Are you a native English speaker? If so, did you look carefully at the website's home page? Here's one of their paragraphs:

"As our principle is to take the exceptional care of every our client, we guarantee you an individual approach with a flexible work routine. We welcome everyone to become our returning client and experience all the bonuses of personal approach with us." Or "Feel free to trust us the most difficult task on any topic - our strong command of professional writers will do this for you the best of the best."

Does that sound like someone you'd trust with a paper? They also promise you unlimited rewrites without any qualification. If I were writing professionally, I certainly wouldn't offer that without condition.

Although I will say their YouTube self-promotion was pretty funny.

youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=P8HMcG3g2Q0

When did you find out it was 95% plagiarized? You say it was paraphrased, so I'm assuming there were no citations?

I'm sorry this happened to you, but it sounds like the worst consequence was a failed grade, which is better than expulsion.

Best line ever! I wonder if you have to pay extra for that little service?

I thought it was hard enough for a native English speaker to communicate with non EFL speakers...but reading two ESL speakers try to communicate with each other is even more painful!

...maybe not as painful as the time when I proudly proclaimed in French to my (at the time) French father-in-law: "This orange juice doesn't have any condoms in it!" Yeah...condoms=préservatif in French; the word I wanted was conservateur. Maybe the funniest thing about it was he just got real quiet and then said "Oui c'est bien!" as if pondering whether finding condoms in your morning juice was par for the course in America.

Are you on the east coast? It's not 1 am yet here (Pacific coast). Another hour to go. I don't know if when you ordered it specified time zone.

Also, recommendations aren't allowed.

Also, chipmunk, you know that 1999 novel you supposedly studied and gave conference papers on? What date is featured on the first page of text?

I don't see how content in a book you haven't written is somehow revealing information about yourself. Surely before we, 'dear members', can comfortably talk about scammers, we should feel secure in knowing the original poster is not one. You don't agree?

Wow, that was easy.

That's an interesting situation. They want you to submit a brand new paper that shows them that you didn't use what they provided, but if you're saying that you initially submitted your own work to them and they didn't change it, I don't know what they can reasonably expect you to do...write yet another paper? Hopefully the chargeback procedure is successful.

How long was the paper?

I don't understand something. On their website the only thing that corresponds to the $4/page charge that you talked about was proofreading services-at a high school level in 24 hours or at an upper undergrad level in a week. You say you spent $66, but that doesn't divide evenly.

The main thing I don't understand is this: "Proofreading includes correction of spelling, grammar and punctuation mistakes. No original content will be added."

So where does plagiarism come into play here? And you complain that they didn't add anything to the paper, but for $4 a page, they openly stated that they wouldn't. Don't get me wrong, I'm definitely not defending them, I just don't understand how what you're saying they did applies to a proofreading job.

Does your educational institution offer tutoring? Surely they'd help with just proofreading.

On another note, I have never seen such a colorful and extensive price breakdown! I think I'm going to turn that into a math assignment.

So then I'm guessing that companies will really only hire people who can "do it all" instead of those who specialize in a particular service (in this case proofreading)?

Do you think that the lack of proofreading jobs stems from the availability of free proofreading services, or from students not being able/willing to write a paper themselves to start with?

Aren't the vast majority of people seeking writing services enrolled at a college or university? Don't most of those institutions offer free tutoring as part of their tuition fee? (I guess it's not technically free then, but it's at no additional cost to the student after paying enrollment fees.)

I work at a community college and they offer a half hour of tutoring to each student per week as part of their tuition, and more if they qualify for special Student Services. At the university where I attend, they even offer free tutoring sessions over internet chat with students employed and vetted by each department.

Do you think students are unfamiliar with the services their educational institution provides, or is it that they just want everything done for them?

I'm asking whether students don't request proofreading because they can get it elsewhere (for example, at their school) or because they don't write papers on their own to begin with.

I know tutoring is different than proofreading; I was just saying that the free tutoring services that colleges provide also include proofreading help under the tutoring umbrella.

