New-School Cheating On Campus

Let me take you on a journey, dear reader, into the world of "model term paper" companies. This is a very old practice, given a cosmetic makeover. In the past, students would find old papers, tweak them a little, then pass them off as a new paper-their own paper. When teachers became wise to this practice, they then started using different topics each year to prevent previous students to help current students cheat.

What's happening now, however, is that the "previous students", or Academic Term Paper Writers, write custom papers for customers, or "current students". These companies are just putting a new face on an old practice, and will write "model" term papers for customers to use as an example to write their own. The assumption is that most customers will take these papers, tweak them a little on a word processing program, and pass it off as their own. Supposedly, these papers are to provide resources for customers to do their own research, and if a customer wants to use some of the material in these papers, they must "properly" quote and cite it in the paper. How would they "properly" quote and cite a paper that was written just for them, without mentioning the source from where they got it? Chances are, they are using it for their own paper.

I would like to pose a few questions, then-if these are just "model" term papers, why must it be a custom job every single time? If customers just need to see how a particular format and topic should be dealt with, then how is it that customers have exact specifications to how their papers should be written? Why would they want a revision, asking for minute details to be corrected, if all they need is to have a "model" to work from?

The first question I would like to address is the reason for the custom jobs that customers require. Why custom, if they aren't going to use them as their own? I'll tell you why-it's because they are going to use the papers as their own. This practice, though unethical and illegal, happens more often than these companies might realize, or care to admit. An interesting point here: if you were to do a search on the terms "model term papers", many results come up that are actually websites that offer these "services".

(From the terms of a well-established company) "(name blanked for privacy) takes plagiarism very seriously and we can not stress enough to our writers the importance of avoiding this pitfall. We realize that the majority of custom writing companies on the Internet cut, paste and plagiarize as a standard practice. This is NOT us! What has brought us great success and pride is the fact that we stand far above all other company's and actually deliver the quality and academic standards that we promise on our website."

When asked about taking a paper and turning it in as their own, most websites are adamant against this practice. In fact, they actually claim that they will NOT assist those students who are purposely looking to commit academic fraud. Hmmm�..how are they supposed to know when an order goes through? How are they to prove that academic fraud is the motive when a customer places an order?

Many of these sites also include in their fine print that all the material they sell is still their property, and each paper should be used for research purposes only. They claim that the papers are for guidance only, and if a customer wants to use one of their products as his or her own paper, they will not sell a paper to that customer. How can this be proven? Are these companies going to follow each and every person who places an order, just to make sure these papers are used according to each company's policies? Many companies post these policies on their sites to avoid lawsuits from outraged college and high school teachers. (That's really what it boils down to, in simplest terms.)

With the advancement of the Internet and technology, it is becoming a lot easier to cheat. Because companies try to ensure their writers write custom material each time, it is easier for the student to get away with paying someone else to write a paper for him or her to hand in as his or her own. The motivating factor behind ensuring custom papers is to gain customers' trust and loyalty, so they can make more money. Custom written papers ensure students that they won't get in trouble for not writing their own papers, just so they can procrastinate further.

The second and third questions posed tend to correlate with the first-exact specifications for a custom written paper makes the paper unique to the student/customer, so he or she does not have to write his or her own paper. So why should these companies provide "custom" papers just for a chance to see how it is supposed to be written?

Many formatting books provide examples on how to write a paper in that particular format. Even formatting websites provide examples for this, and yet�? If the student/customer would just do a little research on their topic, they could find a wealth of information-enough to get an idea of where to take the direction of their papers. However, they are like all humans, and prefer the easy way out, which is to pay someone else to write their papers for them. If they have no friends who are willing to do this, many term paper companies are ready and willing to fill this void.

Revisions are something that happens when a person doesn't like the paper they receive for the money they paid. Okay�I get that people want what they pay for. But what I don't get is why someone would be so nit-picky about a paper that is supposed to be a "model" term paper. One customer claimed that they could write the paper better-so why didn't they? Laziness! They want others to write it the way they would themselves, so they wouldn't have to do it. Yeah, I know what each company site claims, and their "policies".

It is estimated that about 99% of the customers who order papers from these sites most likely intend to use the papers as their own. In fact, there have been some court cases, in the past few years, involving several colleges and universities on this very topic, because the problem has become so widespread. Now, you tell me: Are these "model" term paper companies enforcing their claims against these customers? Are you kidding?? If they did, they would lose most of their business, and would most likely go bankrupt!

Last question-why would these companies want their writers to write original papers if their policies state that these papers are for research purposes only? Aside from the fact that good writers do not do this as a rule, this is unethical and illegal as well. But despite these reasons, companies who provide term paper "assistance" are unintentionally, or intentionally, as the case may be, encouraging students to do the opposite of what they claim just by being in this business.

If you see ads about "Academic Research Writers needed" on any freelance writing board, run, don't walk to the nearest exit button! You really do not want to be associated with these companies if you are a serious writer. Spend your writing time on something worthwhile, instead of helping students cheat.