Ghostwriter in college – How much help is allowed?

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Ghostwriters are authors who write on behalf of others. What is normal for politicians and life stories is controversial for students. Is the help of ghostwriters allowed to write scientific papers during my studies?

Few freshmen have experience researching the right literature or writing longer texts. In addition, many students write little term paper throughout their studies. Most of the time the curriculum doesn’t provide for that. The fact that the final exam is a bachelor thesis poses a challenge for some. The idea of ​​getting help with writing homework, seminar or bachelor theses is obvious. Sometimes students need help for tutors, they can surely also get help with the learning, like the one they might have pursued tutoring at their times, such as GAMSAT tutoring, click here to see details. 

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What are the options?

There are different ways to get support in writing academic papers by having your work proofread: Experienced fellow students can help, courses from the university, friends and relatives, but also ghostwriters. The services of ghostwriters are always up for discussion. While journalists, celebrities, companies, politicians or private individuals can of course hire ghostwriters to write a wide variety of texts, the question often arises with students whether this is even allowed. It is understandable that students want to get the best possible grade through a ghostwriter. Especially since the projects completely written by a ghostwriterare not plagiarism, but sometimes individually prepared scientific texts.

What speaks against a ghostwriter?

For the critics, the question often arises whether lazy students don’t make it too easy for themselves. Ghostwriting can be a quick stopgap solution for some, but a kind of tutoring in writing for others. Ghostwriters are mostly experienced authors with academic degrees who can help students in a variety of ways through their practical experience and their knowledge of scientific standards.  Where are the boundaries between what is within the framework of the university guidelines and what is not?

How much ghostwriting is allowed?

Ghostwriting is allowed in many areas and is a respected activity. Ghostwriters revise and write books, write speeches and ensure optimal wording. Ghostwriting is also allowed as an aid in the university sector. Especially in the area of editing or proofreading, there are certainly universities that recommend their students to let experts read their work for errors. The student takes on the essential scientific work, namely working out a topic, sifting through the literature and writing the thesis. The subsequent corrections do not change anything, but only improve the overall picture and the quality of the work.

How can a ghostwriter help?

Having your work proofread by a ghostwriter can mean that mistakes in spelling and grammar are corrected. A good ghostwriter can also check whether the work is scientifically written. These pointers will help students improve and develop their skills. Students can find support at portals such as Livingston Research, which provide experienced ghostwriters and proofreaders and help with writing a bachelor’s or master’s thesis. In general, it is recommended that all students proofread the finished master’s thesis by friends, fellow students, family or academic editorsallow. Anyone who has spent a long time writing at work can easily lose sight of small errors and discrepancies. Especially for students for whom English is a foreign language, the support of editing and proofreading ghostwriters is an invaluable help that can improve grades.

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What should you watch out for?

Gray areas, on the other hand, are help in choosing a topic or supporting the writing process. Many providers point out that work for students such as term papers or seminar papers can only serve as a suggestion or template. There is nothing to prevent students who use the support of ghostwriters as a stimulus in deadlocked writing processes or in case of doubt, as long as the ultimate academic achievement that is required is provided by them. The help of a ghostwriter with research is also allowed, and as long as he takes on an advisory and not a decisive role, it is entirely possible. You can find 10 points to look out for in a ghostwriter in this article.

When is ghostwriting not allowed?

It is not allowed to have a ghostwriter write your term paper, bachelor thesis or master thesis or entire text passages and then submit them as your own service. The student is responsible for writing the work, its content and structure. Because this shows the scientific skills that are put to the test when writing theses. Anyone who leaves the entire scientific elaboration to the ghostwriter and pays him for it has not achieved any scientific achievement. Many universities have affidavits common, in which the student affirms that he has completed the scientific achievement independently and without outside help. Anyone who signs this even though he has had the entire work written is committing fraud. If this is revealed, the student will be de-registered. In addition, the academic degree can be withdrawn and even go to court.

Tips and further information

Of course, university certificates are still the basis for assessing academic applicants. But even without an exam, you can overcome the first hurdle with personnel decision-makers and be invited to an interview. It is important here that the skills that are decisive for the job description can be demonstrated even without the possibly required qualification! So if you are determined to drop out, get your skills certified where possible. And in the time between dropping out and leaving, you can take one or the other course at the university that extends your qualifications, such as language or IT courses.

When applying, how do I best explain why I dropped out of my studies?

First of all, of course, it is important that you do not stutter during the conversation with the HR manager because you yourself have a guilty conscience about dropping out of your studies. There are a few important points to keep in mind if you are invited to an interview and the hiring manager addresses this point on your resume:

  • Avoid excuses, such as that external circumstances forced you to make up your mind. You only give the impression that you regret this decision yourself and are not fully behind it. Potential bosses may project your decision onto what will happen later in their company. Who wants an employee who doesn’t take responsibility for their decisions? This fiddling around also gives the impression that you are not thinking about your actions carefully enough beforehand.
  • A self-confident but not arrogant demeanor is also an advantage with such a question, after all, you have nothing to hide.
  • You can say that it was only during your studies that you noticed that another subject corresponds much more to your inclinations.
  • Even if you truthfully answer that your studies have overwhelmed you, the HR manager does not have to relate this to the desired job. You just need to be able to thoroughly convey that the demands of the job are not a problem for you.
  • You can also provide private reasons for dropping out of your studies. If you make it clear that the problems have now been resolved and are not an obstacle to the new job, this is also not a problem for the HR manager.