Edubirdie is a website that offers essay and academic paper writing services to students. While at first glance it may seem like a helpful study aid, a closer look reveals some concerning issues. Let’s take an in-depth look at Edubirdie and discuss whether it should be considered a ‘writing pal’ or not.
How Edubirdie Works
Edubirdie connects students who need writing assistance with freelance writers available to complete essays, assignments, dissertations and other projects. Students can describe their paper requirements and deadline on the Edubirdie website. Freelance writers then bid for the work, proposing a price. Students select the writer and pay in advance via credit card. The writer then completes the work and submits it to the student, usually with some time to spare before the deadline.
On the surface, this allows busy students to outsource writing tasks. The work produced by Edubirdie writers raises serious academic integrity concerns. When a student submits work written by someone else as their own, it constitutes plagiarism or contract cheating. Both are violations of academic honesty policies at most schools and universities.
Plagiarism and Contract Cheating Risks
While an Edubirdie writer may produce high-quality work from a technical writing standpoint, the writing is not the student’s own ideas and research. Submitting it would be misrepresenting the authorship and plagiarizing the writer’s work. Schools have sanctions for plagiarism that range from failure on the assignment to expulsion. Additionally, evidence suggests contract cheating is on the rise at postsecondary institutions. Services like Edubirdie enable and arguably contribute to this problematic trend.
The argument that a student is still learning the material even if not writing it themselves falls flat. part of the learning process is undertaking the research, critical thinking, organization and writing themselves to fully understand a topic. It’s concerning that Edubirdie may be encouraging some students to prioritize a grade over learning. Relying on written work from others also prevents students from strengthening their own research, analytical and composition skills.
Even if a student avoids plagiarism by properly citing an Edubirdie paper, there is an expectation at academic institutions that student work will be wholly their own. Submitting a paper predominantly or entirely written by another person undermines this. While schools aim to support students struggling with their studies, services like Edubirdie promote work that is not truly a student’s own and risks weakening the integrity of their qualifications.
Quality and Reliability Concerns
Beyond ethical issues, the quality and reliability of Edubirdie’s writing services are questionable. Freelance writers have varying English language proficiency and subject matter expertise. There is no verification of credentials or quality control process. A student has no way of knowing a writer’s true qualifications when choosing a bid.
Furthermore, custom writing services allow tight deadlines that may compromise quality. A rushed job could contain errors, superficial treatment of the topic or even plagiarized content. While Edubirdie promotes its editing and plagiarism checking, these processes may not always catch issues – especially under time pressure.
Students using Edubirdie also risk delays, incomplete or low-quality final products. Writers can miss deadlines or produce subpar work that a student feels obliged to submit anyway due to time restraints. The site’s refund policy may not adequately compensate a student left in the lurch. Relying on Edubirdie is therefore a gamble on multiple fronts.
Considering the Academic Honesty and Learning Impacts
As an alternative to struggling alone, some see services like Edubirdie providing much-needed assistance. The academic integrity and quality concerns outweigh short-term conveniences. While intentions are to help overburdened students, the site fundamentally enables practices contradictory to core university purposes of independent learning. It also misleadingly presents others’ work as a student’s own.
Rather than outsourcing, students could take advantage of legitimate support services on campus like tutoring, counseling, disability services and deadline extensions. Working with professors to complete one’s own high-quality work, even if at a reduced pace, better serves the student’s long-term learning and career. It maintains academic integrity too.
While initially attractive for relieving burdens, Edubirdie should not be considered a true ‘writing pal.’ The site introduces serious risks to a student’s academic integrity and does not support independent learning as universities intend. Students are best served using official campus resources and balancing their coursework to complete authentic work of their own. With determination and available support, students can overcome challenges without compromising integrity or potential for growth.