It’s hard to find time to write essays when you’re juggling school, work and other responsibilities. Professional essay writing services can help, but there’s a lot to consider before you go this route. Here’s what you need to know before you hire an essay writing service, alternative ways to get help with your essays, plus a list of places you can find essay writers.
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Essay writing service considerations
Consider these factors before you choose a writing service.
Experience
Make sure any essay writing service you’re considering is well-versed in the type of academic writing you need. For example, there are significant differences between a standard research paper and a doctoral thesis.
It’s also a good idea to see how long the service has been in business. You don’t want to get scammed by a fly-by-night operation.
| “PaperHelp is a great service. I had a 10-page research paper on microbiology due in three days, and this company helped me finish it on time. The writer I hired had a deep understanding of the topic, so I’m more than satisfied.” – Redditor WestOk9786 |
Cost
Compare costs to find a service that fits your budget – but understand that you often get what you pay for.
You should also be comfortable with payment terms, methods and schedules. Most services require upfront payment, so it’s a good idea to use a method that offers buyer protection.
Timeline
Agree on a timeline before you hire an essay writing service. That includes turnaround times for the first draft and any subsequent drafts. That way, you’ll be sure to meet your deadline.
Samples
Check out writing samples posted on the service’s website. See if their samples meet expectations for the type of essay you need. Then, determine whether their writers can match your voice and style.
Some services hire non-native English speakers. While this isn’t inherently bad, essays that lack the nuance of a native English writer can prove dead giveaways you didn’t write them yourself.
| “I used one once, don’t remember the name of the company but it was cheap like $40 for 3 1/2 pages double space. Once I received my essay I had to fix a ton of grammatical errors because you could tell the writer was foreign. I ended up re-writing over half of the essay but it was a learning experience.” – Redditor deaviend |
Reviews
Look up reviews and identify trends – both good and bad – before you decide which essay writing service to go with. Don’t trust reviews published on their own websites. Instead, find third-party reviews on sites like Google, Facebook, Reddit, Trustpilot, the Better Business Bureau, Reseller Ratings and SiteJabber.
Process
Learn about the service’s process to determine whether it’s a good fit and how much time you’ll need to invest. For example, a service that accepts course materials and chats about expectations might do a better job than one that doesn’t.
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Deliverables
Make sure you understand exactly what you’re getting, including word count, formatting (single or double spaced) and style (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.).
Some services offer title pages, bibliographies, plagiarism reports and “double-check” editing services – sometimes for free, sometimes for a fee. Know what you’re paying for before you buy.
Guarantees
What guarantees does the service offer? Do they guarantee plagiarism-free work that passes checkers like Turnitin? Do they guarantee proper grammar or an “A” on your essay? Meeting your deadline? Do they offer a refund if they fail to deliver on their guarantees?
Ethics, value and risk
It’s important to be aware of ethical concerns before you decide to pay someone to write essays for you. Schools consider it cheating, and if you get caught you risk expulsion and losing your college investment.
“It can be obvious when a student has used an essay writing service. Often, a student’s first submission in a class will be a dramatically different style and formatting to the next,” says Dr. Chris Drew, a professor who offers college tips on HelpfulProfessor.com. “Similarly, quality is sometimes far too good for what we’d expect for a student at their level, which gets us suspicious.”
Dr. Drew adds that students must attend his class and use his teaching handouts to understand what he wants them to cover in their essays. He says an essay service might write a great generic essay, but if the writer hasn’t been to his class there’s no guarantee they will cover what he expects.
| “Writing your own papers is not only more ethical and the way to benefit from your education, it’s also safer. Do you want someone else to have a hold over you by threatening to tell your school or future employer you cheated?” – Redditor wingding456 |
There is also the issue of value: if you don’t do the work yourself, you could miss critical parts of your education.
“Most importantly, what’s the point? You spend all this money to go to college only to fake your way through. When it’s time to get a job, you’ll struggle because you haven’t learned the required knowledge and skills,” says Dr. Drew. “Furthermore, you will always know in the back of your mind you cheated your way to a degree you don’t deserve. That sense of being an imposter will linger for years.”
