Only a small number of Russian-language sites have written about what an “ essey mill ” is. At the same time, in the English-speaking sector of the Internet, many people know that “ essay mill ” is nothing more than an essay factory (hence another name - “ essay factory ” or “ term paper factory”), term papers and finals - bachelor's, master's - works. This also includes scientific articles, the writing of which is becoming more and more relevant. In part, this is also a business with the preparation of dissertations for obtaining a scientific degree - as it were, the highest level of this entire area, where the most qualified specialists are required.
English-language Wikipedia, as well as Wikipedia articles in Chinese, French and Czech (I did not find articles on the topic in other languages) indicate that this is such a kind of business that allows customers to order original works on a specific topic so that they can make academic fraud. When ordering, clients provide the company with specific requirements for student or scientific work: topic, main parameters of content, design, uniqueness requirements, deadlines, and other things that may be important when writing a paper. Then the client is charged a certain amount of payment: per page or in general for the entire work (more often the latter, since small-volume works are not always so simple, and it makes no sense to price them in proportion to the volume below. Then someone writes this work according to the specified requirements and within the specified time frame. In one case, the author himself, who accepted the order. In another case, when an order is accepted by an intermediary firm, the author writes from its database of authors with whom cooperation is carried out. The firm, and the author, too, give certain guarantees for possible changes to the work according to the comments of the teacher (improvements). A refund is also provided if the work is done really badly, and there is no point in changing it, it’s easier to write it again.
Wikipedia also points to the existence of " essay banks ". Unlike essay mills, these are companies where students can buy previously written, but for this reason cheaper student work on various topics. Here, of course, there is a higher risk of being caught, especially if this work has appeared in the public domain somewhere, or in the closed base of an educational institution, interuniversity closed bases, and when checking the work for Anti-plagiarism, all this will come up. However, banks of finished works do exist. Often those who are engaged in the essay mill itself are also engaged in the sale of finished works - the accumulated good should not be wasted. And for a student, this can be a good way out in the absence of money, and more often - in the absence of time to prepare the work from scratch.
Both forms of business are subject to different legal restrictions in some countries, more on that in a moment.
The idea of essay factories dates back to the middle of the 19th century, when “esse mills”, according to knowledgeable people, were then located in the basements of hostels (I didn’t understand why in the basements, because there are attics, and the rooms could be used). Then it was a purely non-commercial phenomenon: students shared their essays, abstracts, term papers and could receive in exchange works that had been completed by other students earlier. Just such fraternities and exchangers inspired enterprising students (yes, yes, first of all) to commercialize the practice of writing essays and other works. Therefore, already in the 1950s, advertisements for services related to writing copyright works, from the simplest to the most complex, that is, even bachelor's and master's theses, and even scientific articles and dissertations, were spreading with might and main on college and university campuses.
In the 1960s and 70s in the United States and Europe, the attitude of many students towards education changed dramatically. Higher education was no longer that elite and giving some special advantages, as before. It has become massive. And students ... Well, they worked more in their free time, scored more on their studies, were more engaged in "revolutions" (one of my Jedi acquaintances speaks very well of the events of 1968, which just began with student protests, leftist students then are not bad worked, and I also can’t say that it was in vain - it gave the European society a lot of useful things). Yes, then evening and correspondence education began to develop, where, well, you understand. It should be noted that similar phenomena then appeared in the USSR, especially with the development of correspondence courses and evening education. Someone remembers, probably, “Felicita! I am a student of the Institute of Soviet Trade - you are not like. And the prestige of defending dissertations in the USSR from the period when they wrote the devil-what and the devil-why (someone remembers the film “The Most Charming and Attractive”, this topic is also partially disclosed there, and not only there). So, with the growth of all this, the need for outsourcing writing writing only grew. Hence the growth in the volume of orders and incomes of the "esse mills".