So what service did you pay for, exactly? If you provided your own paper, wouldn't it be either proofreading or editing?

What city do you attend school in? 30 to 60% of students are not US born?

usnews.com/education/best-colleges/the-short-list-college/articles/2011/11/01/10-universities-with-the-most-international-students

This study suggests that the national university with the highest foreign student enrollment is New School in New York with 25% enrollment. For regional colleges, it's Webber International University with 26%, and for national liberal arts colleges, it's Soka University of America with an impressive 42%, the highest of any in the statistics. The college was founded on Buddhist principles and has an undergraduate enrollment of 438 students, so it's kind of an anomaly.

You do say "foreign origin" but someone who was born in the US to foreign parents shouldn't need more help with English on average than their peers if they've been academically successful enough to get into college. I'm sure there are exceptions though.

I'd recommend asking a classmate to proofread/edit your paper in exchange for a meal/movie/bookstore gift certificate. I know I would have done it for nothing, just to be nice to a struggling classmate.

Yes, it is true that the 'underbelly' of anything attracts the less scrupulous. And unfortunately people do make a lot of money off of people acting out of desperation. In your case though, you didn't even have the luxury of an equal exchange, ethical or not.

So your paper was three pages? The website you used is down, so I can't check to be sure.

What do you mean by "well googled"?

It's certainly true that students can "fall through the cracks" and feel like they're alone.

Another source of help could be foreign language/culture clubs. You could start attending your school's club in whatever your native language is in, and then exchange conversations with a native speaker for homework help. Meaning, you would talk to them in your native language to help them improve, and they would help you with writing assignments. Do you think something like that would work?

Thanks!

I was dumb and for some reason wrote 'customessays' instead of 'customwritings'.

Don't worry. You can get your fill of drama and conflict in any of the other threads XD

So you counted 100 words as a full page? I'm not saying I disagree with that; I'm just thinking maybe the student thought that was unfair. I wonder where he got the figure of $20 though, because if he went by the rationale of a page (300 words) being worth $30, then 100 words would be $10, not $20. I imagine it's difficult to explain to students (who may not have ever researched and written a paper) that locating sources and reading them actually takes time too.

From what I've observed so far (I'm also new), there's no animosity between the talented writers despite competing against one another for clients. Only the grammatically challenged who claim to be professionals are targeted for derision for the most part.

I totally agree with you about the forum being a great place to figure out who's the real deal and who's not. Funny how a seemingly boring site like this would attract so many histrionic weirdos.

So Dearborn is a s-i*hole?

Because our usernames both contain two syllables with similar vowel sounds?

I did want multiple perspectives on the issue, but I realize that the topic is dull compared to the hurling of insults that goes on in other threads, lol.

Or: I didn't know you were the cause of Dearborn being a real s-i*hole.


Or: You wrongly assumed again what the cause of Dearborn being a s-i*hole was, and you still don't know what the cause is, LMAO!

If you state that there is a cause (regardless of whether Pheelyks stated the correct cause), you validate the existence of the effect, which is Dearborn being a s-i*hole. Even if you say that Pheelyks wrongly assumed, you're just saying that there's yet another reason why Dearborn is a s-i*hole.


I openly proclaim that the town where I currently reside-also my hometown-is a royal s-i*hole, complete with redneck illiterates clogging the educational system and meth addicts prowling the streets at night. And our claim to fame? A squirrel bridge.

Cesca, you can put a message up on essaychat.com so miki can see it and contact you directly.

What accent do you speak with, if I may ask? I find it fascinating how the accents of people who move around a lot sometimes meld together two or more accents. I had a friend from Jamaica, who lived part-time in England, and people in both locations thought she spoke with an accent. It's kind of like that 'you're from everywhere and yet nowhere' thing.

