When students consider using an essay writing service like EssayPro, there are a few reasons why the decision can be difficult.

The first bunch of factors take time and effort to think through, but they are relatively simple. What’s the budget? If a 10-page essay is $11 per page, can you spend $110? Do you want to?

For people who enjoy writing and take pride in their craft, it can be hard to trust a stranger. But, if you’re too busy to write a quality essay, you might not have another option. Estimate which would take more time: writing the essay or editing an essay from a pro. Look at the draft, gauge the quality and decide what to do next time.

Reflect on the kind of person the instructor or TA is. Have they accused students of not writing the paper themselves? Do they even care?

Once you’ve sorted out the above factors, there is one that remains, the most complicated one, the most emotionally charged: morality. Should you use an essay writing service? If you pay for one, get a good result and don’t get called out, perhaps you’re unsure of whether you should feel smart, guilty or both.

When I was a student, I was kind of a goody two-shoes. I judged peers who used an essay writing service or hired fellow students to write some of their papers. They were lazy, dishonest cheaters.

Now that I’ve been out of school for many years, I’ve gained the wisdom to understand that essay writing services are a moral gray area. If I could go back in time with my current wisdom and repeat school, I would definitely leverage essay writing services for certain assignments.

Remember that education has two purposes:

1. Help students develop intellectually, socially, mentally and emotionally
2. Help students prepare for the working world

Whenever you receive an essay assignment, ask yourself if it is serving at least one of these purposes. Let’s walk through my logic and take the issue case by case.

Most Schools Are Not Moral, and You Don’t Owe Them 100% Honesty

On average, academic institutions are not bastions of moral behavior. My middle/high school had every kind of scandal you can imagine. My university built campuses in foreign countries with legalized modern day slave labor. My university wielded police brutality and academic/career punishments to suppress anti-Israel free speech.

Do these kinds of places deserve 100% honesty from their students? I don’t think so, and maybe you agree with me.

Read the Fine Print of Any Agreement You Sign With the School

When students enroll in an academic institution, there is usually paperwork required. Carefully read every line in these documents. Pay special attention to the lines about codes of conduct, plagiarism, etc. Note the verbiage. Is the school actually saying you can’t use an essay service? They might only be forbidding you from hiring other students.

Repeat Assignments and Busywork

Recall the question we posed above: Is this essay contributing to my intellectual development and/or job preparation? If the answer is yes, it’s in your best interest to do all the work yourself. If the answer is no, an essay service could be the move.

For those who are unsure of the answer, there are certain cases where you can safely assume the assignment won’t help you grow as a person. Repeat assignments are one of these types.

In high school I had to read “Hamlet” and write an essay on it. In college I had the same assignment. The second time, I didn’t learn anything that helped me develop my critical thinking or writing skills. I wish I could’ve just showed up for class, taken notes and skipped all the reading/writing.

Busywork is also a waste of time, but the definition is more subjective. When you and a friend in your class receive the same assignment, you may not agree on whether the essay is busywork. Again, ruminate on whether the essay involves research with relevant information, topics of interest and opportunities to advance skills.

Have You Developed Foundational Writing and Research Skills?

By the time I was in junior year of high school, I had learned foundational essay writing skills. The next five years of my education did not significantly advance these abilities. My writing skills improved dramatically during my career, because I wanted to be a professional writer and because I had some great mentors.

If you’re midway through college and begin to feel like academic instructors have taught you all they can about essay writing, it’s OK to occasionally consider options that save you time. Students can spend that extra time learning, working and having fun.

Is It Plagiarism?

There’s a centuries-old debate on exactly what actions constitute plagiarism. I can’t settle that debate, but I can provide a modern moral framework.

I believe many AI writing tools — the tools themselves, not the users — are plagiarists. Without express permission nor complete citation, these tools utilize content from humans, make money from the ingested content, and don’t share revenue with the original creators.

With an essay writing service, students are paying a professional to write something. The professional is aware of and has authorized the usage.

AI Has Degraded the Ability to Criticize Essay Writing Service Use

Chances are high that many of your classmates are regularly using AI tools for their assignments. Essay writing services accomplish the same goal, but the result is usually better because a human is doing the writing. Most of the money spent is going to that human being. AI tools are less moral because they don’t even pay writers for their work.

Editorial Note: Check out my article about professional writers using AI.

Some Instructors Don’t Care About Your Writing

During my educational years, I had a decent number of instructors who viewed essays only as notetaking receipts. If an essay parroted the instructor’s opinion, it would get an A. If not, the grade would be lower. This kind of educator doesn’t care about students’ opinions, critical thinking or ability to demonstrate original insight.

Students often reach a point in the semester where they realize their teacher is this type of person. If you have this realization, notetaking might be the only activity that is worth your time. Then you can hand the notes to someone from an essay service so they can do the writing/parroting.

It’s About Mental Health

I worked my ass off in high school and college. I had advanced classes, extracurricular activities, part-time jobs, full-time summer jobs, internships and loans. I was also dealing with horrible health problems. I look back on all those hours writing repeat/busywork essays, and I wish there had been another option available.

If you’re drowning in pressure and work, it’s OK to view an essay writing service as a potential stress relief valve and time optimization tool. Sometimes even a bit of stress reduction is the difference between functioning and burning out. Those hours can go toward something meaningful or therapeutic. If you can pull off using an essay writing service without damaging your growth or mental health, power to you!