They're expensive, but ghostwritten essays are becoming increasingly popular among international students struggling with the language and work demands at university.

By SHUWEN ZHANG

Ghostwriting assignment groups have become a new underground market among  international university student groups.

An anonymous officer from a ghostwriting group said the price depended on what grade customers expected to get and how urgent the work was.

"A 2000 words essay usually costs $200, but if our customers are in a hurry, then the price will rise to $400," he said.

"You need to pay 10 per cent of the whole commission before we start. When we send you your assignment, you need to pay all."

The officer said the transactions were conducted over the internet, with customers sending their requirements via email.

"Once we receive your message, we will appoint a specific writer to do it for you," he said.

As for the quality of the assignment, he said the writers they employed were mostly graduate students from the top 10 universities.

"If the customers are not satisfied with our work, we promise we’ll return the commission fee," he said.

An international student from Monash University said she had used a ghostwriting service once, but she felt the level of  the final work was more like high school homework.

"They followed me in my Facebook and asked me if I need this service," she said.

"They asked me to pay a deposit before they start, and when they finished the assignment I have to pay the rest to get it.

"After I saw my mark, I asked them to return my money, but they never replied."

Monash University teacher Dr Andrew Johnson, who specialises in writing and cultural learning processes, said there could be many reasons why students used such a service, including language problems and time pressure.

"Students have lot of commitments – work, family, study – and sometimes they can’t fit everything in," he said.

"There could be other reasons too – maybe they did not realise what these services are doing, not realising that it is something they shouldn’t be doing."

Dr Johnson said assessors used software such as Turnitin to detect plagiarised or copied essays, and if students were caught, the consequences could be serious.

"You can lose marks; you can be suspended; you can be excluded from the university," he said.

"For some students, if they were interested in studying law or working in law or public profession, they could be restricted from doing that."

Dr Johnson said the university should provide better programs to help students with English language problems and make sure students understood the rules and policies that applied.

A quick Google search brings up pages of ghostwriting websites, such as createmypaper.com and academicghostwriting.com, offering to provide papers for students who have problems doing the work and who can pay.