I apologize on behalf of my compatriots. We're generally not so great at placing accents, and tend to group any native non-American accent under the umbrella of "must be British or something." I once chatted online with a guy from Birmingham, and he was complaining about the bias against English people in American film. He used the 1997 Titanic film as an example, and said that during the rescue scene, the guy who encourages people to keep looking for survivors was Welsh. He couldn't believe that I was oblivious to the different accent when I reassured him that the vast majority of American audiences would have no idea that he wasn't English. After living in France for a while, I've gotten better at accents. I simply had greater exposure to multiple regional speakers at my university--there were loads of students from the British Isles. I would be at a loss when faced with a South African or Australian vs. New Zealand accent though.

What was also interesting about France is how it emphasized British English and pronunciation in its English program. I would spend hours a day reading Harry Potter out loud in an English accent so that I'd be able to accurately complete phonetic transcriptions in IPA that were graded using English phonetics exclusively. I'd start saying a word in my head the American way, and then have to kick myself and adopt a different "voice" inside my own head. It made me feel quite silly. Most of my French professors stood by this and said that BBC English was the "correct" academic form of the English language. They had their prejudices in French as well, and scoffed at the idea of someone from Marseille teaching French. I thought it was sad.


I think the same can also be said of native speakers. I teach adult basic education, and the past few years have shown me that composition skills can't be studied and learned like other things can. Sure, you can improve, but if you're 25 and you still struggle to write in complete sentences, you probably aren't going to end up with a Nobel for literature. That's why encouraging people to read to their children from birth (or even from before birth) is one of my passions. Now studies are suggesting that even math achievement is related to reading skills.


I'm not sure I can agree with that completely. I think it just depends on the situation. When I was in a US civilization course in France, I totally slacked off and when it came time to do the in-class historical commentary on an essay, I bulls-i*ted my way through without knowing anything detailed about the events that the author was talking about. Even though my paper contained some factual errors that were pretty horrendous, I still got one of the best grades because of the quality of the writing itself. I think critical thinking skills have a wider application than just your particular domain. My BA is in English language, literature, and civilization, but I think I'd feel confident in any of the social sciences and humanities. Now, there's no way in hell I'd come near an electrical engineering paper. Bulls-i*ting only takes you so far...


I think that just might be the first compliment on this site! Thank you. Unfortunately, I lack self-discipline in a major way and my personal life is too distracting/chaotic. I think I could do proofreading, but apparently there's not a lot of demand for it. I end up doing a lot of stuff for free just to not have pressure on me. A few months ago I helped two young men with Asperger's Syndrome and ADD succeed in their college English composition class, but it was murder. I'm afraid I wouldn't have the patience to baby clients when they're being...challenging. I actually had to spend ten minutes convincing someone that they in fact did require a thesis statement in every paper, not just in their first one "so my teacher knows I can do it once."

Miki, there's a marked improvement in your English. Maybe it's because the issue has been resolved and you got your money back so you're less stressed. Interesting nonetheless.

Yeah. I can understand their motivations, but in practice it's a little heavy-handed. At least there's access to English only television channels. They're not part of standard cable, but I got really into BBC and CNN International. But yes, you'd think that if their language was as great as they claim, they wouldn't need to invest so much into preserving it.


I'd still expect someone with a master's degree in English/journalism/writing/etc. to be able to write fairly well or better. However, everyone else is pretty hit or miss. I haven't attended an American university, but I have read many papers at the community college level. I agree that instructors 'look the other way.' I'm not surprised at the state of things, because grammar instruction is extremely limited in public education. In my case, I received grammar lessons at the age of 12, then a few more class sessions at 15 in an honors English class, and then a brief overview in my senior year as part of a terminal English course that was mandatory for all graduating students. Our final 'exam' asked us to correctly place apostrophes and commas, and decide whether book titles should be underlined or put in quotations. So many people failed (and this was right after taking the course) that the school offered two makeup sessions preceded by test prep lessons. The minimum passing grade was 70%. The English department then posted a page with the top 5 scores on every door in the main building, as if it was a huge accomplishment.


