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Downloadable term papers: A Web of cheating?
September 7, 1997
Web posted at: 2:06 p.m. EDT (1806 GMT)SAN FRANCISCO (CNN) -- For generations of students, writing term papers has been a major source of anxiety and frustration, if not the ultimate homework nightmare. But for those with an Internet hookup, illicit help is just a few links away.
The modern student who wants to fake a term paper does not have to search far. All one has to do is go to the right Web site, where online papers can either be bought, ordered, or downloaded for free.
Collegiate Care Research Assistance, for instance, may do the job. Want to "write" a paper on "Hamlet's irreconcilable moral dilemmas?" Simply hand over $29.75, and the essay is yours.
For those who find this too pricey, there is an alternative. Collegiate Care, with its "highest quality papers at the lowest possible prices," offers on-file papers for $5.95 per page. So, a few pages may just do the trick for the cost-conscious student.
Genius Papers is another student helper that offers "high-quality" and "low-priced" term papers. "You will be happy and successful," the Web site promises potential customers.
If your are too lazy or simply too busy writing your own term paper, Genius Papers is right at hand. For a one-time fee of $9.95, you get access to pre-written papers for an entire year.
Some sites, such as Term Paper Emporium and Absolutely Free: Online Essays offer student papers for free. Simply press the button and download -- if you find the paper you want, that is.
Students are, of course, fully aware of these Web site helpers, and some people worry that the Internet, once hailed as the ultimate learning tool, could become the best tool yet for cheating.
For teachers, the problem is figuring out whether a student's authorship is authentic. But, as teaching assistant Jane Morrison explained, the task may not be too difficult for the perceiving teacher.
"Students who have gotten it off the Internet don't look at me, (they) twitch a little bit, and look at their feet. And students who wrote every bit of it can talk about the paper very intelligently and look me in the eye," Morrison said.
Faking term papers is nothing new, and plagiarism has been for sale for years. But the advent of the Internet raises the question: Is the new technology making cheating more widespread?
A senior official at Berkeley doubts it. "Students who are inclined to cheat are going to cheat regardless of the technology. I think it's sort of a cynical notion to think that this new tool is going to spread the incidence of cheating," Gary Handman said.
This view was backed by Berkeley graduate student Arianne Chernock, who says that, after all, students have to decide what's best for themselves. "It's a question of honesty. We're here to learn, so we've got to make the most of it ourselves."
And inventive teachers can make their assignment almost cheat-proof.
"If you couch the assignment in a creative way, and if students, for instance, have to transform the information into a flyer, or do a drama, or write something in first person narrative," then you may curb illicit work, said library media teacher Leslie Farmer.
That kind of strategy, some experts say, will force to students do more than simply download their education.
Correspondent Rusty Dornin contributed to this report.
Related story:
- Cheaters on campus find a friend in the Web - May 26, 1997
Related sites:
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- UC Berkeley
- Researching Term Papers - tips to help you get started with your term paper
- Graduate Student Advice and Research Survival Guide
- Researchpaper.com - a large collection of topics, ideas, and assistance for school related research projects
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