Internet Essay Exposer
A tool to confirm the originality of a submitted essay
One of the Internet's most popular FREE Internet resources that allow educators to establish if a submitted essay has come from the web
Resources
Web Search
Find a submitted essay on the web (main page)
How?
How does a student download an essay?
Why?
What motivates a student to download an essay?
Essay Sites
a few places where students find essays on the net
Prevention
How to stop the problem
 


Created by
Matt Clare
  HOW DOES A STUDENT DOWNLOAD AN ESSAY?
 

The Internet offers many things to the student as far as essays; research opportunities, format help, and many other positive opportunities. However, there is also the option to download and submit an entire essay from resources on the web.

Such sites work by allowing users to submit their works so that others may later download them. There is nothing wrong with this sharing of information, a student may be proud of his or her work and want it to be available to be read by the world.

The fraudulent act occurs when a student then takes another person's work and submits it as their own. It is these fraudulent acts that this site is intended to assist in detecting.
 
  WHAT MOTIVATES A STUDENT TO DOWNLOAD AN ESSAY?
  The reasons why a student might feel the need to download an easy rather then create their own work vary in the same way that no student is the same as the next. In fact the Internet can be used by students to improve their skills, rather then circumvent their own development. That said, there are some common reasons:

Reasons of Desperation:
  • English as a Second Language students often have trouble with creating an entire essay in English
  • Pressure to perform and achieve a mark higher than they are capable of (ironically some of the worst essays ever can be found on the web)
  • Pressure put upon them as far as time: i.e.. other essays & exams, after school job, family commitments, etc.
  • Poor concept of plagiarism laws and customs surrounding art as property
Reasons of Maliciousness:
  • Apathy (the most common) - A simple unwillingness to create an original essay
  • An individual may be capable of producing an original essay that would achieve a passing grade, however he or she wants achieve even more for far less work
 
  PREVENTION:
  The best prevention is to promote honesty and create unique and creative assignments. There are other sites dedicated to promoting this type of honesty:
Robert A. Harris,
Professor of English, Vanguard University of Southern California, 1996-2001, has recently written two valuable books on the subject.
He also maintains a useful website.

At his website www.virtualsalt.com you can find a few key articles on the subject, including ideas on how to approach the issue of plagiarism.
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