Not to the best of my knowledge.

It's tough to pick out the "greatest" project that I have ever completed, but one of the most challenging, interesting, and rewarding tasks I remember was a 12,000-word international business law paper that needed to be submitted in 4 days. The client was very happy with the final product and paid me £1200 - even though we earlier agreed on £1000!

However, what's puzzling is that the client seemingly popped out of nowhere, and after completing the paper and receiving his gushing feedback, I never heard from him again; his email address was deactivated. This benevolent ghost of a client simply vanished into thin air.

Is there any legitimate writer or company in this industry that guarantees 90% marks for their papers? I don't think so. The grade often depends on a number of factors, some of which are entirely outside the control of the writer. The professor's subjective assessment, perception of the student, and curiosity about discrepancies in standard/style could affect the grade sometimes.

Then again, there is little evidence in your English to show that you are a proficient (let alone native) speaker. If this is a reflection of your typical academic writing style, then hiring a native speaker to write your essays might put you in more trouble by arousing your tutor's suspicion. What you need is a very competent writer with a sufficient level of fluency in the English Language. You should not make the mistake of presuming that a "native English writer" is the definite solution to your problem.

True. This has dissuaded me from actively marketing my services on Facebook in particular, as some of my most loyal customers have been clearly reluctant to identify with me on this platform. Unfortunately, it makes me feel like a guilty pleasure of some sort.

Maybe such an association would be very helpful in sifting out fraudsters and hacks, regardless of their claimed nationalities and language proficiency levels. Then again, considering that most academic writers are faceless - coupled with the moral baggage and somewhat extralegal nature of the academic writing industry, I'm not sure how this kind of association might function when compared with similar associations in other freelance writing niches.

I couldn't agree more.

I suppose that well-educated native English speakers with any degree of competence and legitimacy would rather find fitting, fulfilling jobs - in the academia, for instance - than hustle shamelessly in the murky 'underworld' of academic writing.

This implies that what many "native" academic writers have going for them is their nativeness as opposed to actual experience/familiarity with the rigour, formality, linearity and overall intellectual style nuances required to produce good academic papers.

Many "native" writers are often too conversational, informal, and flimsy in their writing style.

On the other hand, well-educated ESL writers are more likely to have the necessary awareness of the stylistic and substantive elements that underpin formal and academic writing. As an ESL writer myself, I certainly fall into this category.

Accordingly, the plethora of international students who are non-native English speakers ought to be mindful of these factors when choosing an academic writer.

As an ESL international student in the UK, Australia, Canada, the United States and elsewhere, you should never presume that a native English speaker's "nativeness" is enough to guarantee a well-written paper.

I hope it makes sense.

Quality is important, but so is integrity and reliability. It helps to build a reputation for competence, diligence, AND good old honesty. If you reckon you might not be able to do a good job with a certain paper because the topic is outside your sphere of experience/knowledge, there's nothing wrong in letting a customer know. If you have tight deadlines and may not be able to complete a paper within the agreed period, then you should always let the customer know (even if it means losing out on the $$$).

These attributes are particularly crucial for an "ESL" writer like me, otherwise one would be unable to compete in this industry where some naysayers relentlessly depict writers from my part of the world as scammers and hacks.

I don't think it matters much. For those students who insist, the benchmark for a page is 250 words. However, my rates are usually based on word counts (per 1,000 words and such) as opposed to number of pages (in which case number of words per page might be a contentious issue).

Students get scammed because they are not discerning enough. It's that simple. It's fairly easy to ascertain a writer's competence or credibility merely by exchanging a few emails with them - or by conducting basic Google research to learn about their reputation. As I see it, if a writer has been using the same name or email address for years and yet you can't find any (valid) complaints against him or her, then it is reasonable to consider them 'safe' to deal with.

Students get scammed or blackmailed when they hire writers based on superficial considerations....

*Oh, since this writer costs a dollar less than the other, this looks like a great bargain!
*Oh, since this writer is supposedly an "ENL" writer based in the US/UK/Australia, then s/he must be good and legit!

