assignment writing service australia

assignment writing service australia

Exploring the Ethics and Implications of Assignment Writing Services in Australia

1. Introduction to Assignment Writing Services

The precise amount of growth in the assignment writing services industry is difficult to pin down. It is claimed that the industry as a whole operates under a light cloud, and as a result, accurate figures are almost never made available. Market estimates suggest a vast range of the assignment writing services industry in Australia, from as low as a few million dollars annually to as high as a $100 million industry. Essay writing services are by far the most well-known of these and the most often discussed in popular literature. Although many argue the origins of the essay writing industry, its clear popularization was in the late 1990s, with the global uptake of the internet as a standardized information source.

Assignment writing services have been a point of controversy in many Australian universities and educational institutions for several years. The demand for this service has increased dramatically over the last few decades as students look to manage their increasingly busy workloads, choosing to buy assignments of various kinds rather than try to comprehend difficult subjects or balance work, life, and study. The question of the ethics of these services may never provide a simple answer; it often exists in a shade of grey. At the very best, many students only use these services in emergencies: when they are struggling to meet deadlines or manage workloads outside of study. It’s useful and often necessary as a supplement, then, not an immediate crutch. At the same time, a process that severely involves deceptive or immoral behavior is not only immoral but also illegal. Many universities in Australia, as well as the international community, grapple with these issues to this day, continuously adapting to technology and a new generation of students who use these assignment writing services without hesitation.

2. Ethical Considerations in Using Assignment Writing Services

After the proliferation of essay writing service advertisements in full view of people visiting one of the exam halls at a Russell Group university, my thoughts turned to an investigation of the ethical issues surrounding essay writing services. The practice of having an academic paper written by a third-party assignment writing service is not new; research indicates the existence of paper mill services in the 1700s. In such a well-established industry, a range of ethical dilemmas needs to be resolved if harm is to be reduced. Key questions in this debate include, but are not limited to, to whom do students have responsibilities, and what are the implications of existing social norms surrounding truth and knowledge production. These questions will be considered using an Australian context. In so doing, this article contributes to the ongoing debate on this issue, broadening understanding about the ethical minutiae of global academic integrity.

The practicalities of assignment writing services have been widely covered in the media. However, the ethical considerations of using such services are yet to be fully explored. This article investigates some of the key ethical implications that are connected to the use of assignment writing services. By drawing upon literature in the area, it is suggested that there exists a range of ethical considerations associated with the use of assignment services, including issues connected to individual morality, potential harm caused by such a service, and the moral responsibilities of students themselves. The article argues that the use of essay writing services is unacceptable, both at an individual and social level, and that more ought to be done to reduce the use of such services.

3. Impact of Assignment Writing Services on Academic Integrity

At their heart, education and academic performance are based on originality, whether through contributions from original research or through analysis and application in the assessment process. Such services that offer ‘unique’ content in student-produced assignments will attempt to pass off as original work and rip off not just the educational institutions but other students as well, by elevating their marks based on papers that don’t belong to them, and dismissing the academic integrity derived from honest results. Indeed, in their educative capacity, the impact of contract cheating services can devalue the qualifications when their division between ‘hired’ material and effort from legitimate students is increasingly blurred; at the most serious level, University and military training facilities include the relevance of academic courses for employment and the integrity of the entire Bachelor and postgraduate levels in the labour market. Increased course costs can also have a negative impact on patients and other healthcare professionals as counterfeit prevention standards are increasing. Long-term results will have tolerance if students with artificial course degrees are evaluated down the line. Improved skills and learning are likely to have a positive impact on patient care and the healthcare sector as a whole. Introducing the need to re-sit the exams or cheat on students in other ways to make up for academic honesty concessions can have potentially harmful effects such as poor academic performance.

The third level can discuss the impact of assignment writing services on academic integrity. It may talk about how these services can affect the originality of students’ work, compromise the educational standards, the lack of a unified approach, and the negative influence that these services may have on integrity assessments.

4. Regulatory Framework and Legal Implications in Australia

As a Commonwealth country, it is the case for Australian law that, where the law exists in a specific rural state, it is usually replicated in all other states and relevant territories. Australian federal law, including the ESOS Act and the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act, which apply only to international and vocational educational courses, include fraud as an illegal or corrupt act under Section 358 of the Criminal Code. Some other institutions may have complementary state laws that permit prosecution under the legal category of ‘dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage by deception’ in cases where the real authorship of an ad hoc task is examined. Referred to as ‘contract cheating’, this crime is closely related to the concept of plagiarism, defined in the Australian Qualifications Framework as ‘submitting another person’s work as one’s own’ and is encompassed by University rules. The most successful prosecutions yet in New South Wales in 2011 (a world first) and the United Kingdom in 2017/2018 have been won by classifying races as a crime of property, but no evidence is available whether any prosecutions have been made.

Several measures have been put into place in a number of international locations to officiate the requirement for conformity of ‘assignment writing’ and ‘paid education services’ with the regulations of any given locale. These measures are similar in their implied objections to the operations of outsourced essay writing services. Many institutions overseas possess similar laws and academic policies. Closest to the Australian context, the responsible Commission on Higher Education (CHE) in the country of Ireland offers Information for Education Providers and Students in Ireland, which is a comprehensive document of regulations, guidelines, and explanatory notes to be used by students and education providers. Section four of this document is titled Regulatory Framework and Legal Implications.

5. Conclusion and Recommendations for Future Practices

Ethically, there might be some ambivalence around the legitimacy of coding external services and activities as academic integrity violations. We caution against making crude assumptions about different client user preferences in an emergent market. Particularities of language can pose barriers to success for students across the spectrum. Consequently, attention to more formal and conducive directions in which practitioners (academic skills advisors, teachers, researchers, etc.) will direct their urgent energies is warranted. Out of this, many stakeholders within the education and commercial sectors including students, universities, and policymakers are left to consider the potential implications and therefore future practices associated with the use of such services. It is understood that government and regulatory bodies have yet to consider suitable acuity on this issue; however, in light of the potential for indeed misinterpretations on a global scale, we would like to reiterate our recommendations for future practices.

In critically exploring the ethical, operational, and practical implications of assignment writing services, our aim has been to promote and contribute to a precise and essential understanding of this nuanced area of academic work. In advancing and complicating understandings and definitions of key areas, such as language support, our contribution has underscored the spectrum of activities in which assignment writing services can engage, a shift that is mirrored in ongoing definitional work in the industry. Thus, we have sought to contribute to discussions around DQE and related areas, and have advanced a way of understanding broader questions of when and what is considered cheating with regard to formal assessments. In illuminating some of the diverse pathways, motivations, and support needs of the clients of these services, it becomes clear that simplifying assumptions are not only inaccurate, but can have unacknowledged implications on other segments of the student body. Discussing some of the hidden work that occurs behind assignments makes it apparent that some processes described by the services, including academic ghostwriting, should be prohibited although currently none are.