The Shadow Scholar

College Essays
41

<p>^I know! Really!</p>

<p>I’m gonna have to agree with posters that can’t stand his writing style. It is so unbelievably cocky and blame-shifting. And the revolution in a Central American country line is stolen, not clever :stuck_out_tongue: (Go figure, though!) Additionally, he spent 3/4 of the article not really saying anything (I guess that is how he writes those papers!). </p>

<p>But the thing is, he doesn’t really /need/ to be an author or a fabulous writer or anything (just a /very/ quick one!). I laugh at the parents who asked up-thread how a professor could believe that a student without English skills presented him/her with a “well-written” paper.</p>

<p>Do you really think a 75 page paper written in two days using only Google is “well-written”? Hell no. But it’s not necessary if the kids are just trying to pass and graduate. Do the work, and you’ll get SOME kind of passing marks.</p>

<p>On that note, does anyone else think a 75 page report on business ethics sounds like the most useless thing in the world? Can they disclose the program so I don’t end up there???</p>

42

<p>I submitted a writing sample for a job application for a company that does academic research and writing. Then, when I was offered the job, I discovered that it was a company like the one the “Shadow Scholar” describes. They had a front they even offered me, but domain registration research revealed several websites operated by the same man, the same company. They said they had “varied clients”, but it was evident that they were a paper mill for college students. I was surprised at the large amount of money per page I was being offered. I was outright shocked when I discovered the much larger amount of money they were charging people, and that so many students would and could pay it.</p>

<p>I needed the money, but I didn’t take the job. I posted a warning to other writers on the website where I first found the job advertisement, but I’m sure that it didn’t hinder their business. Other writing jobs are harder to find, harder to get hired for, and lower paid, so I see why many take those jobs. I just refused to contribute to what was seriously wrong with the education system.</p>

43

<p>This is the greatest thing I have ever read…</p>

44

<p>^Good for you BillyMc!</p>

45

<p>I agree that a certain percentage of these kids will be running the world someday. They’re well bred, connected, paid, and already master delegators. </p>

<p>That said, don’t we live in a society where we support this sort of thing? I mean, every second or third memoir is ghost-written and, not only are we not furious, we accept it as par for the course. John McCain’s last book, George W. Bush’s book, etc., they’re all delegated work with the marquis name on the front cover. Is that any better?</p>

46

<p>It scares me that this guy was going to be a novelist, and then he turned that talent into something else. I hope that, even if my writing get turned down like his did, I won’t end up that way. The story about his college years seems like something that might happen to me. </p>

<p>I’m glad that I read the article, because now I can make sure that I will never let that dark side take over.</p>

47

<p>Pure genius.</p>

48

<p>Whoever this guy is, to write so many different papers in such diverse areas would suggest he’s something of an academic genius. Personally, I think he’s exaggerating quite a bit. Plus, the claims that he has no voice or style…I find that hard to believe.</p>

49

<p>Mercy - </p>

<p>I think he’s very intelligent, but not a genius. He’s figured out how to write crappy papers for poor students at poor colleges…where they aren’t considered crappy.</p>

50

<p>What I’m wondering is where the heck all these kids are getting $2,000 to pay for these papers! And some of them multiple papers?</p>

<p>I know some lazy, rich kids and I also know that there is no way their parents would ever pay two grand for a paper.</p>

51

<p>I don’t blame the Shadow Scholar for being what he is, an excellent writer who was so happy just to be a writer that he was willing to compromise everything else about himself,</p>

<p>I blame the teachers for not seeing through this sort of behavior.</p>

<p>All it would take would be some follow-up questions on a typical paper and any decent teacher would be able to tell if the student actually has any knowledge of the topic. If they do - guess what? - they just completed some extra work deserving of a higher grade, if not, an F for the paper and perhaps for the course is appropriate.</p>

<p>The problem is, this requires teachers to put forth more effort than just scanning and stamping a letter grade. It would require not just constructive notes, but an in-depth evaluation that is typically reserved for graduate-level theses.</p>

<p>I don’t see that happening without an increase in the benefits of being a teacher through increased federal, state and tuition based funding which would lead to an increase in teacher quality.</p>

<p>I don’t blame the students. If I were a student and a teacher was taking a special interest in my writing, I would be flattered. This is particularly true of large universities with large classes where individual attention is rare. Part of the reason I think teachers don’t reach out to students on a more regular basis is simply their egos. They want to be reached out to, they don’t want to reach out to their students. They hold office hours, get ****ed off that no one shows up and then decide to just withdraw. If teachers would just take the extra time to reach out to students instead of waiting for the students, who are often afraid, they would be surprised by the result.</p>

<p>Then again this whole idea I’m talking about is new to the field so it may never happen, or if it does it may take many years to be implemented.</p>

<p>What’s sad about all this is that it shortchanges hard-working students who actually do the work. I remember taking a course in community college. The teacher was talking about how he would often get the same paper from every single person in the class. Instead of becoming furious and failing everyone for cheating, he would just go about his business and hand out a group grade.</p>

<p>Where does that leave intellectually honest students?</p>

<p>Simply put, education in America needs to evolve, the current trend of American students going abroad for their educations in places like Canada is not a good one.</p>

52

<p>I agree with much of what you said, BryanDavis. Did you read the comments below the article? A couple were from teachers, and it was interesting to take their perspective into account.</p>

53

<p>Honestly, no I didn’t read the comments below the article. I went back and read them after you mentioned it though.</p>

<p>To be frank, I smell burn-out. The teachers complain about this and that, the number of students they have, etc. Honestly, if you don’t like it, leave.</p>

<p>An up-or-out policy instituted at various educational establishments would be a quick fix to the new-to-me problem of burn-out.</p>

<p>(Some of the teachers’ suggestions are surprisingly good, like reading and correcting drafts as well as the final version, some suggestions are just beating up on the students, like the Jacksonville State University instructor who makes everyone write everything in class.)</p>

<p>Some of the teachers are incredible writers, graykitt comes to mind, but I can’t help but think that they wouldn’t be happier (and make more money) if they did exactly what the Shadow Scholar does. Surely if we’re being honest it isn’t any better to be a burned-out teacher who shortchanges student’s futures by being dismissive than to be a mercenary writer ala the Shadow Scholar, is it?</p>

<p>What really sticks in my craw though is some of the teachers commenting/ribbing the Shadow Scholar about not getting the independent study project he wanted so he could’ve published his novel. The very least they could’ve done would’ve been to refer him to the proper avenues for having his book published. While it wouldn’t have been for credit, it would’ve been something.</p>

<p>A simple, although very hard-line solution to all of this would be to simply outlaw these writer-for-hire businesses. It might take some doing, and I might even regret not having the option of hiring a writer myself, but at least, this way, the truly talented have a chance to stand out and Not be accused of plagiarism. (Like I was back in grade school and I suspect I was in college.)</p>

<p>(I still haven’t finished reading the comments, I’m up to about comment #246. The initial insight seems to be wearing off and degrading into “Me too” comments, so I figured I’d go ahead and post this reply.)</p>

54

<p>I wish the people I paid to write my papers were half as good as this guy.</p>

55

<p>

</p>

<p>Yes. Hiring ghostwriters and *speechwriters<a href=“you%20really%20don’t%20think%20Obama%20writes%20his%20State%20of%20the%20Union%20addresses%20by%20himself,%20do%20you?”>/i</a> is a time-honored tradition, and all politicians make it clear that they employ such writers. On the other hand, academia is quite explicit that they require all submitted work to be one’s original writing. There is nothing wrong with expectations being different depending on the situation.</p>

56

<p>i honestly think the guy’s lying…</p>