i don't understand why there are so many international students that must resort to essay writing services? does the university system not recognize their understandable challenges with a second language? is it all for computer/math/science students that must pass some mandatory English courses?
by no means am i criticizing someone who hasn't mastered a second language, but it just seems that there is some dysfunction in the university system if these students don't feel comfortable turning in their own work.
Several issues.
-Some students are inadequate in English language.
-Some could do the work, but it takes them much longer.
-Many of them take very heavy coursework loads.
-Many of them come from privileged backgrounds, and buying their way through feels natural.
-Many are majoring in math/science or business, so they aren't "language people" in the first place.
-The schools have not mastered ways to combat the types of cheating these students do.
-The schools make a lot of money from international students and are not too keen to upset the apple cart.
There's enough blame to go around for both the schools and the students. The essay industry is also an enabler. It's somewhat of a balanced ecosystem right now, since everyone is getting what they want.
FSR - | 47 Freelance Writer
The basic problem is that unless a foreign student is studying English, the University assumes that the student already has a sufficient grasp of the English language to be able to meet the requirements of the course. It is not the role of the University in this case to teach the student English to the required standard as well as the subject being studied. This however is evidently not the case for many students who may struggle with even a basic essay. As such the foreign student not able to use English sufficiently well outsources the work to a writer/company. The University gets the money (tuition fees) they are happy, student gets the qualification they are happy, the writer/company simply facilitates the transaction in way which allows every one to save face and carry on pretending we have a fair education system :)
Basically, it's because universities want the money these international students bring and so don't bother to make sure their skills math the university's requirements. The fact that courses in almost every major require full fluent essays is a bit ridiculous, frankly; a Chinese student studying organic chemistry will need to know English well enough to discuss things with colleagues, but they don't have to be able to write essays on Niels Bohr.
This industry would not exist on the scale it does if the university system itself weren't flawed.
i'm sure a lot of the essay industry is fueled by these for-profit colleges too
Their english is not good enough, secondly if you have noticed most actually go abroad to work and not study but they have to complete their work otherwise they will get thrown off the course and their visa would be cancelled
secondly if you have noticed most actually go abroad to work and not study
This isn't true at all. Huge numbers of international students come here on their parents' dime not to work during university, but so they can get better jobs (possibly in the US/UK)
after university.
they have articles written from the essay writer's perspective, it'd be interesting to hear them from the student's.
Did you post this in the wrong thread? What exactly are you talking about?
no, i was just referring to thesmartset.com/article/article10100801.aspx.
and thought it'd be interesting if there was a version from an international students' perspective
Sometimes I am tempted to think that universities are helpless on the matter of fighting plagiarism and have just thrown their hands into the air. One of the reports I read quoted some administrators admitting that 70% of foreign students had their admission statements written by third parties, which is surprising because most of them (universities) have not changed tact even after this realization. Lack of creativity?
If the plagiarism somehow harmed their budget, or especially if it negatively affected administrators' salaries, the problem would be fixed tomorrow.
To the contrary, the international students are lucrative. The more the better. Consequently, they're "helpless" to stop the plagiarism.
Now that is a good angle to it because if you actually thought about it, you would find that plagiarism does the complete opposite. It avails more money, allows profs and tutors lecture overtime and administrators get more responsibility allowance or get promotions based on expansion of colleges and universities.
i definitely agree that there is a connection between international students using these services and unscrupulous college practices of collecting their large tuition. i'm thinking there's probably a similar connection to the gap between what colleges (particularly for-profit) offer in the form of education and what they actually deliver on in the form of viable job opportunities. it would make an interesting study to try and figure out students' reasoning.
I see many posters in here making fun of ESL students' English, but I wish I could speak and write another language as well as most of them. I've got a handle on English, but foreign languages make my eyes glaze over and I've lived abroad.
thanks for stating the obvious
I'm not sure what you mean, but I do know that tone.
But don't these students, especially the ones who attend prestigious colleges, do well on standardized tests?
How can you get a 600+ on the SAT critical reading or writing if you're not fluent in English?
In certain countries, test-prep cram schools have figured out how to beat SAT and other tests. The pore over old exams, drill on the questions, teach students the patterns and principles for coming up with the right answers.
there's also a lot of graduate programs, even at major universities, that don't require GRE scores
It is true johnsmom, a large uni in London has had its licence taken away due to this by the UKBA
A number of reasons OP. On my course there are mainly international students, some who use others':
-Some are simply super rich and have no motive to do their own work and can easily afford to pay others to do it
-Others are not so rich and are working crazy hours beyond what they are meant to be doing. They rather trade off working in a 'normal' job as opposed to doing their own assignments
-Main reason is many simply shouldn't have been allowed on to the course because of their grasp of english- but universities simply can't let those large tuition fees go.
Im not an international student but I have genuine reason to be using such services because of personal problems interfering with my studies.
Exactly right.
MeoKhan 10 | 1357 ✏ ☆☆ Freelance Writer
This argument has echoed the forum for quite some time. I surely agree with the part that educational institutions allow quite a few students (despite their poor proficiency in English) for high tuition fees. The other part of the picture is that these students are also eager to get admitted to foreign educational institutions not mainly because they want to acquire latest knowledge but because they want to get a foreign degree. There are numerous reasons for which they want to do so. I'm not saying all the students do so, but a good deal of them do.
Aside from the language barrier and problems that arise from non-English speaking students arriving in the US and UK for college education, there is another consideration for the reasons as to why they often resort to essay writing services. Not all countries teach their students on an essay based curriculum as the US and UK are more prone to. The other half of the world actually teaches their students based upon more memory work, quizzes, and illustrations. The teachers actually give lectures and the students have to take notes. These countries do not encourage students to do too much research or reports because the inadequacy of their educational system will become more prominent as the students are more inclined to use internet based sources for their research information. They need to dumb down their students in order to protect the image of their teachers. Sadly, that results in a a student who graduates from the country's educational system but is incapable of functioning at the higher level, or actually, regular level of the foreign schools that the student dreams of attending. I still can't figure out how these students manage to pass the TOEFL and IELTS tests that they take. If I were their examiner, I would not pass at least half of the test taking batch. They are simply not ready and not qualified for international academic standards. That is why they would rather pay someone else to write for them. It helps them hide the fact that they are inadequate as students and do not deserve the slot that they are taking up in the university.
Even though these students passed the qualifying English language exams, their scores in their tests still cannot be considered a true assessment of their English comprehension and writing abilities. I know of some university ESL students who just passed their language proficiency tests on sheer luck. Their disadvantage at being ESL users and their lack of confidence when it comes to English writing are the strongest reasons why they resort to essay writing services. They don't want to be found out for the frauds that they are so they cover it up by hiring proficient English writers. The problem is that they become too reliant on their writers, which translates into their lack of improvement when it comes to their English language use. The universities have an idea as to how these students manage to pass their courses, but opt to turn a blind eye to it because they are, after all, running a business, and the passing of these students means they will continue to earn from their existence in the university, whether they learn to use the English language or not.
Some international students resort to essay and assignment writing services. They use several sites to save their precious time and invest it in studying.
As a general rule, the university system does not accommodate international students in that way. They expect anybody who enrolls in their institutions to be able to complete coursework in whatever language it is delivered.
is it all for computer/math/science students that must pass some mandatory English courses?
Not really. It's an issue that isn't unique to ESL students, but it obviously poses even more of an obstacle for them than it does for NES students in technical fields.
Generally, out-of-class writing assignments are overused because it's a lazy way of teaching and because it's a "tradition" that dates back centuries. Engineers and nurses (for just two common examples) don't really need to know how to write more than emails and other informal communications, and they rarely do any writing after they enter their respective professional fields unless they choose to. The university system doesn't really recognize the difference between students whose intended professional fields necessarily involve a lot of writing and students whose intended professional fields do not. I sympathize even more with ESL students than I do with NES students in technical fields who have to worry about passing writing assignments that have almost no relation to their long-term educational and professional goals. In my opinion, writing assignments shouldn't play as large a role as they do in the education of people who have chosen to continue their education after high school unless major writing assignments are directly related to competence in those particular fields.
I agree with what the others mentioned about international students may be able to pass the language test - but that does not necessarily mean that they are able to utilize their skills to efficiently write academically. For instance, I personally know four languages. While I am proficient in the first two and can both use them professionally, I would not be able to do the same my other two remaining languages. However, I was able to past language tests for these two languages. Knowing a language through tests is not tantamount to professionally using it - not unless you are referring to Chinese, for instance, wherein the language is literally divided into levels.
Other than that, I'd like to make an unsolicited opinion that there are a few international students who get caught up in either stress or a new academic environment that makes them less capable of performing adequately than they would in, perhaps, if they were simply studying in their home country. There are a lot of factors to be involved here that need to be considered. I would also believe that some simply have money to spare (hence, why they study overseas) therefore would not be bothered with a five-page essay and would rather do something else more leisurely with their time.
Yes, I agree that perhaps the most difficult is the work with texts. It is one thing to understand, and another thing to literally express scientific thoughts.
From experience, I know that international students have a tendency to spread themselves too thin both in the academic and social setting of the university. For most of them, the English university experience is their first time away from the eagle eyes of their parents or minders. The students see the event as an experience in freedom rather than an experience in a new academic learning style. So, to enjoy the full benefits of their freedom and new country experience, they would rather hire a writer or several writers to do the heavy lifting for them, with their only worry being the actual tests they have to take and oh, they need to actually attend the classes too. Other than those physical requirements, they would rather not be bothered by the paperwork they need to turn in for a grade.