If in the 60s and 70s of the 20th century such firms, created by enterprising students, were located on college campuses, then already in the 80s it became quite a developed phenomenon, and it was possible to order a job in an office somewhere far outside the college. In the USSR, of course, this could not be officially ordered. But this was again done by “too smart” students (albeit more often in small things), as well as teachers. True, the teachers were more interested in helping with more serious work: graduation theses for correspondence students (see “Felicita ...”), majors, but even more - help with dissertations and scientific articles, where in fact the supervisor wrote for a “dissertation student”, or a “dissertation student” became co-author of the article of his leader (of course, not free).
Essay Mill is built so that companies specializing in such work hire students, graduates, teachers and professional freelancers (“studentlancers”, as they are now called in Russia or Ukraine). And they write essays, theses and term papers, articles. Until the early 1990s, most essay production companies worked face-to-face with clients, offering their services by mail or from offices located on university or college campuses. By the 2000s, most essay production businesses had moved to an e-commerce business model, offering business and selling essays online. Companies often provide free sample essays on popular topics to attract online searches. By the way, I also do this, I also have a portfolio page, and one interesting site, The Real Science , which is also used for some of my other purposes, which I will not describe.
When ordering work, the client usually sends a form that describes the task that he needs to complete, indicates the requirements (may attach methodological recommendations) and deadlines. At the opposite end, an employee of the "mill" reviews customer requests, evaluates (or transfers to the authors for evaluation), and gives an answer on the reality of implementation, cost. Wikipedia writes that “it doesn't matter if the writer has prior knowledge of the subject; if it is easy to examine, he or she will get the job done.” I just want to say that they will do it, they will only do it poorly, the work will be from the city and branches, pure plagiarism, or even completely off topic and not that. Therefore, most often, the execution of work is assigned to specialists for whom this profile is the main one. Better yet, order not from an intermediary company, but from a specialist who does the work himself, and he takes orders. Of course, these are extremely difficult to find. Now appearedexchanges that simplify these tasks. But given the high commissions and stringent requirements for checking work and “freezing” money, very few smart specialists work on such exchanges.
Wikipedia also points out that many clients believe that when ordering an essay online, they will receive an essay from their country. However, this is not always the case as many essay production companies are located all over the world. Not only are many essay production companies located overseas, but many of the writers of these companies do not have advanced degrees and have learned English as a second language. It's really true, take at least me. For me, English is not even the second, but the 4th foreign language. The first of the foreign ones I learned German, the second and third - well, these are Ukrainian and Polish . English I mastered it later than the others, but this does not prevent me from finding useful and understandable information on it, or from writing work in English. I also write in other foreign languages that I know, even more often. On the other hand, I write for EU students at an affordable price. If I lived in Germany, that price would have been unacceptable for me.
In summary, setting up essay factories internationally allows the owners of these companies to make high profits by paying wages in low wage countries and selling their employees' work in high wage countries. And there is nothing wrong here either. Why not? A 2009 article in the Chronicle of Higher Education stated that foreign authors were paid only $1 to $3 per page out of the $20 to $30 that US customers pay per page. Compared to American writers working in essay factories, this is a very low figure. Although, if you think about it, in their own country in the same area they would not have earned more. And that's how they make money. Another article in the Chronicle of Higher Education in 2010 interviewed an American essay writer who claimed to receive half the money paid by the client for the work, because the intermediary takes half. Say it's unfair? Not at all: the intermediary makes advertising, has an office and / or website (and this also costs money), pays taxes on incoming transactions, pays a manager who takes orders, distributes them among authors and then accepts work, swears with clients and authors. Isn't this person working for free? If only such robots will be invented later. But they will also have costs associated with depreciation and repair. Yes, and the mill also needs profit, they are not a charitable organization, they are created for the sake of profit. who takes orders, distributes them among the authors and then accepts the work, swears with clients and with authors. Isn't this person working for free? If only such robots will be invented later. But they will also have costs associated with depreciation and repair. Yes, and the mill also needs profit, they are not a charitable organization, they are created for the sake of profit. who takes orders, distributes them among the authors and then accepts the work, swears with clients and with authors. Isn't this person working for free? If only such robots will be invented later. But they will also have costs associated with depreciation and repair. Yes, and the mill also needs profit, they are not a charitable organization, they are created for the sake of profit.
