Professional essay review services for entrance essays

Joined: 28 May 2008 Posts: 6

I read an article that more people are using professional services to review college entrance essays. The level of service they provide varies, but it seems to be very expensive. People pay thousands of dollars for "help" with their MBA entrance exam essays.

How do people feel about these? Is it cheating or is okay?

Joined: 29 May 2008 Posts: 23

I am not sure that could be construed as cheating. Now if the "exam" is actually a test, then I would say that is cheating. But, I believe that is more of a "declaration" than a test and in that sense I do not believe it is cheating. They are only requesting assistance in writing it so that it portrays them in a good light.

Joined: 03 Jun 2008 Posts: 15

I think it is cheating no matter how you look at it. It is lying because it is saying you did the work when you didn't so therefore it is deception. Many people feel like cheating once in a while, but it isn't worth it because if you get found out you could get thrown off the course. Cheating in education is actually increasing. One huge cause is that students are feeling more stress to compete with the course.

Joined: 03 Jul 2008 Posts: 10

Honestly I am torn on this topic. I have helped a friend of mine with an essay for getting into a master program but just as an editor. I did not consider it cheating and neither did she, but it did help her get into the master program. It was not a program for english but for computer sciences. She also meantioned that some people had hired someone to write the paper for them which I thought was more or less cheating. It hinkt he same applies. Helping them edit or giving tips I think are fine but writing the whole thing I think is more or less cheating.

Joined: 29 May 2008 Posts: 23

Well, 90% of most entrance essays are nothing more than what you expect to get out of your courses, where you expect to be after graduation, what your best points are and possibly what you think you will contribute to your profession. So if a person gives all of this information to somebody to write out an essay isn't really cheating. Now, if it was for a degree in English and yes I would definitely say that it was cheating. Besides, there are lot MBAs that require this type of essay that are not English-based and the people do not have the proper writing skills to write them well.

Joined: 16 Jul 2008 Posts: 11

There is a big difference between writing an essay yourself and hiring someone to help you edit and refine vs. hiring someone to write it for you.

Having written many essays, many documents of all kinds, it is nice to have fresh eyes. I spent seven months researching a paper, and three days writing it. I was so immersed in the subject that parts of the paper were disconnected. I had assumed the reader knew as much as I did, and when I showed it to a friend, it got an overhaul. My classmates have the same problem. They are immersed in so much case law they automatically assume the audience is too and sometimes miss making and defending important points.

Now, writing an admissions essay does not necessarily require that kind of immersion, but it can take a few drafts and sometimes having someone who doesn't know you at all read it can help improve it. After all, the admissions officers don't you know either, so having someone who doesn't know you read your essay may be a good gauge of the reaction of an admissions officer.

Hiring someone to write your essay for you, however, is completely unethical. It is not your voice, not you thoughts, not you. For admissions essays, that's important. For papers of any kind, it's important. It sets your paper apart from the stack.

This can also be a bit of a gray area as someone inevitably draws an analogy to secretaries who often write emails, memos and other documents for their bosses. And they get paid to do it. However, for such business correspondence, there is an expectation of a secretary writing some or all of a document. And they often sign their name, or say "on behalf of" so it is clear it is still the boss's ideas and the boss's thoughts.

Hire someone to help improve something you have already written, not to write something for you. Better yet, have your friends, family or other relatives, even business associates, look at your writing. They'll probably do it for free and provide feedback that is just as good.

Doesn't matter what your job or career, you're going to have to do some kind of writing, and better to know how to do it and improve than have someone else do it, who may write things you don't want or don't approve but everyone will think it was you.