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RE: What to do about students looking for thesis?!

Muggie — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 01:07:46 GMT

I absolutely share and support the stance of those who will have nothing to do with students using this resource as a 'cheat factory'. I also think this sort of request ought to be banned by the site.

A former academic and secondary school teacher (now retired), I thought I knew all the students' plagiarism tricks--but this stuff (paying a professional to do the work) is new and untraceable.

Leaving the sheer dishonesty aside, ponder on the serious problem of people with sham degrees. Would any of us like to deal with a 'professional' who got his or her degree by proxy? What would be their level of expertise? It's frightening to think of the extent to which this practice, if widespread, could undermine community and academic standards.

As I have put it to caught-out cheats over the years: You'd never get in the football team or play piano in a concert if you got your friend/sister/cousin/aunt to do your training/practice. They would develop the expertise: you wouldn't.

Here in Sydney some years ago, some Indian students cynically played the race card. A final year school student had his university pure maths-enrolled cousin substitute for him in the HSC. Perhaps these boys thought the exam supervisors wouldn't know the difference--and they'd have been right because the exams are not supervised by teachers, but by externally employed staff. 'Unfortunately' for the cuplrits, their outraged classmates dobbed them in. As a consequence (and entirely appropriately), all HSC students now have to provide photo ID.

I don't like the way the world's turning these days. Why is personal honour (not the sort that results in honour killings!!) old hat? Why can't business be done on a handshake and people keep their word?

Enough of a rave.

RE: What to do about students looking for thesis?!

AliX — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 10:22:28 GMT

There was a report on Radio 2 the other day that said that some students were so lazy about what they were copying from the internet that they were submitting essays that still had the internet adverts displaying! There was another report that indicated that parents were buying essays (from a reputable sample essay company) that their darling off-spring were going to submit as actual university/college work! The mind boggles! Perhaps the situation will now swing away from coursework back to exam performance?

RE: What to do about students looking for thesis?!

leprechaun — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 05:49:47 GMT

Hi!

Even being a newbie, I should say that for as little as 50$ I would never betray my principles. I’m a student myself and I think that the process of doing a good thesis involves more than a simple text, taken from the net. I mean, how well can we do their jobs? I may be good at Philosophy, but no one is good enough to make that kind of job, so quickly that it would still be profitable. I mean, it would take me months to do it properly. And 50$ doesn’t pay for that kind of research. I mean, don’t they end up with mediocre thesis?
I mean, where I come from, that’s a big issue. I study in Portugal, and here we have very strict rules. And if the teacher is doing his job, the student will not be able to just buy the work done.
As for the issue of people genuinely interested in learning, well, they would do some investigation, instead of buying it, don’t you think? I mean, there is no better way of learning than making the effort of doing the research and writing about it. That’s the point when the teacher asks for an essay. I don’t believe that a student that lazy can be tutored by one of us, get the essay made, and still learn something. Well, something, perhaps, but they will miss the point of the hole thing, won’t they?

Thank you,

Eva

RE: What to do about students looking for thesis?!

MyView — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 07:28:19 GMT

On second thoughts, u do have a point, Alix .. and an indisputable one, i admit ....i am sure a student keen on getting mentored in any domain would choose a rather straightforward manner of doing so, rather than asking professionals to write essays for them at a cost ..

Moreover it wud be rather foolish to assume that among those seeking such services, exist a chunk who are genuinely interested in learning something out of this rather dubious exercise ....

I apologize for posting a rather distorted and immature point of view on this forum .. I wudn't mind if u consider my opinions unpublishable and decide to get rid of those from the forum ...

I wud have no complaints whatsoever if u go ahead with it, but its been a worthwhile point of discussion, no doubt ..

RE: What to do about students looking for thesis?!

AliX — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 06:51:54 GMT

Yes - but they're not asking for mentoring are they? They are asking us to write their course work for them. Mentoring IMO is helping people understand what they are learning and leading/pushing them onwards to their own enlightenment with the subject.

To say that these people will be exposed once out into the big wide world isn't true. People can function for years without the certification that they say they've got - there was once case in the news a couple of years ago, a murder, where the main suspect was the victim's father who was a headmaster. During the course of the investigation it became apparent that he didn't hold the right qualifications to be a headmaster. I'm sure that the knowledge that he'd lied and cheated his way into a job couldn't have helped his defence much regarding the murder investigation.

I applaud the idea of mentoring, as you suggest, but despise the idea of being paid to write cheap essays for lazy students.