I can understand that. In my graduating class there was a girl with Down's Syndrome, who was put into 'easy' classes like aerobics and cooking, and left school with the same exact diploma I did. Now, her level of ability would be apparent in a job interview, but I think it's reflective of a culture that wants everyone to achieve the same things, and nothing should be out of reach just because someone is limited mentally or physically. Again, I understand the motivation behind the intention, but it can be problematic in practice.


Apparently, the professional freelancers here can do multiple ten-page papers...a DAY. That's the reason why it wouldn't be profitable for me, because I write about a page an hour. I get sidetracked easily and start reading the links on a page I linked to from another linked page, and all of a sudden I've gone from looking up a film noir actor to the construction of girdles.


Very cool! I should have been more specific about my degree though--I say 'English' because 'Anglophone' gets me blank stares here. So the overall degree is on all English-speaking countries, but I did choose electives in the English short story, Irish history, and the Industrial Revolution. On the American side I did African-American literature, film noir, religion in the US, and American literature. My favorite was the English short story.


I didn't find her (just realized I don't know for sure, but 'Cesca' sounds feminine, so I'll just go with it) out of line at all. She even goes out of her way to describe her observations as anecdotal, not empirical. Of course language evolves, but it retains its primary purpose of communication, and the students in question are not being very effective communicators.

I'm reminded of something my first husband did. He had recently qualified as an elementary school teacher, and had been studying theories of language at a superficial level. He really liked the idea of language being a sort of art, and the speaker being an artist that could choose color, brush, and paint on a whim. I agree to an extent, but I believe communication stops where the other person's incomprehension starts. Anyway, we're sitting down to New Year's Eve dinner, and his brother calls his name from the far side of table. At first my husband didn't catch it, but eventually he turned to his brother and said "I didn't hear you when you 'm'as interloqué'"--which means 'to take aback, to shock.' My former sister-in-law, also an elementary school teacher, asked "Did you mean 'm'as interpellé'?"--which means 'to call out to, to shout to.' My (thankfully former) husband proceeded to get into an argument with her on how he has the right to use language the way he wants, and he was just being creative. His father, always first to rush to his defense, got up and looked in his dictionary...and then quietly closed it and put it back on the shelf and sat down :D

Scholar, I was in your situation back in May. I spent a few hours reading posts, and I got a good idea of who was legitimate. To send a private message, you need to have a certain number of posts, and the idea of posting random crap just to reach that number made me feel silly so I decided not to go that route. I finally found a separate component of this site called essaychat.com. It's a message board full of students' pleas for help and writers offering their services. Not all of the writers are legitimate. I knew who I was looking for and was lucky enough to find their contact information easily. Also, if you read enough threads, you develop a sense of which companies you might want to try. The writers are so fast that a day lost on reading posts won't matter at all, unless your deadline is hours away, in which case it's pretty much all on you, lol.

It would be hard to establish who is "clearly a neutral" on this site. When I first signed up, I got three emails from people touting their writing abilities in broken English. The thing is, though, there might be scammers who have passably good English, and they could recommend a company (their company) and rip you off. Then you'd be upset because your recommendation was fake. At least if you have to seek it out on your own, you're basing your judgement on your own critical thinking skills instead of the promises of a stranger who may have hidden motives.

