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December, 2024

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The story of a ghost writer for college essays

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Snowgoner
Posts: 5047 - Karma: 965
really compelling read

Apr 23 2011 8:17PM
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skijunkiedtm
Posts: 9229 - Karma: 61
American educational system FTW!
Apr 23 2011 8:50PM
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fujarome
Posts: 8630 - Karma: 1,561
as if any student anywhere in the world sits down and says "oh boy! 75 pages! This...is gonna be GREAT!"


but nonetheless...ridiculous. Good idea by this guy...but do your own damn work.
Apr 23 2011 8:55PM
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CSpruit
Posts: 368 - Karma: 55
people will really pay thousands of dollars to have essays written for them? wtf. Do your own work
Apr 23 2011 8:57PM
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SeanTom
Posts: 7936 - Karma: 1,747
great read. +k for this
Apr 23 2011 9:02PM
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PaleCelery
Posts: 7228 - Karma: 609
mythreads
Apr 23 2011 9:03PM
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_MNice_
Posts: 558 - Karma: 52
ffffreds
Apr 23 2011 9:12PM
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Snowgoner
Posts: 5047 - Karma: 965
this doesn't have anything to do with the american educational system. cheating and plagiarism occurs everywhere. this guy is extremely good at what he does
Apr 23 2011 9:12PM
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Abc567def
Posts: 8756 - Karma: 801
That guys sounds arrogant as fuck. It was a grocery list of things he had written about.
Apr 23 2011 9:13PM
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uosdwiSrjewoH
Posts: 4220 - Karma: 122
i'd likely hate my life if i was this guy, but i'd also likely feel like a badass for basically beating the education system. not for helping people cheat, but for proving that you can write a passing graduate paper using google and not being in the program at all.
Apr 23 2011 9:32PM
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funkmasterFLEX
Posts: 319 - Karma: 14
dude shoulg go on jeopardy


Apr 23 2011 9:35PM
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ESAND
Posts: 1607 - Karma: 744
What a complete tool bag. Still, talk about one kick ass job.

I wonder how much research he has to put in to the more technical papers. I mean in highschool you can bullshit around everything but I would assume that writing for graduate level sciences degrees would require actual knowledge.
Apr 23 2011 9:35PM
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MANDER
Posts: 4017 - Karma: 2,038
good read for sure
Apr 23 2011 9:38PM
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MANDER
Posts: 4017 - Karma: 2,038
good read for sure
Apr 23 2011 9:38PM
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PJS.
Posts: 11943 - Karma: 895
seriously. how much education does this guy have that he's able to pass off papers on complex theories and shit
Apr 23 2011 9:41PM
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wasatch_rat
Posts: 1772 - Karma: 2,952
wow
Apr 23 2011 9:52PM
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Piste.Off
Posts: 11586 - Karma: 1,860
the guy must be a genius by now.
Apr 23 2011 10:02PM
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Snowgoner
Posts: 5047 - Karma: 965
what amazes me is the fact that tons of people wouldn't have graduated if it werent for this guy
Apr 23 2011 10:22PM
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belden...
Posts: 2914 - Karma: 1,274
Yeeah he talks about their alleged education but his education must be crazy he does so much research and such.
Apr 23 2011 10:38PM
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Bob_Loblaw
Posts: 8384 - Karma: 38
I feel I never told you
The story of the ghost
That I once knew and talked to
Of whom I'd never boast
For this was my big secret
How I'd get ahead
And never have to worry
I'd call him instead
Apr 23 2011 10:41PM
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ESAND
Posts: 1607 - Karma: 744
Hey I kind of want to try this. If anybody has any papers right now let me know. Max 1000 words, turn around in 3 days, free.
Apr 23 2011 10:46PM
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panojibber
Posts: 3382 - Karma: 216
He probably does a decent amount of research, but its probably not that hard. Unless you have to do math that shit is EASY. You just have to read a little material, and construct a thesis around what you know. Then you lay out a basic plan and pound it out. I mean, I could learn a lot of sociological material in like a couple hours and easily write a paper on it. I pound out 90s in my english classes with like 2 or 3 hours of typing without editing, and thats like... a 3 or 4 page paper. For a talented writer it wouldn't be hard at all.
Apr 23 2011 10:59PM
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Piste.Off
Posts: 11586 - Karma: 1,860
sure typing 50+ pages once a semester isn't that bad. but could you type 20-40 pages a day on different topics?
Apr 23 2011 11:21PM
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wesley.
Posts: 6483 - Karma: 1,049
just finished reading it, very entertaining and interesting
Apr 23 2011 11:23PM
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wesley.
Posts: 6483 - Karma: 1,049
just finished reading it, very entertaining and interesting
Apr 23 2011 11:31PM
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HermioneGranger
Posts: 1933 - Karma: 101
75 is a walk in the park. You can't start complaining until you are assigned 100+ pages, and 150+ is the point where you are always allowed to complain.*

*Number of pages assigned in an individual class.
Apr 23 2011 11:50PM
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dispatchQ_main
Posts: 2619 - Karma: 629
This guy is a badass. Seriously, how does someone manage to pass essays in fields they aren't eve taking ........
Apr 24 2011 12:03AM
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Bubba-Snax
Posts: 541 - Karma: 11
yea. not trusting anything provided by an NS'er for academic purposes.

seriously i love u guys but....
Apr 24 2011 12:04AM
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Rossberger
Posts: 768 - Karma: 168
It was a good read but I didn't understand his purpose for writing it. Teachers already know that some students have ghostwriters, not that they could do anything about it but that's not the point. I feel like he wrote this to get that recognition that he never can/could get.

