No, I would not
consider taking that path. This position arises from an understanding of the
role that education plays in the society. Submitting papers that are not the
outcome of my own initiative would only go towards undermining the very purpose
of education is learning (Pojman, 2005, pp.150-52). Assignments are never given
to students for the mere sake of grading. Rather, they are part of the broader
goal of learning. It is very unlikely that a person who has not taken the
initiative to personally do the assignment can learn. In addition, the rule
that students can just buy papers would be self defeating if every student
acted on it (Pojman, 2005, pp.150-152). Assignments would cease to have value
as an assessment tool as professors will no longer trust that those presenting
assignments actual wrote the papers. Kantian categorical imperative actually
cautions against doing something that one would not wish to be a universal
rule. Even knowing the change does not affect my earlier decision given that it
was independent of whether I would be caught were I to buy a paper.
Q2
No, the statement only
appears to justify the existence of that site. Inherent in that statement is
the assumption that the kind of students and the professors they present papers
to are always known. It is true that some professors may create more
challenging papers when confronted with the situation. Not all of them will,
however, respond in this way. Besides, some professors are unlikely to know
that their students are presenting works by other people. The situation has even become more difficult
with the increasing number of students as a proportion to their professors. Furthermore,
the argument also fails to the extent that it defines the quality of education
solely on the complexity of term papers. Nothing short of a total absence of
those essay mills, as those sites are sometimes called, can prevent a student
who is determined to cheat. After all, assignments are often given with a
deadline allowance. This gives an opportunity for dishonest students to order
custom papers from the same sites thereby going around the new obstacle.
Q3
Students who obtain the
services of these websites only do so because the conduct pays. Discouraging
them entails creating disincentives for plagiarism. Having a policy that
severely punishes students found engaging in the practice would be one of the
measures to implement. There are also those students who are simply unaware of
the ethical implications of plagiarism. A number of those students may actually
stop engaging in that conduct on their own initiative if they are made aware of
the ethical issues involved. Research indicates that higher levels of ethical
consciousness are likely to reduce incidents of ethical breaches (Scott, 2009).
Lastly, some students also lack a complete understanding of what amounts to
plagiarism and are likely to avoid it given the necessary guidance on how to
avoid it.
References
Pojman,
L.P. (2005).How Should We Live: An Introduction
to Ethics.Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Scott,R.(2009).Promoting Legal and Ethical Awareness: A
Primer for the Health Professionals and
Patients.St. Louis, Missouri: Mosby Elsevier.
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