In April, 1949, Eleanor Roosevelt handed the editors at Ladies’ Home Journal the document which would eventually become her second memoir. When they read it, the editors boldly told Eleanor, “You have written this too hastily.” Her editors then instructed her to revise the document — using the assistance of a ghostwriter.
Eleanor Roosevelt refused, claiming she wouldn’t feel as though the book were hers.
Ghostwriting in political circles has become common place. The submission of work under the name of someone other than the actual author is controversial. The ethics involved depend on who the speaker is.
But first a look back.
The thinking which gave rise to paid essay writers can be traced back to the mid-1800s. Fraternity houses at colleges had “paper reservoirs” located in the basement. These essay caches were places where students could share and swap term papers. A student who excelled in mathematics could, for example, trade a term paper with a student proficient in literature. The essay banks soon gave way to the sale of ghostwritten essays and by the 1950s college campuses were flooded with advertisements describing ghostwritten work that included dissertations as well as theses.
The practice of ghostwritten essays increased in popularity in the 1960s and 1970s as students started to drift away from laborious studies in favor of community involvement. This new focus on activities away from the class room ate up the time needed to focus on school work and writing services grew.
Before long, online as well as brick-and-mortar, businesses were established to provide custom-written essays to students. Frequently located near campus, students could stroll into a building and look at pamphlets which listed the subject, title and cost of research papers. Ordering a dissertation on the rise of the Ming dynasty was now as easy as ordering take-out and companies like PoweredEssays.org flourished
Legality
While businesses that supply essays and other papers are considered unethical by many learning institutions, they do not violate copyright law. The producer of the document is the legal copyright owner and the papers are only licensed to students for limited use.
Essay producers have staked out the position that the papers they produce are not meant to be turned-in for credit. They’re only intended to be used by the student to generate ideas for their own work. Many companies feel that making research papers available to students is commensurate to the student going to the college library where a helpful librarian would assist in gathering sufficient material which could be turned into a passing grade.
While there is no federal law against the buying of ghostwritten papers related to classwork, some states have established statues making their purchase illegal. One example is Florida. In Florida Statues 877.17, to “…sell, offer to sell, or advertise for sale…” an assignment to another person for submission is a second degree misdemeanor, which, in Florida, is punishable by up to sixty days in prison.
Controversy
There is a extended discussion about the ethics of using ghostwritten term papers and essays . Some people look at essay writers as unethical and others see the practice as completely above-board.
Many college students claim they turn to essay writers because of the immense emphasis society has placed success. GPAs are stressed in schools and students, often having to work a part-time job, seek out term paper ghostwriters in order to get assignments completed on time.
Other people see ghostwriting as the college equivalent of companies outsourcing their labor. They feel that since outsourcing labor is an accepted practice for businesses the use of ghostwriters should be acceptable as well.
Still others point to the practice of many college professors making heavy use of teaching assistants. Some feel if a professor can outsource his or her teaching, why can’t the student outsource the demonstration of learning.
Whatever became of Eleanor Roosevelt’s book? She sold the book’s serial rights to McCall’s, the Journal’s largest rival. “This I Remember” went on to become a best seller.
It was far from being the last political book to be ghostwritten.
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