Duh!

It's not so difficult to find a good and reliable writer here if you exercise a little discernment.

I've written a couple of essays for a few Australian clients, and the quality of education in that country is quite impressive. Sames goes for the quality of education in UK schools. In fact, I'd rate the quality of American education lower than that of the UK - based on evidence from the tasks I've handled on behalf of students in both countries.

I usually charge slightly higher fees for Australian and UK papers than I do for American assignments in the same category because the former typically entail more rigour and effort.

Philosophy, history, and theology are among my key areas of interest and expertise. If a reliable and competent writer is what you're looking for, then you should get in touch with me for further discussions.

An easy way to ascertain a writer's credibility and experience (or lack thereof) is to Google their email address. That can help you discern how established or reputable the writer is.

If you do a Google search for an email address but nothing worthwhile (or nothing at all) is found, that's a red flag. Writers with unreferenced or 'notorious' email addresses should be avoided. This is not a sure-fire method to avoid scammers, but it certainly helps.

Why would any serious freelancer write a paper and deliver it to the client before receiving payment? Except you're dealing with an old and trustworthy client, it is a risky thing to do.

As I see it, the only way to get back at the defaulting client, if they are anonymous, is to publish the content. However, if one knows a client's real identity and institution, it is relatively easier to 'persuade' them to pay up.

Incredible. How do you prevent/overcome eye strain, writer's block, and overall fatigue? Seems you were born to do this. You make it look so easy.

My brain often auto-hibernates in the small hours, so there is not much I can achieve by depriving myself of sleep to write a paper. A client will have to pay at least £40/page to 'motivate' me to pull an all-nighter for a very urgent assignment. Otherwise, I'm usually disinclined to sacrifice my nightly sleep for any reason (except for occasional indulgences between the sheets, of course::).

Interesting. In my case, the Chinese company didn't seem legit; maybe I was wrong. Its website was pretty basic, it didn't have a job board, and the folks I exchanged emails with insisted that the preferred means of communicating and assigning orders would be via an instant messaging app called QQ. They were also evasive in their response to my inquiries. The whole set-up just didn't inspire much confidence.

True. Some customers also have the nerve to demand that you complete the full work before they pay, so that they'll "determine" that the paper is satisfactory before initiating payment. LOL! I noticed that some 'writers' on Essay Chat offer to complete papers in full before accepting payment. I don't think ANY legitimate writer or company would ever do that. Students who look out for these kinds of ridiculous offers are most likely to fall victim to the sort of vicious blackmail/extortion rackets we read about here.

I've never had any client try to scam me, but some shifty characters purporting to be based in China, Turkey, and Australia have, at various times, attempted to lure me into joining their "team" of writers. They promised an endless supply of writing jobs and a bi-monthly payment routine. However, the laughably poor grammar, evasiveness, and other suspicious behaviour I discerned from their emails were always convincing telltale signs of their fraudulent motives.

It's increasingly amusing to read about students' bitter experiences with these phony websites. Considering that these websites apparently outnumber the grains of sand in the Sahara Desert, I am intrigued by how/why so many of them continue to be in business - even more so than many legitimate freelance writers.

For the umpteenth time, I advise that students should be more discerning when looking to get help for their papers. It is less risky to identify and hire a good freelance writer here, than to blindly trust any of these shady 'companies'. The chances of getting swindled are considerably less when you hire a freelance writer whose writing ability and consistency can be reasonably discerned beforehand.

Every student already knows about plagiarism and its consequences. I suppose that partly explains the high demand for 'professional' academic writers who can get around this problem and produce original papers.

Well, there is a thing called 'implication', and that is exactly what you and your fellow anti-ESL crusaders do ever so often in your ceaseless quest to convince students to avoid ESL writers altogether. You are being too clever by half by suggesting that you only have to make explicit claims in that regard for others to discern what you're up to.

