Essay Writing Services in Nigeria: An Overview
Writing essays is a core part of the academic curriculum for students in Nigeria. Whether in high school, college, or university, students are regularly assigned essays to write on various topics across different subjects. While writing essays helps to develop important research, analytical, and writing skills, it can also be a time-consuming and stressful process for many students with tight schedules and deadlines. In addition, not every student may feel confident in their abilities or have significant experience in academic writing.
This is where essay writing services have become increasingly popular among Nigerian students in recent years. These services offer to complete essays for students on any given topic and discipline. While essay writing services aim to help students who may struggle with writing tasks, they also present ethical issues that students should be aware of before using them. In this article, we will provide an overview of essay writing services in Nigeria, how they work, different types available, potential benefits and drawbacks for students, and key things to look out for when choosing a service.
How Essay Writing Services Work
Most essay writing services operate through online websites where students can place orders for essays. The basic process works as follows:
Students visit the service’s website and create an account with basic details like name, email, and institution. Payment details like debit/credit card numbers are also collected.
Students submit the essay order by providing details like the word count, academic level, topic or question, required formatting style, and deadline. Payment is processed at this stage in most cases.
The order is assigned to a writer who conducts research on the topic, outlines an argument or analysis plan, and starts writing the custom essay from scratch.
Once complete, the essay goes through quality checks by editors to ensure it meets the given requirements and instructions. Plagiarism detection tools are also used at this stage.
The completed essay is emailed or made available for download through the student’s account on the website. Students can also communicate directly with writers and customer support during the process.
Students receive a unique essay tailored to their specifications that they can submit as their own work. Support continues even after the deadline through revisions, if required.
Types of Essay Writing Services
While the basic process remains similar, essay writing services in Nigeria vary in the types of essays and support offered:
Standard Essay Writing: Most services offer to write all types of standard academic essays from research papers to literature reviews, case studies, reflective essays, etc.
Coursework/Assignments: Some specialize in writing full coursework projects, assignments, lab reports, book/movie reviews, presentations, dissertations, etc.
Admission/Scholarship Essays: Services focused on writing personal statements, essays for college/university admissions, and scholarship applications.
Editing/Proofreading: For revising/editing existing drafts, a few provide consultation and feedback without writing the essay fully.
24/7 Services: A few big players have round-the-clock availability of writers to cater to urgent deadlines.
Pricing depends on academic level, word count, discipline, deadline, and quality of writers/editors. Rates generally range from ₦3000-₦15,000 but may be more for postgraduate orders or rushed jobs. Discounts are offered for returning customers or bulk orders. Flexible packages and subscription plans are other options available.
Benefits of Using Essay Writing Services
Using professional essay writing services aims to help students who struggle with the academic writing process. Some key benefits essay services claim to provide include:
Expert, Qualified Writers: Professional writers hold relevant qualifications and have experience in academic writing styles.
Original, Plagiarism-Free Content: Custom essays are written from scratch as per guidelines to avoid plagiarism detection.
Time Management Assistance: Outsourcing writing allows students to spend time on other academics or personal commitments.
Stress Reduction: It removes pressure of tight deadlines, research challenges, or a lack of confidence in writing abilities.
Practice for Referencing Conventions: Students learn proper citation formats by reviewing accurate examples in their completed essays.
Drafting Feedback: Services provide consultation on paper structure, argument flow, grammar/mechanics to improve future writing.
24/7 Availability: Urgent orders can be handled at any time of day or night via online platforms.
Potential Drawbacks of Using Essay Services
While essay writing help services aim to support students, there are also ethical issues and potential pitfalls to consider:
Plagiarism Risk: Despite quality checks, plagiarized or poorly referenced content may still slip through in some cases.
Dependence Factor: Constant outsourcing can reduce opportunities to strengthen one’s own research and writing abilities long-term.
Trustworthiness: Not all operators are legit, and there is risk of dealing with fake, low-quality or unreliable providers.
Originality Questions: Institutions prohibit purchased papers as academic integrity policies. Submitting bought work risks punishment for plagiarism or contract cheating.
Legal Issues: Services selling written assignments as completed schoolwork can enable contract cheating, which some see as unethical and question its legality.
Hidden/Additional Costs: Extras like rushed delivery, revisions, or complex topics may increase the actual fee charged compared to initially quoted prices.
Quality Variations: Quality depends on the writer allocated but may be inconsistent, especially with unfamiliar or very specific topics.
Choosing a Reputable Essay Writing Service
With the growth of the industry, several options are available in Nigeria. Students need to research cautiously before selecting a service. Some factors to carefully consider include:
Legitimacy – Check registration details, reviews from trustpilot or SiteJabber for authentication and genuine operation.
Experience – Long-standing services (5+ years) likely have more qualified, experienced writers for reliable quality.
Writer Qualifications – Verified academic credentials of at minimum a Bachelor’s degree increase skill competence.
Samples – View different completed sample essays before ordering to assess quality standards.
Reviews – Check independent online reviews from past clients on delivery time, revisions policy, and service standards.
Pricing Transparency – Clear cost policies prevent inflated charges for revisions or urgent delivery later on.
Communication Channels – 24/7 customer support, order tracking updates, and direct messaging with allocated writer.
Privacy & Security – Data protection policies and use of SSL encryption for financial transactions.
Revisions & Money Back – Flexible editing/corrections until satisfaction without additional costs.
Final Word
Professional essay writing services aim to support students by taking workloads off but come with ethical issues of originality and self-reliance that students need to consider wisely. With proper research and from a credible operator, services can help manage academics, but constant dependence must be avoided to hone personal skills too. Responsible usage balanced with individual effort is advisable to meet both short and long-term learning goals effectively.
Andrew Stroud