A couple months under six years. I went over there to live with an internet boyfriend and his parents. What can I say, I was 18 and I desperately wanted to get out of the black hole of a town where I lived. I lived in a suburb of Bordeaux (Martignas) for 4 years, then moved to the countryside 40 minutes outside Paris in a village called Bouleurs. Not much to do/see there, and there was no public transportation and we only had one car (a stick shift, which I never did master). So I did my courses by correspondence, exercised 3 hours a day, and watched copious amounts of Japanese anime. A year later, we moved to Bussy St. Georges, a half hour from downtown Paris. Our apartment was separated by only a public square from the train station, so I could step out my door and be on a train in three minutes. Within comfortable walking distance there was a grocery store, two Asian grocers, a florist, a bookstore, two bakeries, a butcher, the post office, two hairstylists, three pizza places, a pub that served fish and chips (with an admittedly off-putting frozen taste--I know England gets to put their flag on fish and chips, but we do the dish justice in the Pacific Northwest too. Locally the specialty is beer-battered fresh halibut with tartar sauce, French fries, and coleslaw), a beauty spa, a library, two parks, and a plethora of restaurants including Lebanese, Thai, Vietnamese, Indian, Turkish, Chinese, Japanese, and traditional French. And of course, you know, that little hamlet called Paris 20 minutes away by train. But my divorce left me without a legitimate visa, so I moved back home, where I promptly gained 140 pounds. After my grandfather passes away, maybe I'll go back now that I'm married to another European :-)

Was AllanJohn referring to Pheelyks, or addressing him?

Mre, in your early posts on the topic, you deride Pheelyks for "attacking" you. However, in your subsequent posts, you become extremely aggressive and say things that wouldn't be out of place on an elementary school playground. I would have thought a lawyer/nurse/doctor would be classier, even if they felt they were in the right. "Know your role...you're the loser and will always be the loser" sounds like it stems from a personal vendetta, not tit for tat banter over a disagreement. And why is a bachelor's degree BS? You had to get one at some point. Was yours BS too?

Weighing in on the "fourth wall" issue...I don't think it was the most appropriate expression, but I see where you're coming from. I think you meant it in the sense that there are rules/codes that forum members abide by (such as the 'code' that you are living a scene as though it's real life, even though there is implicit understanding from both the actors and audience that the scenes are being viewed by an external audience-or else there wouldn't be lighting and voice projection, etc.) which can then be broken by someone doing or saying something that the original "code" doesn't include (such as giving a recommendation or speaking to the audience, making the understanding explicit). However, I would argue that the deviation from the "code" in the case of a fourth wall break is extremely specific and has to do with the relationship between the actor and audience. Also, the purpose for the break is entirely different.

If I'm eating at a restaurant and suddenly start spraying Pepsi everywhere, I'm not "breaking the fourth wall" simply because I'm breaking a rule that everyone else follows. If I'm talking to an overweight friend and say "You're really fat, you know", I'm not breaking the fourth wall just because "I'm not supposed to say that." Most of the time in theater (in which I've had zero education, I must disclose), there's a sense of duplicity after the fourth wall is broken. The audience starts off as a passive observer, a bit of a voyeur, and then when the fourth wall is broken, for example when an actor turns his head and whispers a snide remark to the audience that the other actors on stage don't hear, the audience enters into a second "relationship" with that actor. The audience members are put into a position of complicity instead of objectivity. The actor who broke the fourth wall exists in the scene with the other actors, but he or she also exists outside it in an exchange with the audience. This particular dynamic doesn't happen in the situation to which you applied the term, which is why I believe it's an imperfect analogy.

I certainly have sympathy for you due to the poor service you received from the writing company. I have less sympathy regarding the actual course requirements. Unfortunately, we all have to "jump through hoops" sometimes to get where we want to go. I used to complain all the time about the level of coursework for my degree, and then I visited the online support forums and met the overachievers who were regular posters. One of those overachievers was a mother of three children under 5 who worked full time. I have no children and work part time, and yet I felt overwhelmed. I think we each have our own comfort zones and take steps to stay within the area where we achieve the most. I don't think there's any shame in having a small comfort zone-I certainly do-but I also think it's important to be accountable for it. You know, know your limitations and develop strategies. Figure out how you can succeed within the system rather than expecting the system to change to suit your preferences. I'd really hesitate to blame a writing company for your failure, when you didn't properly prepare and set aside enough time to make sure you had all the right materials. Don't get me wrong, I've been in your situation countless times. Wrong book, no book, missed class, wrong time, etc. One time I slunk into class late in the middle of an in-class exam, with the exam question on the board, and ended up scribbling a bunch of BS, in pencil, on ripped out pages of yellow mini legal pad, on the WRONG WAR. Wrong century even. I just can't see lack of preparation as being anything but my responsibility.

