Buying essays online is a common phenomenon among students seeking academic help. Submitting purchased essays as one’s own work is a serious academic offense that can result in severe consequences.
Now that you can buy essays online, teachers, academic institutions, and policymakers are worried about academic integrity and ethics. In this post, it is important to understand the implications of buying essays online and its associated risks.
Can you be Caught Buying Essays Online?
If you buy an essay online, it can be difficult to tell whether or not they copied it from somewhere else. However, there are many ways to check if someone has plagiarized your work.
Yes, you can get caught buying essays online. Many institutions use plagiarism detection software to examine originality. If a student submits a purchased essay without proper citation, it will likely get flagged as plagiarism.
Some essay writing companies may also sell the same essay to different students, increasing detection chances.
Also, if caught, they could face serious consequences, such as failing the class, being suspended or kicked out of school, or even being taken to court.
It is always better to seek help from reputable sources like academic writing centers or tutors rather than getting into the moral concerns of buying essays or risking the consequences of plagiarism.
How Teachers Catch Students Buying Essays Online
Teachers and professors usually catch students who buy essays online. There are multiple ways in which they can detect such practices such as:
1. Plagiarism Detection Software
Universities and colleges widely use Turnitin or SafeAssign, to check for originality. The software scans it for similarities when a student submits an essay with other texts online, including other student papers, published works, and websites.
If a student buys an essay online, it is highly likely to be flagged as plagiarism because it may be identical or similar to a previously submitted work.
Plagiarism detection software would have an algorithm to detect plagiarism even if the student altered a few words or phrases.
2. Differences in Writing Style
Teachers have skills that can detect differences in writing style between a student’s previous work and an essay that one bought online. Experienced teachers are familiar with their students’ writing styles and abilities.
In case of slight changes, they will notice if a student’s writing suddenly improves or changes significantly.
The writing style will likely differ from the usual style if a student buys an essay. For example, the student may suddenly begin using more advanced vocabulary or sentence structures than previously demonstrated.
Alternatively, the writing may be very polished and professional, indicating that someone with more experience or expertise has written it.
3. Inconsistencies in knowledge
Another formula teachers can use to detect students who have bought essays online is looking for inconsistencies in their knowledge.
It may raise suspicions if a student submits an essay covering a topic they have not previously studied or shows an in-depth knowledge of a subject beyond their current level.
In such cases, teachers may ask the students questions about the topic to assess their knowledge further. It may indicate that the essay was bought online if the student cannot answer the questions or lacks understanding.
4. Same Essay Submitted by Multiple Students
Some essay writing companies have been known to sell the same essay to multiple students, increasing detection chances. If two or more students submit identical or similar essays, it will raise suspicions and prompt the teacher to investigate further.
If you are using a writing service, ensure that you know its reputation well to prevent falling into such a trap. Be sure to buy original essays online that are not sold to anyone else.
5. Unusual Sources
If a student submits an essay that includes references or sources that are unusual or irrelevant to the topic, it may indicate that the essay was bought online.
For example, suppose a student submits an essay on the history of the United States and includes references to a Russian history book or a blog about football. In that case, likely, the student did not write the essay.
6. Unfamiliar vocabulary or syntax
If a student submits an essay that includes vocabulary or syntax that is unfamiliar to them, it may indicate that the essay was bought online.
Teachers are often familiar with their students’ writing styles and abilities and can easily detect if the student did not write the essay.
7. Lack of Personal Experience or Examples
A student submitting an essay without personal experience or examples may indicate that it was bought online. A student who has written an essay based on personal experience or research will likely include specific examples or details to support their arguments.
However, if the student has bought an essay online, it may not include personal experiences or examples, making it less convincing and less likely to receive a good grade.
In conclusion, teachers and professors have several ways of detecting students who buy essays online. Plagiarism detection software is the most common method.
Still, experienced teachers can also spot differences in writing style, inconsistencies in knowledge, unusual sources, unfamiliar vocabulary or syntax, and lack of personal experience or examples.
Safety Steps to Avoid Being Caught Buying Essays Online
Although buying essays online may be illegal in some countries, students find themselves looking for reliable writers to write for them. Here is how you find one:
1. Choose a reputable service provider
The first step is to choose a reputable service provider. Look for a company with a reputation for providing quality academic papers that have been in business for a while.
The secret is in reading reviews and testimonials from other clients who have used the service in the past. Checking the company’s policies and guarantees is vital to protect you if something goes wrong.
2. Use a VPN
One of the ways that universities and schools catch students who purchase essays online is by tracking their IP addresses. Therefore, using a virtual private network (VPN) effectively hides your IP address and makes it difficult for anyone to track your online activities.
A VPN encrypts your internet connection, making it hard for anyone to see your online activities.
Use a Secure Payment Method
Another safety step when buying essays online is using a secure payment method. Avoid using credit cards or other payment methods. This is because they can be that can be traced back to you.
Instead, consider using a digital currency such as Bitcoin prepaid card, which can be used anonymously.
Use a Fake Name and Email Address
When registering with an online essay writing service, use a fake name and email address. Such will make it hard for anyone to trace your online activities back to you.
However, remember the login credentials you use for the website since you will need them to access your paper once completed.
Do not Submit the Paper as your own work
Facing serious consequences is one of the biggest risks of buying essays online is the possibility of getting caught. You can overcome this trap by avoiding submitting the paper you receive from the essay writing service as your own work.
Use it as a guide or a reference for writing your paper. Alternatively, you can rewrite it in your own words. Doing so will make it hard for your tutor to tell you that it was from a different source.
Check the Paper for Plagiarism
Check it for plagiarism before submitting the paper you receive from the essay writing service. You can use many online tools, such as Turnitin and Grammarly.
Be sure to rewrite those parts of the paper in your own words if you find any plagiarism.
Keep the Paper Confidential
Keep the paper you get from the essay writing service confidential. Do not share it with anyone else because it increases the risk of getting caught.
If you need to discuss the paper with someone, do so in person or over the phone instead of by email or text message.
Cases in the News of Students Caught Buying Essays
A news article published by Business Insider on 19th May 2019 suggests many students depend on essay mills to complete their assignments. The news article indicated that contract cheating is becoming a common phenomenon whereby for every six students, one could have ever participated in contract cheating.
Furthermore, the article shows that it is becoming hard for universities to detect this cheating because most of the essay mills are using anti-plagiarism software to may their products plagiarism free. Also, essay writing services offer affordable services, attracting many students to cheat. Notably, the US and New Zealand have enacted legislation to prevent contract cheating.
On another note, there are newspaper reports which revealed that some students rely on essay writing services and get failing grades due to shoddy deals. Some essay mils give poor quality work, full of basic writing and composition errors.
The Guardian newspaper indicated that an independent body in the UK investigated these essay-writing services, revealing that some were producing substandard work. Generally, varying essay services would generally charge a paper based on length and agency.
The assessment by external examiners also revealed that most of the papers from these essay-writing mills work poorly.3.
