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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| ‘Essay mills’ may be morally dubious, but it was good to work for one | ‘Essay mills’ may be morally dubious, but it was good to work for one |
| (about 2 months later) | |
| I worked for three years at a proofreading company which is technically billed as an “educational charity”. This online company markets itself as a totally innocent organisation that helps students edit their essays, and on the face of it, nothing about this operation would seem morally dubious. Of course, two of the online company’s services – proofreading and heavy editing – are far away from any wrongdoing. In the former instance, students submit work to receive a cosmetic spelling and grammar check. In the latter – a slightly costlier makeover – the syntax of essays is also edited. Most of us have access to this sort of assistance, one way or another – an intelligent aunt or uncle, an older sibling, or perhaps parents will scan over an essay. And, of course, many students are affected by conditions beyond their control that result in them unfairly losing marks for trifling spelling and grammar mistakes. | I worked for three years at a proofreading company which is technically billed as an “educational charity”. This online company markets itself as a totally innocent organisation that helps students edit their essays, and on the face of it, nothing about this operation would seem morally dubious. Of course, two of the online company’s services – proofreading and heavy editing – are far away from any wrongdoing. In the former instance, students submit work to receive a cosmetic spelling and grammar check. In the latter – a slightly costlier makeover – the syntax of essays is also edited. Most of us have access to this sort of assistance, one way or another – an intelligent aunt or uncle, an older sibling, or perhaps parents will scan over an essay. And, of course, many students are affected by conditions beyond their control that result in them unfairly losing marks for trifling spelling and grammar mistakes. |
| The third service – “rewriting” – was rather more morally suspect, and was one of the most ethically dubious practices I’ve ever engaged in (I suppose I should get out more). | The third service – “rewriting” – was rather more morally suspect, and was one of the most ethically dubious practices I’ve ever engaged in (I suppose I should get out more). |
| University chiefs 'urge education secretary to ban essay mills' | University chiefs 'urge education secretary to ban essay mills' |
| For an additional fee, essays are completely rewritten – all the vocabulary is changed, sentences are changed and the essay submitted is made entirely unrecognisable, as if a serious surgical operation had been carried out on it. The style is transformed wholly. Pieces submitted for “rewriting” were often derived from plagiarised articles or essays – our job in these cases was to revamp things enough to allow students to pass them off as their own work, evading the plagiarism-detecting software used by universities. | For an additional fee, essays are completely rewritten – all the vocabulary is changed, sentences are changed and the essay submitted is made entirely unrecognisable, as if a serious surgical operation had been carried out on it. The style is transformed wholly. Pieces submitted for “rewriting” were often derived from plagiarised articles or essays – our job in these cases was to revamp things enough to allow students to pass them off as their own work, evading the plagiarism-detecting software used by universities. |
| This week there have been calls by university chiefs for such rewriting in so-called “essay mills” to banned, amid fears that they undermine the integrity of college courses. | This week there have been calls by university chiefs for such rewriting in so-called “essay mills” to banned, amid fears that they undermine the integrity of college courses. |
| When I worked for the “proofreading” company, the problem of helping students cheat was dismissed largely as an irrelevance. I remember an all-staff email that gave a strange rationale for this: that certain people struggle with their English and so cannot rewrite existing academic content. This didn’t make sense – surely the object of essay writing is to produce your own original work? Unlike much ethically dubious work, the financial recompense was not handsome – we were paid by the word, not the hour. | When I worked for the “proofreading” company, the problem of helping students cheat was dismissed largely as an irrelevance. I remember an all-staff email that gave a strange rationale for this: that certain people struggle with their English and so cannot rewrite existing academic content. This didn’t make sense – surely the object of essay writing is to produce your own original work? Unlike much ethically dubious work, the financial recompense was not handsome – we were paid by the word, not the hour. |
| But despite my concerns, I came to enjoy rewriting work above the other services the company offered. I actually specifically requested it, and became one of the service’s most efficient essay millers. I relished the challenge of having to engage with disciplines I knew nothing about, and create a piece of work that would pass despite having no prior knowledge. I started to earn more money. My employer tried to assign work based on people’s specialisms, but this was usually impossible – much to my eventual enjoyment. I rewrote essays on topics as diverse as “plasmonics” and climate-change technologies – outside my comfort zone as a humanities graduate – and I found learning the vocabulary of these disciplines stimulating. | But despite my concerns, I came to enjoy rewriting work above the other services the company offered. I actually specifically requested it, and became one of the service’s most efficient essay millers. I relished the challenge of having to engage with disciplines I knew nothing about, and create a piece of work that would pass despite having no prior knowledge. I started to earn more money. My employer tried to assign work based on people’s specialisms, but this was usually impossible – much to my eventual enjoyment. I rewrote essays on topics as diverse as “plasmonics” and climate-change technologies – outside my comfort zone as a humanities graduate – and I found learning the vocabulary of these disciplines stimulating. |
| It ended up being some of the best fun I’ve ever had – and was instructive too. Thanks to having to slavishly rewrite business essays, I learned that what you might call “loyalty cards”, are less cosily described by the companies that issue them as “consumer resource management”. The work was some of the most intellectually challenging I’ve ever done – far harder than some of the supposedly serious jobs I’ve had since. The managers were nicer than in care work, my other job after graduating. | It ended up being some of the best fun I’ve ever had – and was instructive too. Thanks to having to slavishly rewrite business essays, I learned that what you might call “loyalty cards”, are less cosily described by the companies that issue them as “consumer resource management”. The work was some of the most intellectually challenging I’ve ever done – far harder than some of the supposedly serious jobs I’ve had since. The managers were nicer than in care work, my other job after graduating. |
| Financial quandaries, as well as the ethical challenges of helping people plagiarise, did mount up, and I eventually quit. It’s hard to argue that it is fair that many students who used the service got better marks for essays because they were willing to pay for them. | Financial quandaries, as well as the ethical challenges of helping people plagiarise, did mount up, and I eventually quit. It’s hard to argue that it is fair that many students who used the service got better marks for essays because they were willing to pay for them. |
| However, I would offer a cautious defence of essay mills in the face of this proposed ban, or at least a few caveats. Deciding what is and is not an “essay mill” could be tricky, as highlighted by the case of the company I worked for. It also occurs to me that, if such a ban were imposed, an authentically enjoyable stream of work for writers would dry up. | However, I would offer a cautious defence of essay mills in the face of this proposed ban, or at least a few caveats. Deciding what is and is not an “essay mill” could be tricky, as highlighted by the case of the company I worked for. It also occurs to me that, if such a ban were imposed, an authentically enjoyable stream of work for writers would dry up. |
| But ultimately, any essay-writing service comes up against a greater truth for students – a university education has an intrinsic value beyond what marks are achieved, and if students pay for essays, they have missed a great opportunity for actual education, to their own eventual detriment. | But ultimately, any essay-writing service comes up against a greater truth for students – a university education has an intrinsic value beyond what marks are achieved, and if students pay for essays, they have missed a great opportunity for actual education, to their own eventual detriment. |
| • Sam Hickford is a freelance journalist and poet | • Sam Hickford is a freelance journalist and poet |
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