I would be interested in finding out why doing research wasn't a possibility for you. I have the opposite problem. I can amass loads of research; I hate doing the writing part.

I also gravitated toward FreelanceWriter because he comes across as very polite, which I greatly value. Unfortunately that last part was true in my case and he wasn't able to take my particular topic. Well, he said he might have been able to do one of them (I had a few), but I had already agreed to have a different writer do it (for $5 a page more...groan) and I didn't feel right about going back on the agreement (even though no work had been done yet).

Now I'm feeling pretty glum because I'm really not happy about the other writer's work [they didn't use any-not a single one-of the sources/material I provided, and they didn't cover the topics I specifically asked for, and didn't even give their work a read-through to eliminate pervasive grammar and typographical errors (repeated words, omitted words, repeated sentences, sentences where it was apparent that it started out with a different structure and was then changed, but some elements of the previous one were left behind, so the sentence was two mismatched halves)]. I didn't want to ask for a revision, because it took so long just to get the paper to start with and I have other papers that the writer was going to complete after the bigger project. The writer missed nearly every deadline, and now I haven't heard from them in a week even though I paid in full for a 12 page paper. Two days ago I emailed to ask if the writer could meet the deadline, and I haven't heard back. That has been very typical throughout the whole process, which has been ongoing for over a month, even though initially they said they'd reply "within minutes" during waking hours.

I paid $40 a page for the big project (47 pages), significantly more than I would have with a company, even a legitimate one, and yet I feel like I am getting none of the perks of using a freelance writer independent of a company. I have no leverage over the writer--if I email about a deadline, the writer can simply ignore it until they feel like replying because what recourse do I have?

What incentive does a writer have to prioritize a private client (hell, not even prioritize, just treat equally!) if they have taken on a full workload of company clients at the same time? I paid more than those other clients did and yet I get less service. I apologize for my off-topic whining, but I feel really demoralized.


I realize this was asked in a snarky way, but I do think it's an interesting question. I've actually discussed it at length with my psychologist since I struggle with guilt and self-esteem issues, and she worried that by procuring writing services, I would be giving myself another reason to feel inadequate, one that would have long lasting consequences.

However, as it stands currently, I've had to make so many changes and additions to the work I did receive from the writer that I don't believe it will be plagiarism when I submit it, which is actually a huge relief to me. I just hate staring at that blank page, so working from something, even if it's beyond recognition by the time I'm done, is better for me.

Also, even if I were to submit a small paper in a single class that wasn't 100% written by me and me alone, I wouldn't consider the entire degree to be fraudulent. Let's say you'll have an exam over the course materials, which included the reading of two books. You read one but not the other. Lucky for you, the exam was on the book you read and you pass the class. Is your degree fraudulent? Compare that to actually reading both books and understanding all the course material, but having anxiety and depression so bad you can't sit still and concentrate enough to write 10 pages on them. So you buy a paper and then dictate changes to your significant other while you devour chocolate bars to channel your focus--it's all a grey area, isn't it?

I think learning assessments are almost always grey areas--no one will ever learn 100% of every single thing their degree/program had to offer, every "recommended reading for further exploration--optional" book on the list. So no, I won't have a fraudulent degree because I have worthwhile opinions and understanding/perspectives on the material pertinent to my area, which to me is the whole point of education in the liberal arts. Now, if we were talking medicine, yeah, I'd expect a future doctor to read the sections on allthe glands in the endocrine system, not just a selected few and then hope that the exam won't ask about the pancreas. Different needs for different professions.

Why would I have to make excuses if I just said that all the work I have submitted has been my own?

I'm not sure how common it is to have an academic freelance writer in one's immediate social circle, but in the right circumstance, that would indeed be convenient. I've always said knowing a doctor or nurse was the best, but a mechanic would be a close tie.