TL;DR: Plagiarism is an outlet used by students that prevents them from getting an education while still receiving a diploma or degree.

Academic writing is used throughout the world to reach millions of people. It allows for everyone to view, read, and react to the work done by others. This work is out in Academia but is it protected? Some might then ask what does it need to be protected from? The answer to these questions are yes our work is protected, but plagiarism is a constant threat. Many people do not understand that plagiarism is a problem throughout the world. Only a few realize that the largest problem that arises from plagiarism isn’t the moral dilemma, but it is that students who plagiarize do not receive a proper education. These people have work done for them and in turn are not being prepared for the outside world.

There is a man who has fulfilled the need of countless students and held them back from receiving a true education. This man is known as the Shadow Scholar. He worked for an organization that would receive requests from students who were willing to pay to have their work done by someone else. This occupation was revealed to the public via an article in The Chronicle that was written by the Shadow Scholar. He revealed what a typical day at the office consisted of which included receiving a request, agreeing on monetary compensation based on when the deadline is, and the completion of the work. The requests made by students seem ridiculous. They range from a three-page paper to a seventy-five-page doctoral thesis. One main concern for the student is the qualification of the Shadow Scholar but he puts them at ease by being whatever the students wants him to be. He has a Ph. D. in Sociology and a Masters in English. He is a Psychology Professor and a Political Science Professor but not a Mathematician. The only work that he will not do is math related and that is because the knowledge required is not easily understood through a few Google searches.

Deadlines are another important issue that is brought up by the student. Procrastinators need to have a twenty-page paper in three days. This is doable because the Shadow Scholar has pulled countless overnight work sessions.This would seem impossible to most people but once a person has mastered the art of academic writing, it is not difficult to write between twenty and forty pages a day. Not only does this large workload have to get done, it needs to be paid for.

It is not cheap to have someone else write your seventy-five-page chapter with a deadline of six days. It costs about two thousand dollars to have the work completed and many students do not have the money to do this. But those that are able to supply the cash can easily have all their work done by someone else. This means that the student will have learned nothing.

Of course, many will probably disagree on the grounds that students are dodging the work so that they can focus on the real learning that happens in the classroom. However, this argument has no true basis. Yes, the students will have more time to study but in reality, classrooms do not provide an education. Hard work and determination is what prepares a student for the rest of their life. If a resource such as the Shadow Scholar is constantly used, the student is the one at an educational disadvantage. They are only hurting themselves.

Sibford School flickr photo by Britain Quaker Meeting Houses shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-ND) license