Buying your way to a degree: Singapore-based ghostwriting services target students online

With assignment deadlines looming, students have the option of burning the midnight oil, or turning to an alternative: Online services offering to complete essay assignments for a fee.

Such services are widely available on Singapore-based online marketplace Carousell, with a simple search turning up more than 15 different user accounts offering ghostwriting services or assignment help for two to three-figure sums.

Originality, they say, is guaranteed. So is complete confidentiality: A necessity given the hefty penalties schools impose on students caught submitting work that is not theirs.

“We all knew about it, but it was all really hush-hush and no one really talked about it,” said Mike*, a private university graduate who bought two essays online.

“I think even the professors themselves know, but everyone just pretends it doesn’t happen.”

A “Some cite years of experience helping students, while others say they are students from elite schools looking to earn some extra cash before they go to university. Here’s what goes into the online market of ghostwritten essays” GUARANTEE

Some providers cite years of experience helping students, while others appear to be students themselves, looking to earn some extra cash in their free time. One service says they have a “team of Rafflesians ready to help”, while another says their writers are graduates of “elite junior colleges with placements in top universities.”

One listing was manned by a “perfect scorer at the A levels” looking to earn some extra cash before starting university. Since January, the provider has extended services to about 30 customers, most of whom were from polytechnics or private universities.