JOURNALIST looking to interview essay writers & customers about their experiences with the industry

A journalist from London, UK doing research into essay writing services...

Hello,

I'm a journalist in London and I'm doing some research into UK essay writing services. I would like to speak to both customers and writers for essay writing companies.

If you've got a story to tell about an essay writing company email me on ohanrahan.p@gmail

Thanks

Hi there,

I'm a radio-journalist doing a piece for Cam FM (a student radio station in Cambridge, UK) about the essay-writing industry and the prevalence of students (a) buying essays, and (b) working for these sites.

I'm looking for anyone who'd be willing to talk via email/IM/skype and give me their thoughts about the industry, and their experiences. This would all be completely anonymous, may I add. If anyone did want to do a recorded Skype interview though, that would be VERY much appreciated. I should add that we'll honestly be interested in ANY stories you have, there is no angle as such, the show is purely investigative, so if you have had a genuinely fruitful career writing for particular sites, then that is equally interesting to you having been scammed out of several thousand dollars or whatnot.

I've actually had some bad experiences myself writing for some sites a few years back (essaywriters.net[DND*][DND*] scammed me out of 200USD), and I've used this forum a few times before, so I'm fairly familiar with the territory.

I don't have much incentive to offer apart from an opportunity to share your thoughts about a very interesting industry. I can give a lot more detail regarding myself, the show, the radio station etc. on request!

All the best, Matthew from CamFM - EMAIL ME mjv34(at)cam(dot)ac(dot)uk

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Related:

Hi,

I'm a reporter for the Chronicle of Higher Education and I'm working on a story about custom-written essays. I'd very much like to talk to current and former essay writers to see what their experience has been like. I'd also like to talk to some students who have been able to use custom-written essays.

Here's my e-mail address:

thomas.bartlett[the at symbol]chronicle.com

If you wish to remain anonymous, that's fine. Thanks in advance for the help.

Thomas

If you were good writer they don't fire you. But you clearly not so why complain.

Flawless logic, without a drop of irony.

You may not be best journalist for this job. You have personal agenda about coz you think you were scammed. But good journalist must be impartial. You cant write with objectivism now.

Beside, you beat dead horse. Why journalist wannabe want to write about "essay industry"? You think you discover America but there nothing new to it. Its like any other freelance business. You better go and check fake article review sites that produce false story about drugs and testimonial without telling readers they are paid advertising.

The fact that I've been scammed would be an issue if I was writing a show, but I'm simply collecting reports and data on the industry from a variety of sources (this forum and others, spokespeople from the websites in question, people at my university with past experiences), and doing so without prejudice. Our show is subject to Ofcom's standards of impartiality, and there are several regulations which any show has to abide by.

Indeed I only put the fact that I'd been scammed to try and show that I'm not approaching your forum as a complete outside trying to glean information, but as someone who was once a member of this community...

The show will be available online, and you are all welcome to listen to it and judge it's impartiality when it goes out, I'm not sure what else I have to say to prove my journalistic practices...

My, my. Someone seems mighty sensitive about the scams of the essay industry being exposed. I wonder why?

Is anyone else tired of hearing stu4 provide instructions to others--journalists, writers, business owners, etc--when it's obvious to everyone that he is nothing but a poorly educated scammer?

Go register john.lawyer@gmail and pretend harvard lawyer (from africa safari).

i think stu does a good job of exposing the individual's bias here

I think stu4 is a nothing but a scammer and michael is his little sycophant.

The following is a ready interview with a real freelance writer. You may use it at your discretion : )

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About freelance writer

I am a 25 years old freelance researcher and academic writer. I have been involved in various types of academic writings for seven years. I have successfully completed dissertations, reports, essays, proposals, synopses and literature reviews on various subjects. I have also supervised graduate students in academic writing. I have recently completed a research proposal for DBA (Doctor of Business Administration) student. My real strengths include keen observation, quality work, meeting deadlines, and most importantly making my clients feeling amazed with the service. Now I am looking for a position of researcher and academic writer in a reputable organization to contribute with my experience for the development of organization and keep on sharpening myself in a learning environment.

My academic background

I did FSc in Premedical from the Government College Township. I have achieved master's degree in Medical Laboratory Technology with Molecular Biology as a major from the University of Health Sciences. During final year, I supervised my juniors on research writing at the university. Currently, I am MPhil Scholar in Molecular Pathology and Cytogenetics at the same university. I have studied Research Methodology and Statistics as a separate subject. I have also attended numerous national and international research writing conferences and seminars. I have achieved "A grade" throughout my studies.