According to 2010 Wikipedia data, some American studio writers earn around $1,000 per month in their highest paying months, which is a low wage as of 2009. But some of the best writers can make up to $5,000 per month. I must say right away that these figures are underestimated, they have nothing to do with reality. These figures are relevant, for example, for the CIS or Eastern Europe. In the US, they are at least 3-4 times higher.
And now let's move on to the struggle of the state with the "Essey mills" . Do you immediately remember Don Quixote? That's right, I have the same associations.
The first major legal battle against the essay mill occurred in 1972 in New York State v. Saxneath. In this case, the state challenged the activities of an essay mill firm with reference to the New York Education Act. The law "condemns obtaining a degree fraudulently or assisting and abetting another person to do the same." The state alleged that the students used the papers they bought from the firm to submit to their institution of higher education, and while the company said the papers they wrote were for research purposes only, their advertising scheme was specifically to commission student papers for passing and receiving an assessment. The court ruled that the disclaimers did not adequately protect the company, because their encouragement of fraud and plagiarism is detrimental to the education system. The ruling required the company to cease operations in New York State. Since then, there have been several other legal battles that have largely resulted in the punishment of the mill firms, not the students who commissioned them.
However, Section 66400 of the California Education Code "provides punishment for the preparation or sale of term papers, theses, or dissertations for a fee...". This law applies when the originator (seller) knew or should have known that the recipient would submit the work for an academic grade. State residents or academic institutions "acting in the best interests of themselves, their students, or the public" may file lawsuits against offenders for "any help that is needed." This law differs from New York law in several ways, including making the seller liable even if he claims that the work was not intended to be appraised if the court concludes that he should have known about it, or if the claim is not trustworthy. Although some essenic mills claim
Section 877.17 of the Florida Statute of 2011 states that “selling, offering to sell, or advertising for sale” or “writing, graphic, artistic, or other assignment” to another person for presentation at an educational institution is a second-degree misdemeanor.” And by the way, in the state of Florida misdemeanors of the second degree are punishable by imprisonment for up to 60 days.
In some EU countries, the operation of esse mills is prohibited, or advertising of their activities is prohibited. However, not in all countries. Advertising of this activity has been banned, in particular, in Lithuania since 2018. Latvia and Estonia, Poland did not introduce such bans, although the issue was raised more than once. In the CIS countries, advertising of such activities has so far been banned since 2019 only in Russia (at the beginning of October 2021, how it will be later is unknown). Despite this, the question of the need to ban advertising of such services is raised in Ukraine, Kazakhstan and a number of other countries. So, in 2019, proposals were made to introduce fines for firms and authors in this area in Kazakhstan, but no one wanted to engage in such a project.
For some reason, many unreasonably confuse writing theses and selling diplomas . These are completely different things, since writing a thesis does not imply that a person will immediately take it, defend it and receive a scientific degree. He will only have the text of the work on hand, which does not give any guarantee. But the sale of diplomas and other documents is really a crime. Moreover, if we are talking about the sale of fake documents. There is also the concept of " diploma factory "", which is not at all the same as the" essay mill. A diploma factory is a very low-quality training institute or college that has a license, accreditation. Usually in such institutions students study for a fee. There are many such establishments in Europe, and it is not necessarily about Estonia or Latvia with Poland. They are also in the UK (there are most of them). For money, foreign students are taught here (most often from the CIS and Asia), who simultaneously receive a visa that allows them to work in the country. Well, how they teach ... the main thing is that written work is handed in on time, noted and, at the very least, they pass something like tests and exams. And if someone has a lot of money, everything is still there for him and they will hand over who needs it and who needs it. There are many such factories of diplomas in Russia, and in other CIS countries too, but for their own citizens. Many previously well-functioning large public universities with a reputation have slid to their level, but not entirely, but by individual faculties or specialties. Although…. Somewhere and entirely. And many private universities were opened just for this. In the 2010s, many were closed, depriving them of accreditation, but not all of them. Naturally, a large number of diploma mills stimulates the growth of the number of essay mills. It happens that diploma mills keep several mills with them, or work closely with them, having mutual interest and benefit. a large number of diploma mills stimulates the growth of the number of essay mills. It happens that diploma mills keep several mills with them, or work closely with them, having mutual interest and benefit. a large number of diploma mills stimulates the growth of the number of essay mills. It happens that diploma mills keep several mills with them, or work closely with them, having mutual interest and benefit.
