Ghostwriting services are questioned and condemned as much as they are requested and practiced. Are ghostwriters, standing for academic dishonesty or simply doing their job, and what is part of their job description?
The reasons people ask for their help vary but is there something wrong with turning to them? Not necessarily – that is, until you flip a coin and ghostwriting is heads and academia becomes tails.
Too much to do, and too little time to do it in. From fearing ridicule to shunning praise. From failing a whole class to “simply” missing the mark and not achieving the grade you wanted. In school, you can feel as if you always have something on the line.
Here a ghostwriter can be your lifeline. The perfect solution in the short-term – while causing you more grief than you could perhaps foresee in the long-term.
Ghostwriting services – reasons for their use
Hiring a ghostwriter means that you are committing a form of plagiarism and cheating. A ghostwriter allows the student to resort to a slightly different form of plagiarism, but in the world of academia, it is plagiarism all the same.
So, why then, thread onto thin ice and take credit for something that has not even been written by you? And how can you be sure that the ghostwriter will cite correctly?
Looking at the reasons that students often cite as reasons to turn to these kinds of services include:
Lack of time
The day has only 24 hours, and there is only so much you can cram into these hours while maintaining a healthy balance between work and fun. School requires time and attention, but poor habits regarding studying can cause a lot of grief. Not having to dedicate your time to that pesky assignment you sincerely cannot bring yourself to care about, makes hiring a ghostwriter a very tempting alternative.
The ghostwriter has the expertise
Some subjects are tricky to comprehend and grasp. They could be too technical or complicated. Or, the subject might not even interest you. However, ghostwriters are professionals and you can find one for any subject or topic, with a better understanding of the subject than you! So passing on the assignment might feel like the easy thing to do.
Language barrier
Not every student might be a native in the language they are tasked to write in. Whether coming from a multi-cultural background or you are a student studying abroad, language – and how proficient you are in it – is something that can be taken for granted. And despite being a student brimming with ideas, insights, and interesting contributions – if you cannot express your thoughts and ideas in English, for example, where do you turn for help? Classmates? Teachers? Looking up every grammatical rule and using a lexicon to piece the text together yourself? Taking a course? A ghostwriter could be a very appealing choice in circumstances such as these.
The repercussions of using ghostwriters
Students turn to ghostwriters for various reasons, but at its core, it is always to overcome their predicament. Students do themselves no favor if they let someone else write what should be their text: They lose the chance to gain the required knowledge not for that one exam, but for life. On the other hand, they put their destiny in the hands of complete strangers. Cases of ghostwriters and essay mills blackmailing their customers are on the rise, with devastating results for the students’ careers and mental health.
While their services might look like an easy fix for students, they can lead to more serious consequences later. Having said that, while ghostwriters are a big threat to academic integrity, the growing demand for their services also warrants looking into the school system itself.
Ouriginal was created to offer a solution for teachers overwhelmed by paperwork, help foster academic integrity, and help students find their own unique voice in writing. Our software is here to help with plagiarism in any form it might take – and that includes plagiarism that comes in the form of ghostwriters and their ghostwriting services.
More blogs on the subject of ghostwriting:
