Contrary to popular assumptions, neither fear of competition nor racism fuel our opposition to ESL sites and writers.
The opposition to many ESL writers (
there are several excellent ones here and none of what I am about to say applies to them) is that they are uneducated and do not speak English with any degree of fluency. We are similarly opposed to unqualified native English language writers.
If you want to work in this industry and write for students studying in the United States, UK, Canada or Australia, you must have the following qualifications:
1) English-language skills which are better than those of the average native speaker.
2) A solid education.
3) First-hand, experiential knowledge of the Western education system (remember, you are writing for Western educational institutions).
4) An insider's knowledge and understanding of Western culture. You cannot speak as a Western student if you do not understand the West's culture or worldview. While I would not go so far as to uphold Kipling's "East is East and West is West," there are fundamental differences and, they show in a myriad of ways.
ESL writers have countered the above countless times. Asif, Chacha and Researcher (to name but a few) argue that language does not matter and it is all about knowledge and content. Not at all true. If you cannot clearly communicate knowledge, it is worthless; if you cannot understand the reading material (because your English is awful), then you have nothing of substance to say. One of the simplest assignments ever is the `article critique' - how can you critique an article of you do not understand it?
Knowledge is, of course, inarguably important but it is not the only important factor here. Many of you have not even been taught the proper citation methods and do not know the difference between APA and Harvard. You think Ibid is the last name of an author and that op. cit. is a spelling mistake. YOU USE BULLET POINTS THROUGHOUT ESSAYS AND RESEARCH PAPERS AND DO NOT KNOW HOW TO STRUCTURE A DISSERTATION!
Believe it or not, academic writing is a profession, a proper job. Many of us make a very good living in this industry and respect our work. We do not want unqualified, illiterate $2 per page people here as it gives us a bad name.
As for ESL websites, our opposition is based on the following:
1) You hire unqualified people like Researcher, Chacha and Asif.
2) You claim that your writers are Brits and Americans when they are not.
3) You claim that your writers are academically qualified (minimum MA) when the majority have no academic qualifications at all.
4) You claim that you are American and British when you are not.
5) You scam writers and customers and give us all a bad name.
Basically, we do not like you because you are dishonest cheats and liars. Be truthful with your customers; tell them who you really are; reveal your real nationality and that of your writers. Be honest and we will respect you. Remain dishonest and we will continue to fight and expose you.
