A reporter, posing as a student, spoke to six companies on the phone and when he asked if he could hand in the work provided to his tutor as if it was his own, all the firms clearly said that he could. Our undercover student also learned about smartly-dressed men standing outside campuses touting for business, especially towards the end of term, when the pressure on students is the greatest.
Universities are well set up to detect more traditional forms of plagiarism where extracts of someone else's work are used. But according to the Birmingham City University's professor Robert Clarke, this is much harder to identify in a bespoke essay, original but written by someone else. He thinks this should concern us all and asks: "Would you want to be treated by a nurse who's cheated on her assignment?"
There are serious implications for any student found to be buying an essay in this way. A student can be stripped of their degree or thrown out of university.
This form of cheating is not a crime, although there are some in academic circles who think it should be. And the offence is the student's.
The phenomenon affects universities in many parts of the world. Earlier this year, Harvard University officials said that dozens of its students were being investigated for allegedly helping each other cheat in an exam.
Up to 125 students in one undergraduate course are suspected of sharing answers or plagiarising.
Quiz 測驗 1. Look at the article. What two places might students find offers of essay-writing on their behalf?
Newsagents and outside campuses, where some men tout for business.
2. Where is it most difficult to detect cheating?
In bespoke essays.
3. Is the following statement true, false or not given? Colleges always place the blame for cheating on the people who sold the essays.
False. The offender is the student who has bought the essay and presented it as his own.
Look at the article. What word means the practice of copying other people's work and pretending it to be your own?
Plagiarism.
What adverb in the text is used to refer to something that is heard around but hasn't been witnessed?
Allegedly.
Glossary 词汇表 to deceive 欺騙 the coursework作業，功課 tucked away隱秘的、藏在一邊的 a newsagent報亭 an essay一篇作文 to pass off當作 to pose as冒充 undercover便衣，臥底 smartly-dressed衣著時尚得體的 to tout for business招攬生意 the end of term學期末 to detect檢測 plagiarism（名詞）剽竊 bespoke定制的 to cheat欺騙 to be stripped of被取消資格 to be thrown out被開除了 academic circles學術界 an offence一項犯罪行為 allegedly據稱 to plagiarise（動詞）剽竊
