer satisfaction ratings.
Argument For Edubirdie Use
Supporters of services like edubirdie argue it provides an accessible way for students to get expert help when faced with a heavy workload or competing time commitments. They claim it can help students:
Develop preliminary drafts or get feedback to improve their own writing before submitting.
Assist with specific sections like data analysis, results interpretation or discussion where guidance is needed.
Act as a study aid by having writers explain concepts or topic areas that are difficult to understand.
Meet tight deadlines when juggling jobs, family obligations or medical issues prevent dedicating sufficient time.
Supplement learning for international students unfamiliar with writing styles or conventions in Western academic systems.
Access 24/7 support that’s more affordable and flexible than private tutors for one-on-one help.
They believe responsible use of such a resource can help students manage stress without compromising academic integrity if papers are not directly copied or submitted as the student’s own work without citation. It simply provides an extra learning tool.
Argument Against Edubirdie Use
Critics argue edubirdie encourages and enables academic dishonesty, which is unethical and defeats the purpose of education. Their counterarguments include:
It allows students to pay others to do their work for them, whether in full or in contributing substantial content directly included without citation. This undermines the goals of assessing individual learning and comprehension.
While intended to help manage workloads, it can promote over-reliance on outside assistance and disengagement from taking responsibility for one’s own studies.
It risks compromising the academic standards and credibility of earned degrees if large numbers of students have papers written wholly or partly by non-students. This lowers the overall quality and intended meaning of qualifications.
Students are not truly learning or practicing important skills like critical thinking, problem-solving, research, analysis and effective written communication when papers are ghostwritten.
It is difficult to regulate use and determine the appropriate boundary between unacceptable copying, paraphrasing and legitimate incorporation of outside ideas with citation under time pressure.
Reliance encourages a “customer rather than student” mentality focused more on grades than genuine comprehension of material. This warps the educational dynamic.
With large repositories of pre-written papers, students may recycle significant amounts of existing content, submit multiple papers on the same topic from different years or compile cut-and-paste essays defeating the purpose of assessment.
It represents an unfair advantage over students who complete their own work and invest time mastering written assignments because grading reflects ability to pay for assistance rather than individual effort.
The Debate’s Nuances
There are good-faith perspectives on both sides of this issue, and reasonable people can disagree. In reality, many students’ situations fall into a grey area rather than representing outright dishonesty or fully independent work. Key considerations in balancing these perspectives include:
The extent and nature of outside assistance incorporated without independent analysis or citation. Full ghostwriting undermines integrity; brief preliminary feedback does not.
Individual circumstances where time-limited help may be necessary to meet basic requirements vs paying others to effectively “do the course.”
Transparency between students, instructors and institutions about use of external resources to set clear guidelines for what is/isn’t accepted.
Self-regulation on the part of students to ensure their own learning comes before grades or credentials, using support resources sparingly and responsibly.
Ensuring academic standards and degree credentials represent mastery of material rather than abilities like project management or budgeting to outsource tasks.
Overall, while edubirdie may help some students in minor ways, relying on it frequently or for full papers undermines education’s goals. With communication and responsibility on all sides, limited preliminary assistance could supplement learning without compromising academic integrity. But complete ghostwriting crosses ethical boundaries. As with many complex issues, nuanced consideration of individual cases is needed.
Andrew Stroud