By the way, it's ludicrous that you pea-brains think you can judge my comprehension skills. If you can't impugn my writing skills or legitimacy, then try to question my "comprehension skills" or "intelligence" on some level. If that also fails, then find something - anything - to discredit me! One just can't win with you naysayers.

Anyways, I just figured that contributing further to this 'discussion' (yeah, right) would only mean providing fodder for your mischief.

While I really do not wish to contribute to this topic because of the obnoxious nature of the thread starter, I could not resist the urge to make a quick clarification in response to the quoted comment.

There is no doubt that the incidence of Internet scams originating from Nigeria is quite high, even though only a very small minority of the country's population perpetrate such activities. Admittedly, numerous scams have been traced to these Nigerians, and the sheer amount of money they have managed to bilk out of their (often greedy and conniving) dupes is staggering. The fraudulent schemes come in different forms, and this reflects the "ingenuity and persistence" of these cyber criminals.

However, I have been an academic writer for a couple of years now and I have not encountered too many other Nigerians in this line of work. Academic writing is probably not an attractive 'industry' for Nigerian scammers; maybe because it is hard work, or because the rewards are sparse in comparison to the colossal amounts they make from their typical million-dollar schemes. I don't think many Nigerian fraudsters would be keen on trying to convince a few barely solvent students to part with the odd hundred dollars for a 2,000-word paper. It doesn't seem like the sort of sustainable, consistently high-margin swindle that these crooks tend to prefer.

What this means is that Nigerians have not participated enough in the international academic writing industry to gain a reputation of any sort - let alone for fraudulence - in that industry. In fact, I had no clue that Kenya had quite a reputation in the industry until I stumbled on Essay Scam a couple of months ago. This is not to say that the consequent stereotypes and sweeping generalisations are entirely valid.

That said, I understand the 'perception problem' that many Nigerians face in trying to do legitimate business on the Internet. What I do not understand is the rigid, implacable, and almost xenophobic reluctance of some cynics to accept that all Nigerians are not fraudulent - just as all Americans are not scrupulous.


Thank you very much.

I'll be back later to tell my story anyway.

Now, let's pause for a moment and imagine that your ungrammatical sentence was written by an ESL writer. . .

Being the smug, hair-splitting, ENL supremacist that you have proven to be since you joined this forum, I am certain that you'd have cited that error as compelling evidence of ESL writers' incompetence (if not illegitimacy), and why they should be avoided at all costs. That error, had it been made by an ESL writer, would have vindicated your rabid crusade against all things ESL (except, of course, ESL dollars from international students).

There is an important lesson here, but you are too stuck up to bother.

Your comments are often cynical and condescending. It's difficult to have a meaningful discussion with someone filled with so much negativity.

This characterisation PERFECTLY describes one grumpy nuisance here.

Folks like FLW and ProfessorVerb are the masters of this business. I often enjoy their contributions, and I find them very helpful. They are always very fair-minded and objective, too. I can't tell you how much I have benefitted from their narratives.

You must be a lonely maniac, with lots of free time on your hands to spend hounding poor old Antarch all over Essay Scam. If it makes you feel less miserable to spend every waking hour "having a good poke at Antarch", then be my guest.

By the way, for someone who claims to be an academic, it is bemusing that you consider every word outside your remarkably limited vocabulary a "25 cent word" (whatever that means to you). Could it be that most of your experience is in children's literature? Well, that's your damn business; just leave me out of that.


You're probably not as bright as you think, then.

I shouldn't waste my time replying your silly posts anyway. . . .and I really mean that this time.

Dear Graphophobius, I have no problem with your sardonicism - as long as you leave me out of it. Thank you.

Alas, that is the holy grail of this business, or so it seems these days.

You'd be very lucky to get any help here; not with so many self-appointed 'arbiters' baying for (ESL) blood in this forum. It gets even harder when one's writing skills are evidently subpar.

Very well, then. I apologise.