My interests

I am very much interested in watching science documentaries, especially related to the development of research methods overtime and psychology of scientists. It really motivates me and pushes me to do hard work. I also like to play games that involve time. By doing so, I become accustomed to complete any task in time. During sessions of working on computer, I often take online quizzes which improve and broaden my knowledge on various subjects. I am also very fond of outdoor games such as cricket, football, and badminton. Other than that I like doing exercise regularly, reading philosophy, and travelling to historical places.

Why I am an excellent research writer

I have always been curious about the things around me, and it has made me passionate about going into the depth of each thing to understand it. I have gone through all the steps of research process by myself, and I am truly aware of the basis of research. I have been involved in research and academic writing for about 7 years and during that time, I have learnt so much about research writing. I am used to with various academic formatting and citation styles, and I am also efficient in using Microsoft Word. I am also very well aware of Plagiarism, a type of academic dishonesty, and I take every possible step to avoid it. I have good research writing vocabulary and a decent command on grammar and vocabulary. I am very proficient in converting a simple piece of writing into a research manuscript. I am also very skillful in statistical analysis, a key component of research process, and it helps me interpreting and explaining statistical terms in my writings.

Before I start writing for clients, I make sure that my clients have explained me everything what they need, and I have clearly understood the instructions. If I have any query about anything, I don't hesitate to ask again from my clients for proper clarification. I fully understand the importance of confidentiality in academic writing, and I take every action to protect all the information provided by the clients.

I think my qualifications, my experience as researcher and academic writer, my ability to provide quality research in time, and above all my passion proves me to be an excellent research writer.

Freelance essay writers from the UK (not essay mills)

Which ones have people on here used in the past? I'm looking to interview a UK-based writer for a documentary on the essay writing industry and would like some tips on who to contact. Your help would be appreciated.

Help with story about academic research industry

Hi, everyone. I'm a reporter exploring the growth of the academic research industry, focusing on the outsourcing of graduate-level assignments and online classes. I've been impressed with the discussions on your forum and wondered if any of you might be willing to talk on background about your experiences (I wouldn't use your name unless you gave me permission).

I'm interested in understanding the growth of the industry, the efforts of colleges or others to thwart that growth, and where you see the most opportunity for this kind of work.

If you're interested in talking, please email me.

Guardian Journalist - I want to hear from you...

Hi.

I'm a feature writer working on a story for The Guardian about online 'essay mills' and calls by the UK government this week to tackle the problem of plagiarism.

I come to the story with no agenda or expertise so am trying to speak to as many people as possible, including academics, essay writers, and students.

I'm particularly keen to speak to a student or former student who, under pressure at university (ideally UK, but not necessarily), has used one of these services.

If you would like to talk to me about your experience, do drop me a line ASAP today. I'm at simon@susborne .com. That also gives you my personal website if you want to check my credentials.

**In all cases I can guarantee confidence and anonymity if preferred.

I look forward to hearing from anyone who might like to share their experience.

Regards,

Simon Usborne

Hi.

I'm an academic writer working on a story about The Guardian, aka The Grauniad, so nicknamed by the satirical magazine, Private Eye, due to the large number of typographical errors made by this newspaper and calls for improved proofreading on the part of the general public.

I come to the story with a specific parodical agenda and plenty of expertise so I don't need to speak to as many people as possible, including academics, essay writers, and students, but what the heck, I welcome your input anyway.

Yep, this is how it usually works. Perhaps this story will be similar/related to this recent one: telegraph.co.uk/education/2017/02/21/university-students-could-fined-handedcriminal-records-plagiarised/ which may make running an 'essay mill' business difficult in the UK.

Btw - sites like UkEssays have nobody but themselves to blame. Their greed, feeling of impunity, and their illegal promotion of 'guaranteed grade / guaranteed degree, every time' has created this negative environment.

I agree, Major. The only thing an academic writer can legitimately guarantee is client satisfaction.

The article you cite indicates just how confused and clueless UK policymakers are in confronting essay mills. On the one hand, the article concedes that educators are completely "powerless" to detect custom essays but on the other hand, calls for "strong policies and sanctions" to detect custom essays. The article was silent, though, concerning how a policy or a sanction alone can detect anything.

