Paying to Win?

The "black market" of the academic grind.

How much do you care about your grades?

The extent to which you would willingly fork out cold, hard cash just to hit an ‘A’ grade? All of us without a doubt want the best grades we could achieve. Some would even pay for it if the price is right.

A quick Google Search of such services can lead you inside the world of assignment helpers.

Rates vary as low as $25 for a measly thousand-word essay, to $150 for a more in-depth analysis accompanied by a bibliography of sources.

Rush orders typically add additional costs if you need your paper in a few hours. This is not just limited to essays; it can include full project reports, article write-ups, and even forged personalised work.

On the other hand, you might end up with service providers that produce sub-par quality assignments that would have saved you more time and money had you just done your work legitimately (and you probably would have gotten a better grade too).

While I can go on and on listing the different "flavours" available, I’d like to draw attention to not how these services are provided, but more to why certain students may be inclined to approach such services.

Note: This article is not meant to propagate the use of such services, but to raise awareness and to refrain from the use of such services being readily available.

Why are students "Paying to Win"?

So what’s the fuss around these types of service providers?

They are merely providing a service that students are willing to pay for. But I think we need to know why these students in the first place even consider approaching these services.

A student’s life is filled with deadlines, commitments and sleep deprivation to name a few.

The pressure to excel in all fields can be overwhelming in such an environment, which makes taking shortcuts all the more appealing. Handing over a week’s expenses to gain a few more hours of sleep or freeing up schedules can be seen as priceless to some. 

Others may feel that they lack the required understanding of the source material to produce a finished assignment, and it funnels them to pursue such costly alternatives to salvage their GPA.

We all have those hectic periods where deadlines are concentrated on a single week, why bother going through materials in the hopes of barely scraping through an assignment?

The final basket of students is those who go through such processes simply because their wallets can afford it.

The benefits are clear, the time you save racking your brains on assignments, a letter grade that matches your price tag, and a lighter load off your shoulders. Seems like the perfect trade-off doesn’t it?

The Problems with "Paying to Win"

But I’d argue that these shortcomings are all part and parcel of the schooling experience - if school was meant to be easy all the libraries would probably be void of students.

Personally, outsourcing assignments is ironic as it undermines the purpose of your being here - which is to obtain an education. Education is not about the final score, but being able to grasp the skills along the way.

Sure, maybe hiring someone else to do the heavy lifting for you might work in a pinch, but building a reliance on it could result in problems down the road. Outsourcing assignments serve to hinder our basic academic principles in life.

It gives us the perspective that shortcuts and deception are acceptable ways to solve problems.

Some might argue that they choose to indulge in such services out of desperation instead of regularly. A one-off deal. While this may hold, the student should be aware of the ethical implications he undertakes in doing so.

To be very frank, I’d like to highlight the Code of Academic Integrity, which states very clearly that submission of work that is not wholly yours and written by someone else is a breach of the aforementioned terms.

Students caught may face possible academic probation or suspension, depending on the severity of the offence committed. Is this a risk students are willing to take in the event they get caught?

Concluding Thoughts

The bottom line is don’t go looking for trouble with these assignment services. The potential risks you take for your education, your conduct, and your future career are simply not worth it.

Don’t let the allure of taking the easy way out fool you. You will be glad you didn’t.