However, not everyone agrees. Redditor GlistenItUp argues there are many facets to a college education and that having a few essays professionally written doesn’t diminish student development: “One can actually benefit from a professional writer (like me) by studying how they format their essays, how they cite references and how they structure it.”
| “… I understand that a lot of undergraduate full-time students may see people using such services as pure cheating and that part of the learning process that comes from a degree is essay writing skills… In the example of nursing, newly qualified nurses applying for jobs will be interviewed by nurses, and to be perfectly honest they’ll be more concerned about whether someone has compassion, basic clinical knowledge and the practical skills to be able to provide decent basic nursing care. They aren’t going to be asking about reflections on practice or theorizing contemporary issues in nursing…” – Redditor prettylittlefears2 |
Essay writing service alternatives
If you decide essay services aren’t worth it, you still have school-friendly options for improving your essays. They include:
Proofreading and editing services
Write the essay yourself. Then, consult a proofreading or editing service that offers advice and strategies for improvement. This is one way to write better essays without paying someone to do the work for you. Examples include:
Your school’s writing lab
Your school probably has a writing lab that can help you improve your essay writing skills. Bring your assignment to the writing lab and they’ll collaborate with you to help meet your professor’s expectations, ensure your writing is strong and your essay is properly formatted.
| “… most universities have a writing center that students can use for free to help with all types of writing from resumes to research papers.” – Redditor daideadwood |
Writing courses
You can take college courses or third-party online courses to improve your essay writing acumen. Find them on sites like Coursera, Udemy and College Essay Guy. Dr. Drew’s site, HelpfulProfessor, likewise features essay writing tips.
Writing tutors
If you need one-on-one help, you can hire a writing tutor on sites like Wyzant, Tutors.com and Varsity Tutors. Many services offer both instant help and ongoing tutoring. That way, you can get assistance whether you just need advice on how to start your essay or need an expert to stay with you from start to finish.
Writing software
You can also check into essay writing software – just avoid those that automatically spin existing works into a “new” essay. Instead, use software that guides you through the writing process.
One example is EssayDog. It’s a cloud writing platform that utilizes proven Hollywood creative storytelling techniques to guide students through creating engaging essays.
“With a fun graphical interface and short video tutorials, students enjoy the process of identifying and building strong stories, which bolsters their self-confidence and introduces them to a skillset they’ll have for life,” says Teddy Barnes, M.E., president and cofounder of EssayDog.
10 essay writing service options
Prefer to pay someone to write your essay for you? Here are ten options (all companies listed have at least a 4-star rating on Trustpilot, Sitejabber and/or Reseller Ratings).
1. US Essay Writers
US Essay Writers states their writing team is comprised of native English speakers based in the United States and the U.K., and they accept only 2% of writing applicants.
The site promises plagiarism-free work and guaranteed satisfaction. You can request revisions within 10 days, and if their work doesn’t meet your expectations you can get your money back. Pricing starts at $17.55 per 300-word page, and all essays come with free title and reference pages (APA and MLA formats available).
2. PaperHelp
PaperHelp offers a variety of writing services including essays, research papers, thesis papers and term papers. All writers hold a degree (BA, MA or Ph.D.) in their subject areas, and the service features 24/7 customer support plus a money-back guarantee.
You can communicate directly with your assigned writer and upload relevant course materials they’ll need to write your paper. Pricing starts at $14 per 275-word page for college-level essays with 14-day turnaround and $20 per page for university-level (BA and MA) essays. PaperHelp can also meet deadlines as short as 3 hours for an additional fee.
| “I recommend using PaperHelp.org. Used it for quite a long time for writing help.” – Redditor jvdarth |
3. Essay Box
Essay Box allows you to choose between an English native language or English second language writer (the latter might be a good option for international students). The service offers a range of essays, research papers and even dissertations with turnaround times as fast as 3 hours to help you meet tight deadlines.
APA, MLA and Chicago style formatting are available, and every paper comes with a free title page, bibliography and outline. Essay Box accepts revision requests within 10 days of completion, and the company offers a money-back guarantee if you are not satisfied with your essay.
Pricing starts at $15 to $18/page for undergraduate-level essays (15-day turnaround), $24/page for Master’s-level essays and $28/page for Ph.D.-level papers.
