Financial Benefits of Using Essay Writing Services
Okay I need to be careful how I frame this because Im not trying to encourage academic dishonesty. But lets have an honest conversation about why essay writing services exist and why students use them.
The reality is that many college students are working jobs – sometimes multiple jobs – while trying to complete their degrees. Time is literally money for them. An hour spent writing an essay is an hour not spent earning wages.
From a purely economic standpoint some students calculate that paying someone else to write their paper while they work an extra shift makes financial sense. The essay costs $50. The extra shift earns $100. Net positive.
Is this ethical? Thats a separate question and the answer is probably no. Submitting work you didnt write as your own is academic fraud. If caught the consequences can include failing the course or expulsion.
But understanding why students make this calculation is important for addressing the underlying problem. The cost of higher education has skyrocketed while wages for student jobs havent kept pace. Students are stretched impossibly thin.
Some argue that essay writing services actually serve legitimate purposes too. Professional editing is one thing. Using sample essays to learn structure and argumentation is another. The services themselves arent inherently problematic – its how theyre used.
Universities could do more to support struggling students. More flexible deadlines. Better recognition of work obligations. Financial aid that actually covers living expenses not just tuition. If students werent so desperate the market for these services would shrink.
My advice? Dont use these services to submit work as your own. The risks outweigh the benefits and you actually do need to develop writing skills for your career. But if the system is failing you that says something about the system too.
We need to talk about why students feel they have no other choice. That conversation matters more than policing individual decisions.