Since I am not a mind reader, I'll have the "personal inability" to understand what you MEANT to say. Therefore, your inability to express your thoughts effectively should not be blamed on another. "Could have easily made a stronger case against ESL writers" arguably conveys a different connotation from "could have easily CHOSEN TO make a stronger csse against ESL writers". The former suggests that it is easy to make a strong case against ESL writers (ostensibly due to the irritating stereotype championed by many of your kind here).

By the way, I do not go about sniping and making cases against other writers. I only attempt to set the record straight whenever malicious 'ENL' writers like you insinuate or allege that ESL writers (in their entirety) are incompetent and fraudulent.

These writing "companies" are a dime a dozen these days. If you discredit one website, they'll simply set up another, and business will continue as usual. It is always a big risk to use them, mainly because you have no idea who will actually write your paper.

Other than the 'reputable' websites (such as those owned by the wonderful guys behind this forum;-)), it is generally advisable to seek help from freelance writers such as my humble self. That way, you know exactly who you're dealing with, and you can easily ascertain the writer's writing and language skills before you proceed.

If students learn to be more discerning, the incidence of scams and bitter experiences would reduce significantly.

This obsession has caught on with you, too? You really need to get off your high horse. How about "easily" making a stronger case FOR yourself and your competence/experience as opposed to making a case against other writers, ESL or not?

Touché. I surrender!


Nope. But I "personally and solely constitute" part of the essay industry, and you did ascribe a certain negative quality to "100%" of Africans in this industry. The average third grader is more proficient in percentages than you will ever be, obviously.

Don't believe your own hype, buddy. I know you have a reputation for peskiness, but your nemesis - the redoubtable Queen Sheba - has done a good job of putting you in your place in several threads here. I'll ignore your antics henceforth.


Well, I am an African; I have written a couple of essays for American (and Canadian) clients; and I have never been accused of dishonesty or incompetence. Unless you can prove otherwise, then you are clearly "100%" misguided.


Maligning others because of their nationality or location, questioning their integrity based on stereotypes and prejudices, and discrediting perceived competitors is not my idea of fun. On the contrary, exchanging ideas, sharing experiences, AND allowing students to make their own choices after due diligence - that would be fun.

Why should I care what you think? Why are you convinced that you know what a sensible argument is? Isn't it presumptuous of you to assume that you know what would get me "much business" here and what wouldn't? You are a self-confessed (in another thread) "competitor", with nothing other than "nativeness" as your bargaining chip. Only a clueless student would form an opinion based on your needless - and apparently malicious - taunts here.

You are supposedly a "native" writer, and like your comrade-in-arms (so to say), your primary purpose here is to kill off imagined encroachers - mainly "ESL" writers.

You desperately want to hammer it home that African writers - or in general, "ESL" writers - should be avoided because they are 'generally' dishonest and incompetent. This is obnoxious and extremely provocative, and my main reasons for contributing to these kinds of threads is to counterclaim such nonsense, and to disabuse the minds of unsuspecting students. If smug bigots like you think that amounts to "showing off", then. . .

I would not deign to reply you again.

And you are an absolute idiot, obviously. You need to stop quoting me and start making sense, Mr. "native" Maniac.

Thankfully, objective students share this viewpoint.

The seemingly maniacal obsession with ESL/ENL differentiation is a competitive strategy (or in fact, stratagem) 'invented' by "native" writers to undermine the emergent breed of "non-native" writers, retain/increase their market share, and justify their comparatively higher fees. Discerning students care little about that, and they know better than hire writers based on superficial considerations.

In the end, producing an excellent academic paper often does not require a pedantic approach to grammar or language usage, and it certainly does not demand native-level apprehension of English. For most disciplines in the social sciences and humanities (which are my core areas of expertise), elements such as extensive research, critical thinking/interpretation/analysis, engagement with the question(s), application of relevant concepts/theories/examples, clarity of argumentation, and appropriate referencing are the most important determinants of quality and grades. These elements require good old intelligence, creativity, experience, diligence, and overall competence - all of which do not depend on one's nationality. Sensible students know that.