Would I be completely wrong to do this- buying a dissertation

[NotNowNinja]

Finishing my masters I’ve wrote 6000 words which my supervisor has basically told me to re-write.
I just want this to be over but I’m working ridiculous hours atm, recently suffered miscarriage, not sleeping due to ongoing ptsd and dh is undergoing a big operation in next month so I’m struggling with focus and time.
I know it’s morally wrong and I probably would feel guilty but I need to lighten my plate at the minute feel so overwhelmed- I had a panic arrack at work the other day thinking about everything.
Deferring is not an option sadly :(

OP I know these blues I really suffered with stress in the latter stages of my degree. It makes you do things that you wouldn't normally consider. I wouldn't do it. At least if you finish it yourself you can walk away knowing that all the work is yours. You could also easily be detected. You need a holiday xx

Thanks all just feeling desperate I suppose but will have to sort something else out not worth the risk or the guilt either.

I definitely wouldn't cheat - it will be obvious and you will be caught out.

What was the reasons for needing to rewrite the first half? Look at those first so you are clear what you need to do.

12000 might sound impossible by September but (assuming that it is due first week of Sept) there are 10 weeks including this week.

So, that's 1200 words per week.

If you work on it 5/7 days that's 240 words per day which isn't much at all and gives you some spare time for checking/editing.

Obviously, you may write more than that in a day but worst case scenario you just have to write 240 per day, 5 days per week.

Start with a plan - work out the main sections and make sure you have all the information you need. Then, start writing - a draft first, don't worry to much about getting perfect sentences etc - do that when editing. You will likely find you can actually write a lot more than 240 words per day.

Can you call in any family/friends to give a hand with childcare or cooking/cleaning? If not, lower your cooking/cleaning standards for a while - no one will die from having soup/beans in roast for tea a couple of days a week.

Housework - just do the basics and catch up once the dissertation is done.

Can you take some holiday from work to spend a couple of solid days doing it?

Good luck OP - you will be able to do it if you break it down.

OP, you have clear mitigating circumstances.

Talk to your tutor/supervisor. Ask for a deferral. Honestly, all this angst is not worth it - get a deferral, focus on yourself and dh for a bit and then tackle the diss when you feel up to it.

I am a university lecturer and there is no way in the world I would expect a student to deal with all you're going through and also submit a dissertation in September. But, equally, if I found out they'd cheated, I'd have no problem with removing them from the programme.

Life gets in the way of essay writing (especially for Masters students who are often also holding down full-time work and family commitments). Universities understand that and will give you the time you need to complete, but they won't tolerate cheating.

Yes it would be wrong, ask for an extension.

I'm surprised you need to ask. Dont do it. Start writing ask about an extension.

I'm doing a PhD now and they have no classifications - again, nobody else cares if you have no corrections, minor corrections or major corrections once you've got it!

Not true, I'm afraid mumof - officially no-one cares but in practice the information is passed on. If someone's PhD is good enough to pass with no corrections then that will be mentioned in references for them in the future. If a PhD is referred, that unfortunately is likely to follow the person for a long time. I know of academics who have had their PhD for 20 years or more and the fact they were referred is still known and talked about behind their back (usually as an explanation for why they are so critical of other people's work or why they went into academic management). "It was so marginal that we either had to accept it as it is and pass it with no corrections, or fail it - no point in making minor adjustments" also gets widely known. Academic subject communities are tiny and academics are appalling gossips.

OP I cant read all of this thread but I wouldn't. You'll never be able to value that achievement and it'll always be tainted.

It compromises your integrity.

You need help with it - look at all of the options there. I would rather a scraped pass 100 times over than one that was achieved not through my work.

I'm sorry that things are so tough. You sound exhausted. Please take a few days break if you can, rest as much as possible if you can't sleep, eat good food and look after yourself and reconsider things. Talk to your tutor about how much you're struggling. Like someone else says, if there's any way you can use annual leave etc.

I’m sorry, but of course it would be wrong. You know that it would be, though. Personally, I struggled through mine. It was hell and the hardest thing I’ve ever done academically, but I got there. Ask for a deferral. Ask for support. Speak to student services at your uni. But please don’t buy one. Good luck.