I also don't understand why he's doing what he's doing for only 66k a year. He's working harder and longer than most workers yet, he's fine with his unpredictable pay?
Apr 24 2011 12:08AM
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ESAND
Posts: 1607 - Karma: 744
You answered your own question there. He is working long, THANKLESS hours for little money, and has managed to give himself a massive superiority complex. This article was just an online exercise of autofellatio
Apr 24 2011 12:15AM
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glacier_freeze
Posts: 87 - Karma: 28
So how many people read the article in its entirety? It seems like 60% did and 40% didn't from some of the questions and comments.

But I was very intrigued throughout the whole article. Obviously this stuff happens, but I didn't realize the price - $2000. And sadly many ESL kids are blowing thousands on nothing.
Apr 24 2011 12:20AM
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Rossberger
Posts: 768 - Karma: 168
Okay that answers the purpose question, but I'm saying why would he continue to do this. I'm not expecting anyone to answer it since it's rhetorical, but his job choice doesn't make much sense to me.
Apr 24 2011 12:32AM
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shibby
Posts: 7088 - Karma: -19
The best part is the comment section, it's littered with university professors doing what they do best (erm worst). From the petulant arguments concerning grammar to the boasting about how some have beaten these ghostwriting schemes (unlikely), and they are almost all writing with undertones of self defense. So typically out of touch.

I'd be curious to know how much this dude actually works for his 66 thousand and if he's getting taxed on it. In practical terms it really might not be as little as it first seems.
Apr 24 2011 1:16AM
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DirtyDan
Posts: 1576 - Karma: 158
I don't see why anybody is calling this man arrogant. I applaud him, and the work he does.
Apr 24 2011 1:26AM
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sack
Posts: 4881 - Karma: 147
no one gets stoked on sitting down to write a paper.
but if they aren't willing to do the work, then they shouldn't go to school...
Apr 24 2011 1:55AM
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PJS.
Posts: 11943 - Karma: 895
Take that cultural arts
Apr 24 2011 9:02PM
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Gorilla.Steeze
Posts: 2215 - Karma: 43
I feel I never told you, the story of the ghost.
Apr 24 2011 9:04PM
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Static
Posts: 8575 - Karma: 4,076
please, 150 pages in one class isn't even that big of a deal. Now, 150 pages per assignment, that's plenty.


*if you're gonna get fancy, feast.
Apr 24 2011 9:11PM
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[~_~]
Posts: 20239 - Karma: 1,273
Um, yes it does. Contrary to NS's remedial reading comprehension skills, the article wasn't about some guy brandishing his insidious gains. It was a testament to the basic failure of US academia.

A system that establishes rudimentary credentials by trying to quantify genuine intellectual ability ultimately pushes its students to cynically manipulate the system rather than pursue the intellectual growth it was seemingly designed for.
Apr 24 2011 9:51PM
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Snowgoner
Posts: 5047 - Karma: 965
yeah i agree with you completely, i meant that it isn't exactly a testament to simply the American educational system, but rather the global educational system. Almost all countries are encouraging this type of education, because it insures that every kid is educated to where they need to be. although, along this road, imagination and personal growth are discouraged. it's unfortunate, and it is inevitable that kids will take short cuts.
Apr 24 2011 10:37PM
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[~_~]
Posts: 20239 - Karma: 1,273
True. And I'm not proposing that people stop going to college, I'm just saying people need to realize that college is hardly different from the public educational system that has failed us so. Aside from specialty degrees (medicine, engineering, etc.), a college degree is a certificate of bullshitting the system, not intellectual growth per se. But hey, you gotta play the game if you want to win...
Apr 24 2011 10:45PM
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sack
Posts: 4881 - Karma: 147
where I live, there are some esl kids in pre-med that have their assignments written for them this way. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a doctor or two (or pharmacist, nurse...etc) that got their degree by cheating in some way. apparently engineering students cheat a lot too.
Apr 25 2011 2:28AM
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ESAND
Posts: 1607 - Karma: 744
Hey fuck you, I got an A- in IB english and a 2270 on my SATs . If nothing else, I'm sure that I can earn some shithole NS HS'er a passing grade on their weekend homework.
Apr 25 2011 2:32AM
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skithebert
Posts: 2163 - Karma: 16
here's a funny comment on the article:

"The author admits to an aversion to math, and I am not surprised. He claims to have written more than 5000 pages in the last year. At roughly 250 working days per year, that's 20 pages a day, every single working day. In an eight-hour working day, that's close to 1000 words every hour, with no time allowed for client contact, follow-up, research or anything else. This seems unlikely in the extreme. Even with more hours put in each day, that is an improbably high speed of writing, considering that it has to be kept up every hour of every working day to make the total claimed in this article.

On the other side of the coin, he claims that will be paid about $66,000 for his 5000 pages. That is the princely sum of $13.20 per page, or slightly more than 2ยข per word (at 550 words per page). Not only is he lying and making a dishonest living (presuming the story told here is truthful), he is getting paid pathetically."
Apr 25 2011 2:54AM
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Campeador
Posts: 7516 - Karma: -1,227
This only confirms what I already knew.
Apr 25 2011 3:10AM
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