This whole affair smacks of hypocrisy and overreaction bordering on Chicken Little hysteria. The guidance provided by Cliff's Notes is virtually identical to the disclaimers used by reputable essay writing companies (e.g., the work product is intended to be used as a study guide and model for students to develop their own final version), but you don't see UK policymakers hounding them and threatening their clients with criminal charges. If the truth be known, more students have probably plagiarized Cliff's Notes than all other sources combined. I'd also bet that if they were held up to strong light, plenty of the same people barking about the problem would be shown to be guilty of it themselves.

Well, as someone pointed out on the other site: "The articles suggest that students using UK-based "essay mill" sites may be ivigilated and spied upon - a safer bet is to use US or Australian services or writers."

I don't think essay writing should continue to be widespread in the media. I have been seeing many news articles about it, even in Canada. 99% of these articles are terrible and portray both the writer and student as virtual demons, cheats, hacks, lazy, unprincipled, no backbone (you name it!). As such, I worry about the legality of the profession if too many of these articles come out.

Melliflous, I'm sorry I missed the chance to help you with your radio interview. I hope that you can still consider my comments for any future work that it might relate to for you though. The academic essay writers are not bad people. They, just like everyone else, are trying to eke out a living the best way they know how. The money is made legally for all intents and purposes because they render a service and in exchanged get financial rewards for the job. I will agree though that the academic writers could be accomplices to the process of enabling the laziness of students. After all, they just have to attend class and note the assignment. They don't need to worry about doing the actual work. They can hire someone to do that. It is this way of thinking that has led to the lowering of educational standards. A student may be horrible in class, but excellent with his homework. While the two don't add up, the professor or teacher is forced to pass the student because his assignment and research pass the criteria. There are even instances when the student can hire his writer to take his test for him.

It is in those instances of test taking for the student that the profession of being an academic writers crosses the line. When the student is so disinterested in his studies, because he is so used to hiring others to do his academic work, then the writer hired becomes an accomplice in an academic crime. Academic writers of principle will never work with students like this.

I believe that it is the academic writing company that is the true criminal here. They hire these writers in the guise of paying them promptly and at high rates. Only for the poor writer to find out that those rates are dependent of their writer status, amount of likes, and rate of revisions and refunds. In which case, the poor writer ends up working for next to almost nothing because of all the fine print penalties tacked onto his salary.

In the end, only the company and the student benefit from the hard work of the academic writer. The company, can create reasons to refund or fine the paper, while the student can do the very same. The writer himself, is subject to the whims and caprices of the company and the student when it comes to his actual income to be paid.

Agreed.


Not agreed, unless you mean foreign services (typically hidden behind nice-looking / sparky websites). So many freelance writers, for some reason, are attracted to such websites and think that a very nice-looking website will not scam them. If you check websites of the best freelance writers or old writing services discussed here, they are usually pretty basic and simple (despite the fact they could afford to build sparky websites). If you were hired by those academic writing companies, your freelance experience would likely be more positive.

I find it very hard to believe that all the writers at this forum that work for a company always ended up with the short end of the stick. Their experiences are always lousy, there are no benefits to be had, there is simply nothing, about their experience that should have made them stay in the academic writing business. Yet they did. I think the OP was barking up the wrong tree here. Rather than writing about the experiences in the industry, he should be interviewing writers regarding why they stay in such a bad occupation. I mean, why keep suffering for money when you are unhappy with what you earn and the way you are treated by your company? That, is the real story.

For the second time, it's "ON" or "IN" this forum! AT doesn't work!

Journalists these days have a bigger problem to report on. That is, the rise of AI as a learning tool for the students. AI allows students to circumvent the academic honor system of the university, without really being liable for what they did. There are no academic punishments in place for using AI in writing essays at this point. So the students can get away with having AI write their papers, among a host of other academic requirements. This one software technology that the universities are powerless to stop. They would do well to simply embrace the technology at this point. Journalists have acknowledged this and have actually done extensive reporting on AI written essays and other academic areas that students have managed to find a role in within the learning process.

It depends on both the institution and the professor. While some professors allow and actually provide guidance for using AI, others strictly prohibit and penalize it the same way they prohibit and penalize old-fashioned plagiarism; in fact, they've developed at least two methods of definitively identifying AI writing in their students' assignments.