View from an ‘essay mill’: the best offer legitimate support for struggling students

Universities must pay more attention to the difficulties faced by students, says Daniel Dennehy

September 10, 2016
Handwritten essay on table
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When you work in an industry like mine, it’s to be expected that some less informed individuals on the outside may jump to conclusions and slam the support that “essay mills” give to students, as facilitating “academic dishonesty”.

It’s incredibly frustrating that we are subject to the blanket negative perception of our industry, thanks to an official report that has assessed only a tiny sample of companies that do not reflect the operations, ethics or intentions of the majority.

I’m referring, of course, to the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education report on “essay mills”, which was published in August.

A report like this one only serves to perpetuate the stigma facing students that seeking external help is somehow wrong and underhand; how does that attitude help anyone?

Looking at the list of companies that the report evaluated – none of them represents the UK model answers industry in the slightest, despite it fuelling calls for changes in legislation to outlaw what we do. Many of the companies listed here are small, registered abroad or sole traders. They do not offer ongoing support, and they do not clearly state that plagiarism is unacceptable.

In effect, these companies are not of consequence to the industry, nor do they represent how the majority of students access this kind of support. It’s the equivalent of pitting a service station burger against a taster menu from a Michelin-starred restaurant – the two are incomparable in terms of service, quality and delivery standards.

What the higher education system really needs is a more robust evaluation, not of these charlatan “essay mills” that distort the reality of what we provide, but to look at the broader difficulties faced by university students as a whole.

After all, if students felt supported, inspired and confident enough to go without additional support, pop-up companies registered abroad wouldn’t get this airtime. Instead, the growing numbers of student enquiries suggests that these individuals are being let down by their universities, which do not equip them with the skills they need to produce essays and dissertations entirely on their own.

The 2015 Student Academic Experience Survey paints an interesting picture. Of the students who said that their experience at university was “worse than expected”, 30 per cent of them cite a lack of contact hours as being a primary factor (a recent report indicated that, on average, students receive just 13.9 contact hours per week).

Other complaints include inaccessible teaching staff, too large course groups and poor feedback – so it is clear that there are some steps that universities and their staff can take to balance out these concerns.

The study also points out that students’ perceptions of the universities’ value for money continues to fall, representing one of the main year-on-year differences. Added to that, the perceived financial value of a university degree is falling across all parts of the UK, with just 37 per cent of respondents feeling they receive good value for money, compared with 53 per cent in 2012. Another key aspect identified as having a clear correlation with value is satisfaction, and here we have solid evidence that students do equate contact hours, and indeed general levels of workload, with value.

This is without even mentioning the pressure placed on international students, and how they believe that they are being let down by universities that focus only on their commercial value.

Research into the international student experience is shockingly limited, and more exploration into the quality of international study support is urgently needed. There are many first-hand accounts highlighting what a challenging experience it is to study abroad – both with the cultural differences and the varied expectations of essay-writing in an international institution.

From our own research, more than three-quarters of the students we help (78 per cent) are international students, with a large proportion of them acknowledging that they are not aware of any additional support their own university provides with essay-writing.

This level of student support seems unacceptable and certainly doesn’t warrant the high tuition fees being paid, especially when you consider that international students pay more for their degrees (approximately £4,000 per year more than their domestic counterparts). 

I believe that the most successful university model is one that works with our industry rather than sees it as taboo or tries to control it. Accepting that the support students are seeking can be a huge benefit to them, and therefore to overall university results, is both brave and insightful. We embrace working with university tutors and academics to create model questions and answers, a recognised learning tool that helps guide students to success.

I have absolute belief in what we do. Of course there will be some companies out there that bolster the label of “essay mills” and all the connotations that come with it – but what I’d like to see is instead a focus on the students themselves.

After all, they are the ones most affected by the changes we see in higher education – and if independent reviews of student satisfaction are anything to go by, the sector needs to see more support for tutoring, advice and one-to-one guidance from reputable, established and trusted providers.

Daniel Dennehy is chief operations officer at UK Essays.

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Reader's comments (6)

It is apparent that Mr. Dennehy was let down by his university. It did equip him with the skills he need to produce this essay. Clearly, he should have sought help and outsourced his essay.
It is apparent that Mr. Dennehy was let down by his university. It did NOT (sorry, left that out) equip him with the skills he need to produce this essay. Clearly, he should have sought help and outsourced his essay.
There is a word in English that is sometimes difficult to explain to the uninitiated ... 'shameless' ... but not anymore; Daniel Dennehy has just demonstrated exactly what it means.
Mr Dennehy's argument about value for money is seriously weakened because he omits to mention the huge hike in fees that occurred in the UK in 2012. Of course VFM has taken a hit: students are paying more while university income has barely changed. There may well be questions to address about the level of support offered to students on various courses but UK Essays is not the answer. All Dennehy's arguments about caring for students' learning are torpedoed by the fact that UK essays charges based on the standard of essay produced (1st, 2:1 or 2:2) and the reassurances given to their customers that essays have passed plagiarism checks. This is a business designed to enable plagiarism.
This guy is unbelievable. I note that the company even appears on Feefo, where anonymous (of course) customers provide generally positive feedback. I love the comments back from UK Essays, along the lines of "We're so glad to have help you with your own model answer", stressing, as if sardonically, the "YOUR OWN MODEL ANSWER". Not me, Guv! I note that AllAnswers.co.uk, UK Essays' parent ccompany, is a little more open about what they do: "It’s understandable that you might be a little tempted to take the original work you paid for and pass it off as your own. After all, nobody would know. So why shouldn’t you? Gain the satisfaction of achieving your own grades. The benefits are exhilarating." A good account of what really goes on is found here: http://www.plagiarismchecker.net/how-to-combat-custom-essay-plagiarism.php.
When I started university I took a course in classical studies and we recieved pretty much zero help with essay writing (except the pretty useless advice that it was "nothing like school", thanks for that but would you mind mentioning what it is like?). There should definitely be a writing skills course or lectures that are given throughout the first year core modules that help you write. At most unis you only write 2-3 essays in a semester and that just isn't enough practice if you haven't already recieved pointers.

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