Academic Writing, An Unethical Yet Attractive Opportunity

Academic writing is often thought of as a way to as a way to make a quick buck, but it can be wrong in many ways when it means we are doing someone else’s assignment for them.

I recently joined a content writing group online, hoping I’d find a decent working opportunity. What I found were more ads for academic writers than content writers – every other person was looking for someone who could write the perfect research report.

I decided after some time that I would give one of these ads a read. I was shocked to find out what “academic writers” actually did.” Looking for someone who could write a 5000-word thesis report for final-year university project”. The amount this job offered left me stunned. It clarified that the assignment was for the” business field and willing to pay $1 per word”. This meant $5000. What more would any freelancer want, right?

But it isn’t right. Simply put, academic writing for someone else is unethical. While it may be tempting as a great source of income, for most clients, it’s just an easy way to finishing off college. The assignment that you just did is” ghostwritten” and submitted under the student’s name, and the professor assumes that this the student’s own work. Most academic writing done by someone else has almost no plagiarism and minor errors. Thus, the “confirmed good grades” help the student pass the course. But this is blatant cheating and academic dishonesty.

Aside from being unethical, it is also a waste of money. Not everyone can win a scholarship; some still pay full fees to get an education. Why, then, does that same person pay someone else to do the work that they themselves should do in order to learn? Despite the essays being long and tiring, they are still an integral part of learning. Throughout the whole process, a student gets the chance to read the assigned material and look deeper into resources to understand the topic better. All this adds to an individual’s knowledge and growth. You or your parents have paid for this experience!

There are several reasons why students buy completed assignments. Laziness, lack of interest, or an overload of work leads students towards academic writers. Sadly, the willingness to put effort into your own 5000-word assignment is slowly getting lost, as finding academic writers and cheating becomes easier and more accessible.

The ethical stance is sometimes questioned because academic writing is confused with lending a helping hand to an overworked student. But an overload of work can be overcome by discussing it with the professor rather than cheating. Paying and getting it completed by someone else is cheating and especially unfair to those who have put effort into their work and have worked hard to finance their education. For them, competitiveness matters when it comes to professional life.

Academic writers take away an element of effort and hard work that is important when achieving an education. If so many students get their essays written by someone else, we will soon be seeing a generation of individuals who lack writing and researching skills. A large group of individuals in society will be those who are undeserving. At the same time, those who are deserving would struggle because of expert-written academic work submitted under someone else’s name.