To want to pay someone to do my uni work

[Paid30307]

I know deep down it’s a bad idea but it feels like the best option.

What are you studying? In some professions e.g. Law if you were found to have cheated it would seriously damage your prospects. Also would it not make your degree feel a bit meaningless if you’ve not actually achieved it through your own efforts?
You’re almost there just a few months to go. If you’re struggling speak to your tutors.

You sound like you’re overwhelmed. How supportive are your course tutors?

Im sure you realise that what you’re suggesting is wrong, what course are you doing? Would you have the support of your parents if you quit the course?

“How do I avoid the red flags so that I don’t get caught cheating, please?”

Hi, OP -

This is serious and I can see why you are demoralised.

I do think some universities are deliberately naive to the AI problem.

You’ve seen screen shots of people consulting AI during take home exams. May I clarify:

How did you see the screen shots?

Bearing in mind that penalties for academic dishonesty are confidential, how can you be sure these people were not punished?

Do you think the problem has continued beyond Year 1?

Are you studying with the OU or a RL uni? Is this your final year?

I know it's bloody hard. I'm doing an OU degree atm alongside working a full and a part time job. I had flu before Christmas and Covid after and am trying to get my house sorted to put on the market.

What I'm doing (and this may not be an option for you) is looking at the specific areas the assignments cover and studying those as a priority in order to be able to submit the work I need to do (I've already missed one due to being so unwell). I will read around the rest as and when I can.

If I can get through the next four months and get decent grades I can get my Certificate of Higher Education and then put the studying on hold while I relocate and consider my future options.

Don't pay someone to do the work. It's hugely risky, you'll always know and feel crap about it and there will be support and options if you speak to your student support team.

No one here is going to give you advice on how to cheat so you won't get caught .

IME stuff done by AI is very recognisable, and is unreliable. I tried using chatbot recently for a topic I was interested in, and it mentioned a load of very useful sounding research. When I asked for references for the research, it said it wasn't real, it was just showing what some research results might look like. If I'd swallowed that and offered it up in a university essay as genuine research, I'd have been out on my ear.

No I’m just curious I’m pretty sure I’m not going to do it

You're pretty sure you're not going to do it.
That's alright then. 🙄

Just use chatgpt and rewrite its ideas in your own words. I can assure you you won't go through the rest of your life feeling guilty or worthless, lol at those saying you will

This.
I'm a writer, I can immediately spot AI written content. Really not a good idea OP!

Clearly your morality and conscience allow you to think that cheating is even a possibility. Will you be proud of receiving the degree, which you clearly wouldn't have earned?

Just drop out, you're clearly not suited to uni - or the workplace either. Not sure what your future is if cheating is so high on your agenda.

How will you feel when you are awarded a degree you didn’t personally work for? Don’t concern yourself with those that cheat- rise above it. If you really can’t cope then drop out.

How can you let someone do the work... then potentially you get your degree.... then what??? Apply for a job you clearly wouldn’t be qualified for, or be able to do.. thereby cheating again by deceiving an employer??? Not exactly a great set of ethics. Take a good look at yourself.

That's cheating, so no

If you want to risk being thrown off your course then that's the way to go - and there are also instances where people who write essays for students have then threatened to tell the uni. It's not worth it

Some unis also do not allow the use of AI for the people telling you to use chat gpt. On some modules it's ok as long as its referenced

Lots of things - the writing style, the language used (most essay mill writers are writing in their second/third language), referencing style and references used, not quite understanding the brief because they haven’t attended the classes where the tutor has given instructions on how they want it completed, it’s formulaic, usually boring to read, often identifiers are left in text or properties, etc.

We can (and I have done this) recalled previous exam scripts from storage and compared them against the writing style in the essay. Even if we can’t prove academic misconduct, students often receive a poor grade because, in spite of promises from the essay mill, the essays aren’t very good or fail to meet the requirements of the brief - and of course, you can’t complain because otherwise you are admitting you cheated, and an essay mill will always claim that it was only guidance and your final submission is your own responsibility.

Jesus H Christ.

🤣🙈

It’s cheating and it won’t help you in the long run. Uni is HARD . I remember being up all night , chain smoking , drinking coffee constantly , not showering for days and crying ! But it does pass. Ask your tutors for help - even if you submit something , and it doesn’t pass - your tutor will help you with what to change / add . I remember submitting an assignment knowing it would be a re sit just because I needed guidance.

The way I always did it was write it basic with no quotes . What I wanted to say . Eg ;

There are many teaching and learning styles such as ( x1 ) ( x1 ) .

positives for x1 are - xxxxx - as quoted by ( ??? ) who said ( ??? ) , however ( ??? ) challenges this with ( ???? )

Then - look for literature to fill in ( googling positives of x teaching style on Google scholar ) then finding the quotes , so you have your bare bones then you bulk it up with the quotes etc . Find them after rather than hours of reading first.

You don’t realise at the time but you’re learning there .

My dc was at uni during covid.

his first year exams were online. As everyone was making it work there basically weren’t safeguards against AI.

unis have wised up significantly since then.

first year online exams is one thing. Many unis have coursework or mini projects which are susceptible to cheating - they will often ask for drafts and work in progress to check that the work was done by you.

third year exams are a different ball game.

if you are struggling talk to tutor, ask peers for help studying, talk to course leader. Don’t cheat.

Some online exams aren't invigilated. The open university. Some modules are moving towards a form of online invigilation but not all

Well do that then. If you think cheating is ethical you may as well try and do it for free.

I assume you are seeing this in what's app chat groups? Just because some people are cheating doesn't mean you have to as well.