RE: What to do about students looking for thesis?!

gnrao_2001 — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 05:59:38 GMT

Dear Alix,

to say that none of the students wud learn a thing or 2 from the assignments that u work on, on their behalf, is to be a little pessimistic ... i wud view this exercise effectively an opportunity to mentor those out there who ain't as good as in that field as u ppl are ... So the other perspecitive cud be to view it as a win-win opportunity for both parties ... where money is exchanged for experience/knowledge ...no doubt, we may have only a single student out there in the crowd who holds a view similar to that of mine, but i firmly believe that, this one guy/gal shudn't be put at a loss owing to the other students who prefer to learn nothing from this exercise ... The latter who are an end-result of this harsh mockery of the education system wud anyway will not have what it takes to survive, when they are eventually pushed into the professional world, where they wud stand exposed ...

Forgive me for being not quite ethical here ... but do i not have the liberty of being ethical in my own unique way .... since the fact that my contribution did help that one person to evolve better than he/she earlier was, wud provide solace to my conscience ..

RE: What to do about students looking for thesis?!

AliX — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 14:50:07 GMT

Unfortunately, I fear that the students have no intention of learning anything from us, but simply are too lazy to do the research themselves and just want their degree or diploma handed to them on a plate.

I would never have dreamed of asking someone to write essays for me when I was at University and it saddens me greatly that students think that it is perfectly alright to let other people do work on their behalf - it makes a mockery of the education system, don't you think?

RE: What to do about students looking for thesis?!

gnrao_2001 — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 11:56:22 GMT

Hi,

Its indeed unethical to take up school assignments for students as a project by freelancers.

But if those students are willing to learn a lesson or 2, from the assignments we work on and help them submit, then why not ?

Regds,

gnsh

RE: What to do about students looking for thesis?!

bhekee — Sat, 12 May 2007 04:42:22 GMT

More seriously, it is really disgusting a thing to be happening. Just because some students have the means, they'd pay someone to do their school writing projects for them. Writing is a discipline that must be exercised by students to hone their organized self-expression ability, and it is to their advantage to start this form of discipline in their schooling age, before they go out into the corporate world and be swamped and overwhelmed by reality's demands.

Well, in this sense, we can say that the have-nots who are forced to do their writing themselves during their formative years are luckier, and more blessed to have such an opportunity. Don't you agree, Alix?

Ciao, for now. I need to do my treadmills to flush out those toxic medications from my system. Smiles.

- becky

RE: What to do about students looking for thesis?!

AliX — Thu, 10 May 2007 04:31:05 GMT

oh - I can't take my own medication, the sleeves on my jacket are waaay too tight. The nurses have to do it for me *grin*.

Seriously though, I'm pretty disappointed that school/college work is allowed to be taken as a project on freelance sites. It just feels deeply unethical to me.

Pass the pills then....

Regards

RE: What to do about students looking for thesis?!

bhekee — Wed, 09 May 2007 23:39:17 GMT

... so what time are we taking our medication? just kidding.

- becky

RE: What to do about students looking for thesis?!

AliX — Wed, 09 May 2007 06:43:28 GMT

Becky - I'm so glad to know that I'm not alone :-)

RE: What to do about students looking for thesis?!

bhekee — Wed, 09 May 2007 00:11:27 GMT

Alix, hi.

If you are old fashioned and principled, then so am I. It's saddening that there are outsourcing businesses thriving on this weakness of our students, and I will not be caught dead helping out in that department.

Once or twice, I think, I made the mistake of responding to such an ad for writing assistance; and when I learned it's for a school requirement, I courteously but immediately backed out. I strongly believe the students should work for their grades/degrees and not purchase the services of other talents to do the work for them. This is what I taught my children, and so they, too, are averse to doing other students' writing assignments, not even for a hefty fee. (My two daughters are very good writers themselves, incidentally.) We have to spread this wisdom to the next generation, so they will be more scrupulous than those mindless, carefree students.

Thanks for sharing your sentiments about this. I am glad somebody else spoke up about this matter.

Best regards,

- becky

RE: What to do about students looking for thesis?!

AliX — Tue, 08 May 2007 09:47:40 GMT

Hmmm - Can I take it by the lack of replies to my original posting that that I *am* just too old fashioned?

No-one seems to have an opinion on whether we are morally compromising ourselves or our craft by writing someone's thesis for them (or completing their distance learning projects - as posted today).

Ah well - at least you can take comfort from the fact that at least one directfreelance.com subscriber won't be bidding against you in these particular projects :-)

I am poor, but principled :-D

What to do about students looking for thesis?!

AliX — Tue, 01 May 2007 16:45:10 GMT

It irks me no end that there are obviously students touting their degree or college thesis as projects on the various freelance list sites.

You know the kind of thing - 3,500 words for the end of the month on some rather specialist subject.....and the pay is expected to be not more than £50.

Is there anything that can be done about this, or am I just an old fashioned kind of gal who is out of place in the new, internet-friendly world of further education?

I'd love to hear your comments :-)