IS IT ETHICAL TO WORK WITH AN ONLINE ESSAY WRITING SERVICE?

Do a quick Google search if you want to know just how many essay writing websites are out there. Many services are willing to take on paper writing assignments for struggling students. However, as convenient as this may be for such students, the use of such services remains questionable. We have even seen news reports about how students use essay writing services to cheat in school. Different universities have their own academic codes of conduct – some forbid students from buying essays from a paper writing service. But is it ethical to work with one of these companies?

Is it Ethical for Students to Use Essay Writing Services?

Many universities discourage students from submitting essays they have not written themselves. They treat such work as plagiarism and, in most cases, will suspend or expel students involved. That aside, however, even from a neutral perspective, submitting a paid essay as your own seems wrong and unethical. But is it really that bad when society is chock-full of ghostwriters and private tutors? Famous politicians, writers, musicians, and even movie writers hire others to write their work. How is it any different when students do it?

Many in academia have debated the use of paid essays by students and whether academic essay writers are aiding students in cheating at school. This practice has been around for many years, and more students are using these services to get essay help. 

Whether it is ethical or not, students continue to seek these services for different reasons. However, some companies that offer essay writing services have had to clearly point out their ethical policies, including how their clients (in this case, students) should use their papers. But why do students seek these services anyway?

Why Students Seek Essay Writing Services

When CBS ran the news about how Kenyan academic writers were helping students cheat and making billions out of it, the prevailing theme was that students seeking their help were lazy or privileged. However, that is not entirely true; essay writing companies exist for many other reasons as well. It’s not just the lazy students that seek help for these services, and some charge very little money that any student who’s not “privileged” can afford. Some (valid) reasons why students seek these services include;

- Too much academic work at school leads to fatigue and writer’s block.

- Familial responsibility

- Lack of good writing skills

- Very little knowledge in a subject

Despite these genuine reasons why students may seek essay help, universities still frown upon the practice. Even though there is no way to ensure that students use these essays appropriately, you can’t deny that these are legitimate reasons for buying a paper online, to begin with. Some have argued that essay writing services should adopt robust terms and conditions to ensure their papers are used correctly. However, it must also be said that the ethical question lies squarely with the intention of the customer and not necessarily the service or company. But essay writing services exist for a reason.

What is the Importance of Essay Writing Services in Academia?

Truth be told, essay writing services have an important role in academia. One might even argue that they help maintain high academic standards and consistency. Why is that? Because students can only do so much and still maintain their sanity, let alone academic quality. Students often have to cope with too much workload and very little time to do it all. There is also pressure from society to do well in academics. Without good grades, you cannot claim to have succeeded in school. 

It’s common for students to face tough academic papers (often beyond what they can comprehend) while also working part-time and trying to live a balanced life. However, this is not the only problem. Many essay writing customers are students from non-native English speaking countries. As much as these students may have a grasp on the subject, they may not know how to write a good essay in English. This is perhaps the main reason why academia needs essay writing services and most certainly good essay writers. 

What Do Writers Gain?

Any writer (especially freelance writers) knows how tough it can be to get consistent writing work. Many have realized how popular essay writing services have become and are now looking for such work. If you can get a job with the best essay writing service, where the workload is consistent, and the payment is good, then you are likely to become financially stable as a writer – a somewhat rare feat. 

This is especially true for third-world counties where writers have to work really hard to make ends meet. With essay writing jobs, such writers have a chance to make a decent living. Therefore, the question of whether writing for an essay writing service is ethical or not should also take into account the positive impact of such work. 

Essay writing services exist to mainly serve desperate students with genuine concerns. Essay writers who work with these companies are people trying to make ends meet like everyone else out there. The question of ethics cannot be ignored, but there are legitimate reasons why these services exist. Using them for learning purposes is not only ethical but necessary.