4. EssayTigers
A California-based team writes most of EssayTigers’ essays, though the service does outsource to freelancers when they’re overloaded with orders or they don’t have an in-house subject expert. They promise on-time delivery in as little as 3 hours, plagiarism-free work, 24/7 customer support and a money-back guarantee.
EssayTigers offer multiple formats, including APA, MLA and Chicago styles, and you can directly communicate with your writer about your project.
Pricing starts at $10/page for undergraduate-level essays (14-day deadline), $16/page for Bachelor’s-level essays and $19/page for Master’s-level essays.
5. GradeMiners
GradeMiners provides thesis writing, essays, research papers and lab reports for more than 25 subjects, including business, nursing, law, literature and psychology. The company prioritizes confidentiality: you can communicate with your writer via anonymous, no-name chat.
GradeMiners’ turnaround times are as fast as 1 hour, and their website states that 97% of orders are delivered on time. They also offer a money-back guarantee.
Pricing starts at $17.18/page for a one-page, 275-word college-level essay (14-day deadline), $19.65 for undergraduate level, $24.20 for Master’s and $26.48 for Ph.D.
| “… a student’s life, career, professional growth or personal skills definitely do not diminish if they get a few essays written by a writer. College life entails many aspects of academics and all-round development. Essays are just one part of this development. On the contrary, one can actually benefit and learn from a professional writer (like me) by studying how they format their essays, how they cite references and how they structure it.” – Redditor GlistenItUp |
6. My Assignment Help
My Assignment Help writes essays, research papers, dissertations and other academic papers on more than 40 subjects. According to its website, all 5,000+ writers at My Assignment Help have earned Ph.D.’s in their respective fields.
Unlike some other essay services, you can select your writer before you commit by visiting My Assignment Help’s Experts page and filtering writers by subject, rating, number of orders completed and location. That makes it easy to choose a U.S.-based writer for your essay.
My Assignment Help guarantees plagiarism-free work plus offers free revisions if your paper doesn’t meet expectations. Pricing starts at around $20 for a single-page (250-word) college-level essay delivered in 14 days.
7. Best Essays
Best Essays offers essays, research papers, term papers and dissertations. Its website states it hires writers from English-speaking countries worldwide. All writers hold a Master’s or Ph.D. in their respective fields, which include law, art, literature, medicine and history, among others.
In business since 1997, the company offers free title and reference pages with each essay, free revisions, formatting in your selected style and a money-back guarantee. Pricing starts at $21.52 for a 275-word single-page essay.
8. Assignment Mavens
More than 9,000 students have used Assignment Mavens, which promises premium-quality writing from experienced experts for a wide variety of subjects and assignments, from essays and dissertations to reports, presentations and even speeches. You can chat directly with your selected writer throughout the process.
Like other services, Assignment Mavens offers a plagiarism-free money-back guarantee. It also provides order tracking plus a paper summary, grammar check and plagiarism report delivered with your completed essay.
Pricing starts at $19/page for a college-level essay (15-day delivery), $19.50/page for undergraduate, $20.50/page for Master’s and $25.50/page for Ph.D.
9. Essay Service
Place an order on Essay Service to receive “bids” for your paper; then, choose your favorite writer and start a chat to share key details that will help them deliver a quality essay, research paper or term paper.
Create an account, and you can browse available writers before you submit an order. All writers hold Bachelor’s, Master’s or PH.D. degrees, and each paper is editor-reviewed before it’s sent to you.
Essay Service boasts a couple of unique features: send them examples of your own writing, and they’ll imitate your writing style. They also only request one-third of their fee upfront – the remainder is due upon your approval of their work.
Pricing starts at $11.40 per 275-word page for college-level writing, $12/page for university-level, $13.20/page for Master’s-level and $14.40/page for Ph.D.-level.
| “The best thing I like about this company is that they have always delivered papers on time for me, even on complex topics and with short deadlines. Not always really urgent papers were perfect, but they still got me good grades.” – Redditor mujalaround2265 on Essay Service |
10. Reddit
You can alternatively hire a freelance essay writer on Reddit. Just be sure to protect yourself from potential scams: study user profiles, get verified references and use a secure payment method like PayPal that offers buyer protection.
Find writers on these subreddits: