Have you ever paid for a term paper?

I seem to recall seeing ads in the back of Rolling Stone when I was in college for ghost-written term papers. Here's a modern take:

The Shadow Scholar

Anyone here every pay someone else to write a paper for them?

Originally Posted by Dakota rube

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I seem to recall seeing ads in the back of Rolling Stone when I was in college for ghost-written term papers. Here's a modern take:

The Shadow Scholar

Anyone here every pay someone else to write a paper for them?

Nope
My failures were and will always be utterly mine.

Fascinating article. I don't see how students who do that can escape detection unless they buy all their papers. It is also remarkable how utterly pathetic the average student's writing ability is these days.

I tutored throughout university. Actually... usually in courses I knew nothing of, but I could teach subjects well. (I read the text, taught the basics, had the student develop from there). I made some very good money.

I would have made a lot more if I wrote term papers. At the end of every semester, I had dozens of people approach me with this offer. Some of them ridiculously hard to turn down. (One kid, whose parents paid for literally anything he wanted, offered me 2k for a simple 15 pages essay.) There's a market for it, and there are a lot of of "bought" educations I think.

Originally Posted by Dakota rube

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I seem to recall seeing ads in the back of Rolling Stone when I was in college for ghost-written term papers. Here's a modern take:

The Shadow Scholar

Anyone here every pay someone else to write a paper for them?

No, but I used to write essays for people back in high school.

Originally Posted by HgaleK

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No, but I used to write essays for people back in high school.

The way that schools approach cheating these days made me wary, along with the basic moral issue of the matter.


The closest to writing essays would be when I refined Business majors' presentations. I quite liked selling people on ideas, so it was good fun, and I made serious buck from it. It seems Business Administration students, by and large, are absolute crap at presenting things, understanding the impacts of words, etc. Even the Marketing majors needed help at times.... brilliant students in other ways, but just...ridiculous sometimes.

Never. Would never consider it either.

Death first.

Cheating was damned-near ubiquitous at my Uni. Pissed me off. Some of those Dean's Listers didn't deserve to be there, and a few of those who got the President's Year didn't deserve that either, which they mostly used as a way of delaying life and bedding more frosh.

~ H

Let's turn the question around: Would you write a term paper for someone else, for $1000?

No. It devalues everything I and the rest of my peers that choose the honest way accomplish (or fail to). I know some people talk about things coming to a full circle, their lack of knowledge/work ethic/blahblah coming back to haunt them and all that... but really, maybe, maybe not. Odds are, you will never have to know about Marxist critique of Foucault or whatever- but the grade you received will help you regardless.

Originally Posted by Dakota rube

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Let's turn the question around: Would you write a term paper for someone else, for $1000?
No. I couldn't perpetuate something I feel so strongly against. I've been offered $300 for a term paper before... ****, even $50 for a 4 pager, etc. Loose change can't buy a clean conscience. Now if we're talking some obscene amount of money that nobody in their right mind would ever pay for an essay; I'd have to get back to you on that.

A few years ago, I remember reading an article about all the mental performance enhancing drugs people are taking to succeed. I guess it really just starts with Adderall and Ritalin. I was really unaware of how big of a demand there is for these drugs and how readily they seem to be prescribed.

These days, I'm not sure how I feel about all of this kind of stuff. I work hard, did my own work during school, and am bright, but obviously, that has gotten me nowhere.

I'm starting to think that lying, cheating, stealing, etc is probably the wisest path these days.

Originally Posted by Milpool

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I'm starting to think that lying, cheating, stealing, etc is probably the wisest path these days.

To be honest, that only works in certain ZIP Codes.

No I can't say I ever did.... and apart from occasionally copying some math homework problems, I can't recall any cheating.

I am not against the term paper thing but I could never justify (or afford) a ghost writer.

Originally Posted by Dakota rube

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To be honest, that only works in certain ZIP Codes.

How do I know you aren't lying?

Although, Chicago seems to operate off of lying, cheating and stealing. So maybe you are right.

Originally Posted by L.R.

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The way that schools approach cheating these days made me wary, along with the basic moral issue of the matter. The closest to writing essays would be when I refined Business majors' presentations. I quite liked selling people on ideas, so it was good fun, and I made serious buck from it. It seems Business Administration students, by and large, are absolute crap at presenting things, understanding the impacts of words, etc. Even the Marketing majors needed help at times.... brilliant students in other ways, but just...ridiculous sometimes.
I don't have a lot of moral qualms when it comes to the academic system. It's a victimless crime if there is one. Punishment wasn't something I was that worried about. In most cases the dude just came to my room with a gameboy or magazine and chilled with me while I "helped" him create a presentable essay. The one sketchy situation that I got in to was writing a two page essay for a kid in class on the day that it was due. The teacher was grading assignments during the first half hour of class and the kid behind me hadn't started his paper. He handed me $60, I wrote some bullshit on Huck Finn down in twenty minutes, handed it to him to copy in his own handwriting, and business was complete. He got a 98 and I got a 96. I wouldn't touch it in college. Anything I do to get a leg up in college is a function of social skills, knowing the system, and knowing how to properly work with a prof or a TA to get what you want. People don't seem to get that it's not difficult to get extra points, extensions for tests, extensions for papers, or a grade bump just beyond the curve if you can work with people. If I'm feeling lazy and have cash to throw around, I would consider having a huge paper written for me. It seems easier to buy adderall or vyvanse and just do it myself.