Contract Cheating

Contract cheating is a serious form of academic misconduct. It involves another person (or artificial intelligence) creating the assignment which you then submit as your own. Examples of this sort of misconduct include:

• buying an assignment from an 'essay mill'/professional writer
• submitting an assignment which you have downloaded from a file-sharing site
• acquiring an essay from another student or family member and submitting it as your own
• attempting to pass off work created by artificial intelligence as your own

Presenting the work of others as your own undermines your learning, and the trust others can place in you.

Essay writing companies often present themselves as respectable and supportive. They market themselves aggressively and make a very large amount of money from student customers. They are not usually trustworthy services. They might sell you work that is not of the standard they claim. They might also misuse your personal data by selling your details on or by blackmailing you for further money after you have used their services by threatening to tell your tutors about your purchases.