This is an edited email I received from a reader last week:

“A term paper writing company based in London has never paid me for work done since last October. They owe me only about $159. They say they are ‘wiring’ the money but it never arrives and there are all kinds of twists involved. They advertise pretty heavily for academic research/writing positions… They just don’t pay.”

I’ve harped on this subject before, but it’s obvious I need to get on my soapbox again. My missive today may anger some readers, but this really must be said. If you don’t like it, feel free to unsubscribe.

There are a multitude of these types of companies, term paper mills, popping up online. They’re everywhere. I run into them each week when searching for new jobs for WritersWeekly.com and I’m sure you’ve seen them, too. While some call themselves “academic research” companies and some even go so far as to call themselves “educational writing” companies, when you look at their websites, it’s obvious what they’re doing. Some claim they’re only “consultants” and that they’re only helping the students write their own papers. Others claim their papers are only “sample papers” and that it’s not their fault if a student copies it word for word. Hogwash and more hogwash!

They hire writers to write research/term papers and other school assignments and sell these items to students. Some writers may write a term paper on a general subject like, say, Christopher Columbus, and the term paper mill will then sell that term paper to many students at a lower price. Other times, they may hire a writer to write a specific paper based on a topic of the student’s choosing, and to the student’s professor’s specs. This would, of course, cost the student considerably more money. Either way, professors and teachers usually know when a student has purchased a paper elsewhere. It’s pretty obvious, after they’ve read a student’s real writing, that this particular student didn’t wake up one day with a different writing style and far more grammatical expertise than they had the previous week.

The problem is obvious here. Term paper mills help students (children and adults) cheat. Unfortunately, many writers stupidly believe that working for these companies is okay. They either pretend to believe the statement that the term paper mill doesn’t allow students to copy their papers word for word, or they may concoct a variety of excuses to make themselves feel better about the unethical business they now find themselves in (“I really need the money” and “I’m not really hurting anyone” and “Who cares? It’s not my kid”). And, when the students get caught, I place blame on the term paper mills, the writers who helped them cheat, and the students themselves. The students are usually reprimanded or suspended, and many universities expel students for this type of cheating.

What really ires my eyeballs is when a writer, like the person above, writes to me and can’t believe one of these companies, a firm that makes a business out of unethical business dealings and cheating, and that assists our young people while hurting them at the same time, rips them off. I mean, come on already! What did you expect?!

If you’re going to get into bed with a cheat and a liar, don’t come crawling to me for help. For WritersWeekly Whispers and Warnings, I am only interested in helping writers who are owed money for legitimate, honest work they’ve done, not for their efforts that hurt our youth and their futures.

So, if a term paper mill owes you money, wake up and smell the rotten eggs. You’re doing business with the slime of our industry. Get online and find a real writing job.

I created a new Term Paper Mill topic on our forum. If you’d like to debate this subject, click HERE.