I also say speak to your tutor because they may be putting too much pressure on you/the aim and want for you to get it perfect, whereas they don't know your current situation and that the goalposts need to be moved a bit. I really think you need to speak to them, they can help. Tell them how overwhelmed you are, tell them everything you've told us. Good luck xx

Ask at your uni what 1:1 emergency support they can offer you. They will want to help.

Look at it this way. A decent MA thesis is, what, four or five months work? So if it's of MA quality, they should be charging you about five month's income for it. If it's a price you can afford, then someone is cutting and pasting from Wikipedia.

No! Don't buy an essay but do speak to your tutor.
University staff are very attuned to checking for plagiarism, particularly if they can tell it's not your normal writing style. Essay mills re-sell dissertations with the odd tweak and Universities have invested in sophisticated software that can detect anomalies very easily.
If caught, it will be on your record and if someone asks for an academic reference in years to come, your silly mistake could still haunt you.

Please don't do it :( If you can't get an extension would you get sick pay from work? If so get yourself signed off by the GPas you genuinely sound stressed and struggling. Then have a rest/break....then use the time to do the re-writes

@barbaramillicentr Unless you're paying a person to write it for you and not an essay mill company, I wouldn't do it. If you were say, paying me and I would write it for you, then yes. Less chance of getting caught as it wouldn't be something I personally would churn out and sell in large volumes.

Er, this person is really obviously and not very subtly advertising their services. Shameful.

Yes it’s fine. Cheating is always the correct option you could teach that lesson to any DC you have either now or in the future!

@CollaterlyS1sters The way I worded it may seem like it but I can just about write my own masters essays, let alone someone else's! I do not offer this as a service.

I just meant that if you're paying a singular person who you know to be reputable/you know in person, you could be more confident that their output isn't churned out over and over. They'd be more likely to run a check on your syntax formation and follow it closely in order to fit in with the text that's already been written in previous drafts whereas a mill that's cheaper would not. The very expensive essay mills are excellent I've heard but if someone has already looked through drafts, they'll know personal style and level of research. If said person is averaging a merit and achieves an almost-flawless distinction on the submission, it could raise flags more than just 'through hard work'.

Could you tell them you’re pregnant? So sorry if it’s too soon after your mc to lie about something like that, but I got a year’s maternity leave from my university without having to provide any proof. Maybe a better minor fraud than buying a dissertation.

SIL was a lecturer.
You do know they google the dissertation to check for plagiarism?
Could you not pay someone to rewrite yours? If not you need to explain your personal circumstances and ask for an extension

I put in a crappy dissertation for my MSc. I had no choice. I had masses of personal stuff going on, a very demanding full time job, and I was ill. I had been doing really well in my previous coursework and yes, I was gutted not to do better.

So I didn’t get a distinction. But truly, no-one has ever asked me what grade I got. It’s really not the same as for a first degree, unless you want to continue in academia.

Just get through it. Let your tutors etc know about your situation. Good luck.

Please don't do this, I used to work in higher education & you run serious risk of not graduating at all. Go and talk to your personal tutor and explain your situation. Can you defer a year? Talk to them and discuss options. Please, please don't cheat, you'll be doing your future some serious damage.

You don't need to pretend you're pregnant or anything like that, honestly that is terrible advice. There's no need to do anything fraudulent at all.

Students need deferrals for mitigating circumstances all the time! I work mainly with undergrads and for any single assessment we probably have around 10% of them deferring for one reason or another. It's really not that big a deal.

OP unless there is some unusual reason you're not revealing as to why you really, really cannot ask for an extension, it's an absolute no brainer.

If you cheat, you will get found out. The plagiarism software is very good these days.

Talk to your tutor. And best of luck

Sorry you are having to deal with a lot.
Everyone has their own stuff to deal with though.

Glad you have realised it’s a very bad idea .
Best of luck

It’s about 200 words a day, assuming you can re-use some bits from your current one.

My friend used an essay mill for her masters dissertation. She wasn’t found and and graduated with the university none the wiser.

Still, I wouldn’t do it.

Wasn’t found out