To report this girl to her university?

[no1understands]

I am a private tutor, working with A level and degree students. This academic year, I have had enquiry after enquiry from university students asking me to do their coursework for them. I always say no, I'll help, point you in the right direction, do an assignment outline but I will not do the assignment for them. They show no interest! I feel like saying 'so, you are telling me you aren't prepared to put in ANY effort whatsoever to get your degree?' One girl said she has got someone to do her coursework for 2 years but now he can't do it, she's looking for someone else. She told me what uni it was and I've had others from there asking the same thing. I feel like ringing the university and telling them what's happening. I need more students to make my business viable. I feel like just doing the coursework for a wad of cash but when it comes down to it, I can't because I'm so angry with them! I feel like I should do something!

"If you get 2 students from the same course with the same assignment, give them both an identical one!!"

Unlikely to get you anywhere. I had two students who handed in the same essay but since neither gave into pressure to tell on the other one and we couldn't prove who wrote the original and who copied they both got away with it.

"not to alter", even!

brdgrl that's what i would like to get into. Any ideas? I offered to do this for the students i spoke to, but they weren't interested! It's only what i would have done for my own students. Flagging up problems so that they are aware of them is different from 'editing' their work so that you are changing it and their ideas.

no1understands, you might be able to get work through the university channels. At my university, they hire for a variety of what they call "student support" positions. This includes essay help and note-taking, transcribing services, and exam proctering for students with disabilities. However, you might need to be a student yourself to be taken on. Try ringing the Guidance Centre at the universities near you and ask.

Otherwise, you can find work independently, with any luck. I just put up flyers, on bulletin boards in the departments I felt comfortable working with, in the student coffee shops, and at the English Language School nearby. (At a university I attended before, there was a bus rank with a public noticeboard, which was a perfect spot.) It might take a while to get a response, but be patient.

I specified what services I could provide very clearly on the flyer. (I expected to get some calls from people wanting to purchase coursework, as you describe, and I was dreading that, but I'm pleased to say hasn't happened yet.) I also put a base rate on the flyer; when someone gets in touch to say they are interested, I ask them to send me a couple of pages as a writing sample. Based on that, I tell them what I would charge per page, what exactly I will do for them, and what kind of turn-around time I'll require. I also make sure they understand that I will not have any input on content - the last thing I want is to be blamed for their poor mark if they simply haven't understood the concepts or have no good ideas.

What has it (writing essays which you fully know are then going to be used to fraudulently achieve a qualification) being a job got to do with the fact that it's morally reprehensible?

In many parts of the world and at many points in history, people are/have been employed to kill innocent people, and this is/has been legal. So all legit and above board, and a job. Would you then say they are not at all to blame for these murders as they were employed and it's only the person who is giving out the order who is to blame? (And yes, before someone says it, I am well aware that murder is not equal to plagiarism - I am comparing the two situations in regards to the moral choices of the people involved.)

It is legal, by the way, to be a complete arse in many ways. It doesn't mean people don't think that being a complete arse is unacceptable.

You know that you are involved in something which is wrong - it is unfair to those who have worked hard that someone can simply buy a qualification and these are seen as equal, it is unfair to the lecturers who have bothered to try to teach them, and it is unfair to anyone who will give that person a job in the future based on the strength of their qualifications. That is why most universities (if not all) state that plagiarism is unacceptable.

You have a choice, to take this work or not. Nobody is holding a gun to your head, either literally or figuratively. Therefore if you choose to participate you also have to accept that you are involved - and therefore culpable - in an activity which is morally wrong.

It's clear enough that you don't care. I just think it's important for you to know that many people think that your actions are wrong. And that they might also choose to steer clear of you because of this.

Well said glitter.

Thank you for your explanation brdgrl.

glitter I must ask you do you steer clear of soldiers or those who work for the military forces since tehy are in the business of legalised killing and war but it is also a legitimate job. I ask because some people find war state sanctioned murder and it would seem far worse than plaigiarism.

I did think about soliders while writing that but decided not to put it in. My opinions on war aren't black and white...essentially I understand that sometimes it truly is 'kill or be killed' and I understand totally why people would then choose to kill in that situation.

But then I don't think all wars are equal. Defence and offence are two very different ends of the spectrum. For example, I would never start a physical fight, and if someone engages me in one I would do my best to just defend myself/others rather than inflicting violence which is unnecessary. I get why most countries have an army - it's for protection, but I don't think that then going off to another country where an army has no reason to be (e.g. supporting another country's troops) and engaging people in a fight counts as defence. I don't think actually that my thoughts on this can be coherantly explained in one comment; it would take me hours as like I say, I don't see things in black and white.

But to answer your question, I don't actively steer clear of military personnel, no. I have known a few and whether or not we become friends depends on their personal beliefs and actions. Some soliders for example leave their jobs if they feel they are being asked to fight in an injust war, and I respect that (I've refused to do things before in a job when I felt they were wrong).

