Essay writing schemes, sometimes referred to as essay mills or paper mills, are services that allow customers to commission custom-written essays and other academic written works. While for most students essay writing schemes seem like an attractive shortcut or way to get help with heavy coursework loads, using these services often constitutes plagiarism or academic dishonesty according to university honor codes. Nonetheless, the essay writing scheme industry continues to grow each year as more students turn to online paper brokers in desperation or simply to save time.
One of the major appeals of essay writing schemes for students is convenience. With just a few clicks, a student can purchase a fully written and customized essay on nearly any topic for their course. This allows students to outsource the tedious task of research, writing, and revision to online freelance writers. Another attraction is the perceived anonymity. Many essay writing services emphasize privacy and claim to use secure payment methods and anonymous paper delivery systems. For students worried about getting caught cheating, this adds to the appeal.
Academic honor codes at nearly all universities explicitly prohibit submitting work that is not one’s own or was written entirely by someone else. While essay writing services often claim their papers are only meant as research samples or for limited editing help, in practice the vast majority of work is directly submitted by students as their own. This constitutes plagiarism which is considered a serious offense. Upon discovery, students can face penalties ranging from failing the assignment, up to expulsion from their program or university for repeated offenses.
Some key issues with using essay writing schemes include:
Papers may be written by freelance writers with varying degrees of subject matter expertise. There is no guarantee the writer fully understands the assignment or has a strong background in the topic being discussed. This can result in lower quality work.
Topics are often too broad for the writer to gain a deep understanding within the limited research and writing timeframe. Papers may rely too much on summarizing general information rather than offering original critical analysis.
Styles of writing, voice, and syntax may differ noticeably compared to the student’s usual work. Professors are often able to detect inconsistencies that point to plagiarized or ghostwritten assignments.
References and citations used may be subpar quality sources or incorrectly cited which can damage the credibility of arguments made in the paper.
No feedback or revision opportunities are offered to improve the work. Students cannot collaborate with writers to refine papers based on instructor comments like they could with a peer.
Once submitted, the essay becomes the property of the essay writing service not the student. Services retain the right to reuse or resell papers to other clients which facilitated academic dishonesty.
Students do not learn anything through the process of researching, outlining, writing and revising an assignment themselves. Relying on essay writing schemes can seriously hinder a student’s own writing and critical thinking abilities over time.
Students caught plagiarizing risk severe penalties that can damage their academic and professional record long term, such as being expelled, having their degree revoked, or being disqualified from certain career paths.
Essay writing is prohibited because it is unethical to present someone else’s work as your own or to pay for work completed for you. While essay writing services try to argue technical loopholes, universities treat any commissioned academic work as plagiarism.
Costs of essay writing services are not trivial and money would be better spent on tutoring, educational materials, or using official university support resources designed to help students improve legitimately.
Given these significant shortcomings and ethical issues, most experts argue essay writing schemes should always be avoided by students. While there is understandable temptation to outsource work during busy semesters, students are strongly encouraged to manage their time effectively, seek academic support through official university channels, and to do their own original writing. Relying on one’s own efforts, even if imperfect, is preferable to risking academic dishonesty charges that could damage a student’s future severely. In the long run, developing individual writing skills and knowledge is much more valuable than paying others to complete assigned work.
To summarize, while essay writing services aim to provide a helpful shortcut, universities consider their use a serious honor code violation tantamount to plagiarism. The quality of purchased work is unreliable, it does not improve students’ learning, and risks penalty if uncovered. Instead of risky essay writing schemes, students have many honorable options available like time management, proper research, draft review from professors or peers, utilization of writing centers, and potentially extending deadlines through official channels if needed. With effort, students can succeed academically through their own legitimate work rather than cutting corners in ways that may severely impede their future education and career goals.