However, many even prestigious universities and colleges in the US and Europe have noticed for a long time that their students are turning in papers bought from essay factories. For example, UC San Diego caught 600 students cheating in one year. It was both plagiarism (well, people turned to the wrong place), and frank stupidity of students over the text of a work written by another person.
The scientific community criticizes the esseino-milling companiesand professionals who provide such assistance to students, in fact offering to commit academic fraud. But some such firms defend themselves against criticism by claiming that they sell pre-written examples that students can use as guidelines and models for their own work. In 2002, a UK-based essay mill called “Elizabeth Hall Associates” required students commissioning papers to sign a disclaimer stating that “any material provided by Elizabeth Hall Associates is on the understanding that it is only leadership model. Other essay factories claim to be "scholarly publishers" that provide students with essays that the student can then cite in their work.
Of course, some clients indicate that they only use essie mills as an aid, as a form of proofreading. And the authors from there only read their works, and then, only in order to leave comments and feedback on the content and grammatical errors, the absence of any data, they give recommendations. In addition, some clients claim that they turn to essay factories because universities put too much pressure on students to achieve academic success that is unrealistic for the average level of students, which is the majority. All this makes students worry, feel that they do not have time to meet the deadline, they will not be able to master the work, including the uniqueness. And in part this is true. If uniqueness of 80% is required, even the rewriting of the text is checked, you need to be hardly a writer and scientist, fluent in both terminology and information. Where did you see such students? If there are, they are very few. That is why, in order to submit the work on time and according to the requirements of the university, students are looking for essay factories, or individual specialists to order from them. Some students and clients consider student work factories to be the equivalent of outsourced workforce companies. Labor outsourcing is the norm for businesses, which implies that the use of student work factories must be socially acceptable. Some students and clients consider student work factories to be the equivalent of outsourced workforce companies. Labor outsourcing is the norm for businesses, which implies that the use of student work factories must be socially acceptable. Some students and clients consider student work factories to be the equivalent of outsourced workforce companies. Labor outsourcing is the norm for businesses, which implies that the use of student work factories must be socially acceptable.
Conversely, there are people who consider buying essays at mills unethical: it is a form of deceit and plagiarism (??? about plagiarism, of course, debatable), because one person takes credit for the work of another person. Although, if the author agrees to be attributed, there is no purely legal contradiction. Academic institutions are concerned about how the essay factory affects learning. The funny thing is that such a different opinion is caused by representatives of the “diploma factories”, to the level of which once reputable universities have sunk. Students using custom term papers, tests, and theses do not go through a research collection process, which is a learning experience in itself. Some professors, such as Dan Ariely, professor of psychology and behavioral economics at Duke University and author of The Honest Truth About Dishonesty, concerned that coursework mills are doing a very disservice to students. He believes that the existence of essay factories encourages laziness to be considered acceptable. Ariely found essay factories that use language on their websites that encourages plagiarism. Although, again, we are not talking about plagiarism here, if the factory does not sculpt hack-work. It's just that what is written by one person is handed over by another person, with mutual consent.
Students usually know that it is unethical to use the services of an essay factory (“so what?”, as they say in Kharkiv). So, according to a study conducted by Patrick Scanlon and David Neuman, 90% of students surveyed recognized such practices as unethical. The same study showed that students believe that about 20% of their peers frequently use these online services. Of course, we know that the figure of 20% is very much underestimated, even in the USA. But for some reason, the ethics of bad teaching in universities are much less often thought about.