TBF when I read glitter's post I was thinking more of historical jobs such as concentration camp guards etc which were technically legal in that country but obviously morally wrong. At least that's how I took it.

That's what I intended, Minus. I just figured there would be a connection made to soliders as that is in the same kind of area, but not what I was referring to.

that just seems a far reach comparing plaigiarism to being an SS guard in a concentration camp.

maybe bankers? some people think being a banker is immoral....

The acts themselves aren't being compared really, just the fact that there is a moral choice involved (which SansaLannister seems not to understand). I already used the example of 'helping' someone to cheat.

I don't think banking itself works...perhaps, engaging in a deal with someone who you know is desperate, knowing you will come out miles ahead?

Morespam Just wanted to say that I'm a lecturer and that doesn't happen on my modules, no siree. The assessment is designed in such a way that it requires students to turn up and do the reading. I won't go on, but there are many differences between Unviersities/departments/individual lecturers. I would still say that 95% of the students I teach work d@mned hard.

Lastly, I can tell a good studentone who will get a good job and do well in lifewithin the first week. They may get the same 2:1 result as someone who's bought their way through University, but a degree doesn't buy you a job.

Sorry to hijack the thread but brdgrl I need a good proof-reader for my PhD thesis! Please private message me. That goes for you too OP! English is my second language so two proof-readers sounds just the ticket for my poor future external examiners sanity!!

Sansa need not apply - no offense. I have one question for you Sansa, if I may take that liberty despite not offering you work. If your so comfortable with your chosen profession, why the justification here? To me that indicates that whilst you may not suffer sleepless nights your not exactly proud either. Not declaring at dinner parties with gusto "I aid foregin and posh UK born children in gaining their degrees falsely". You should have gathered that we're rather unlikely to support your efforts in the "university sector". And no, it doesn't cut the mustard just saying that it pays the bills. Many things pay the bills without being immoral. But good luck to you.

sansa you're an accessory to academic fraud. No better than any other petty criminal in my view. I'm glad my subject isn't prey to parasites like you.

I have copy-edited about three PhD's as well as my own, it's quite an easy job if you are not checking content, but also quite boring (or at least, by chapter 7 I found it so). I always recommend to my international students they do get a copy-edit from a native speaker, such as the service offered by brdgrl, as others have said, there are all kinds of facilities offered to international students to assist them in improving their academic English and I always recommend they use them if they have written language issues (which not all do, some are amazing at writing in English and better than English students!)

But copy-editing is just tidying up sentences, pointing out spelling or grammatical mistakes, not changing the sense of things or writing it for them. I also track changes/make comments, never changing the text for students, so they have the choice to include my amendment. Writing it for them is dishonest and fraudulent.

And, as so many other posters have pointed out, there's plenty of properly 'legit' academic writing to be had. If you don't want your own academic career, there's copy-editing, tutoring, also writing textbooks if you can churn out stuff on set topics.

An easy moral guide is 'would I be happy if my children did this?' It actually begs the question of whether Sansa you would write assigments for your children, and if not, why not?

Having thought about this thread some more, I am now convinced that it is a Jekyll and Hyde phenomenon, whereby the OP is Dr. Jekyll, and Sansa is Mr. Hyde.

Booboostoo Thu 03-Nov-11 20:54:36
" "If you get 2 students from the same course with the same assignment, give them both an identical one!!"

Unlikely to get you anywhere. I had two students who handed in the same essay but since neither gave into pressure to tell on the other one and we couldn't prove who wrote the original and who copied they both got away with it."

In that case it is your university's plagiarism policy that is at fault. We make it very clear that in cases of plagiarism plagiarising and allowing plagiarism both count as cheating, so both students will go down. I might add that we do not rely entirely on software to spot plagiarism; when you have taught students for a term it is easy to spot when something is not in their own words.

Here's an interesting article from another ghostwriter.

As for plagiarists never being caught- I catch several every year without the support of software. Mostly, they are not expelled for a first offence, but getting a 0 mark often has the same effect, in that they do not get enough overall marks to move up to the next year. They also get referred to the Academic Misconduct Officer for a very stern talking to and a record of the offence is kept until they leave the university. For a second offence, it is an Exam Board case, and they would be likely to be expelled.

Besides, if they haven't done the coursework themselves they are bound to come a cropper in the exams, so there really is nothing in it for them: those advertising their essay writing services online are really not doing the students any favours.

V interesting article. And interesting comments from academics underneath it. They were all in accord that universities seem impotent against cheating; paying for an education seems to equal immunity from punishment.

And agree with booboostoo - if an institution is receiving huge fees from a foreign student, there will surely be much hand-wringing about chucking them out, not least because it will not wish to jeopardise that future income stream from similar students.