The service offers to custom write essays for students. Now this is nothing new. "Betsy" at Harvard has been doing this for years. What surprised me was the justification for it. In an email interview, the Custom Writing representative has this response to a question about the organization's role in education:
No person can be equally good at everything – if he/she is, then this is the wrong path, a student talent is lost. There are people who are good at Math and IT – let them develop their skills in this field instead of torturing them with writing assignments. What is really the point of this, if students must waste hours developing skills they will never be professional in instead of concentrating on the field their future career will depend upon? I really see the role of custom writing services in education as a relief for those who have already chosen their career, who know their path, and have already somewhat succeeded in it – since services are somewhat costly and in order to buy a custom written paper, a student must have a job (the most part of our customers). Furthermore, academic writing services spare time for students to develop in the field they chose to, so, to some extent, this is a plus for their education too.
First, I really doubt students purchasing these papers are using the time they save to study. I admit it could be possible, but somehow, I doubt that time is used for learning.
Second, why is this only an argument used for writing? If as this genteman argues, one shouldn't spend time learning things that aren't directly relevant to one's line of work, then why did I suffer through all those math classes? Shouldn't I have been excused from them? Perhaps in that case there should be an organization that provides a proxy for me for math exams.
But wait a minute! you might say. You use math everyday. Whenever you go into the store and compare prices, or need to calculate the tax on something, you use math. Nobody carries around a calculator all the time, and even estimating when you'll arrive at your desination, knowing how long the trip is, takes some basic math.
And I would agree with you. I probably use math probably every day in some small way.
But I would also then argue that you use writing skills everyday as well.
Now, I admit, I know people who don't write very often, let alone every day. And yes, it's possible to get through life without learning to write coherent prose. Just as it's possible to get through life without algebra.
But there's something that the Custom Writing representative is missing here in the statement that students do now need to know how to write essays. It's the same thing I constantly harp on to my students, though I know I don't sell all of them on the idea.
"Writing" is not just about putting words on paper.
Thinking that writing an essay is about stringing together sentences and nothing more employs a very limited idea of what writing is about. Consider the OED's definition of writing: "The action of one who writes, in various senses; the penning or forming of letters or words; the using of written characters for purposes of record, transmission of ideas, etc."
The definition has three elements: the first identifies writing as an action, while the second describes the medium in which this action takes place. The third and openended element, is the one that writing teachers like myself are most interested in conveying to our students.
The transmission of ideas is the primary purpose of postsecondary writing assignments. It's also the most inclusive element in the definition, since the transmission of ideas can take many forms and can include any subject. When you think of writing as the transmission of ideas, then you hit right on the money what writing classes in postsecondary institutions are trying to teach - the ability to organize your thoughts on a particular topic into a clear transmission of those thoughts and ideas.
Being able to clearly communicate your ideas to other people is not something just required of the humanities set. Clear communication, which relies of course on critical thinking about that topic and the best method for communicating it, is required in most human endeavours that involve more than one person.
If you cannot clearly communicate your ideas to other team members, to other computer programmers or other mathematicians (to use the example from above), then you will be less successful at your job than someone who can.
This is what writing classes are designed to teach. Having students write essays is less about whether they know grammar and spelling (though problems in these areas can muddy up the meaning of what you're trying to convey), and more about whether they can think about a topic, and then arrange those thoughts in a way that makes it possible for a reader to understand what they are thinking.
This ability does not even need to be demonstrated through the putting of words on paper. This ability can be developed verbally or even visually, but the ability to arrange one's thoughts with an audience in mind in order to communicate with them is absolutely essential to most of the jobs that require any kind of postsecondary training simply because of the nature of human work and collaboration.
I can only assume it's sheer ignorance of the goals of writing programs that could lead someone to think of them as a complete waste of time and irrelevant to certain classes of students.
But then again, I'm a writing teacher, so I think these things are important. And I'll do my damnedest to show my students why it is important to them as well. Organizations like Custom Writing rob students of the opportunity to develop a skill they will need, even in the most technically oriented of jobs.
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