Universities and colleges have developed several strategies to deal with such academic misconduct. Some professors require students to submit electronic versions of their term papers so that the text of the essay can be compared with anti-plagiarism software against databases of well-known term papers that are either available on the Internet or have been previously submitted. These are anti- plagiarism systems ,which in recent years have divorced a lot around the world. Now in all countries diploma works, and often term papers, are checked for them. Be sure to check on these systems and scientific articles before their publication. Another thing, there are ways to cheat Antiplagiarism. They are revealed in significant works (thesis and dissertations, scientific articles), but in small works, the teacher often simply does not have time to dig and identify "shamanism", or even just to check the uniqueness. Essay mills, with the growing requirements for uniqueness, simply increased prices and rented to clients already unique works that such programs do not classify as “plagiarism”. There is also talk now of such modern programs that can analyze the work and compare it with other works of the same student in order to get a probabilistic estimate of whether whether the student is the real author. But that's in the realm of science fiction. Although ... Who knows, maybe soon such systems will appear in large numbers and will develop.
Some universities have adopted rules that allow professors to require students to verbally defend their work, which the professor considers commissioned. And if the student is not familiar with the content of the work he submitted or with its sources, then the student can be charged with academic fraud, violating the rules by which the student agrees to abide by when entering a university or college. If a student is charged with academic fraud, the case is usually reviewed by a quasi-judicial administrative committee that reviews the evidence. For students found guilty, penalties range from zero marks on a particular assignment, to failure to complete a course found to be plagiarized, to (in extreme or repeated cases) suspension or expulsion from school. In some cases, students who commit academic fraud may also lose academic honors, degrees, or awards. By the way, the latter has become relevant in recent years for those who defended dissertations brazenly blown away from strangers. For example, Dissernet was engaged in the identification of this in Russia. At the same time, he also detected a little plagiarism in dissertations defended in sunny Tajikistan (and was horrified). Tajikistan was also horrified, and ... closed its bases of dissertations for all access and checks. Not so long ago, there was a scandal in Estonia, where a deputy was deprived of a bachelor's degree for plagiarism, while leaving him a master's degree, since there was no plagiarism in the master's work (the person finally found where to order). academic degrees or awards. By the way, the latter has become relevant in recent years for those who defended dissertations brazenly blown away from strangers. For example, Dissernet was engaged in the identification of this in Russia. At the same time, he also detected a little plagiarism in dissertations defended in sunny Tajikistan (and was horrified). Tajikistan was also horrified, and ... closed its bases of dissertations for all access and checks. Not so long ago, there was a scandal in Estonia, where a deputy was deprived of a bachelor's degree for plagiarism, while leaving him a master's degree, since there was no plagiarism in the master's work (the person finally found where to order). academic degrees or awards. By the way, the latter has become relevant in recent years for those who defended dissertations brazenly blown away from strangers. For example, Dissernet was engaged in the identification of this in Russia. At the same time, he also detected a little plagiarism in dissertations defended in sunny Tajikistan (and was horrified). Tajikistan was also horrified, and ... closed its bases of dissertations for all access and checks. Not so long ago, there was a scandal in Estonia, where a deputy was deprived of a bachelor's degree for plagiarism, while leaving him a master's degree, since there was no plagiarism in the master's work (the person finally found where to order). At the same time, he also detected a little plagiarism in dissertations defended in sunny Tajikistan (and was horrified). Tajikistan was also horrified, and ... closed its bases of dissertations for all access and checks. Not so long ago, there was a scandal in Estonia, where a deputy was deprived of a bachelor's degree for plagiarism, while leaving him a master's degree, since there was no plagiarism in the master's work (the person finally found where to order). At the same time, he also detected a little plagiarism in dissertations defended in sunny Tajikistan (and was horrified). Tajikistan was also horrified, and ... closed its bases of dissertations for all access and checks. Not so long ago, there was a scandal in Estonia, where a deputy was deprived of a bachelor's degree for plagiarism, while leaving him a master's degree, since there was no plagiarism in the master's work (the person finally found where to order).
And if you still do not know where to order - contact me, do not be like that deputy when receiving a bachelor's degree.
Alex Bezugly © Refcom Info
author since 1998 , economist, lawyer, political scientist
