2/17/11
Mr. Carty
English IV Honors
Explication
Considering “The Term Paper Artist an article written by Nick Mamatas
In Nick Mamatas’ article, "The Term Paper Artist," Nick Mamatas discusses the highly successful, underground business of writing term papers for college students. Mamatas talks about how he first got into the business by stating,
"I always wanted to be a writer, but was told from an early age that such a dream was futile. After all, nobody ever puts a classified ad in the paper that reads "Writers Wanted". Then, in the Village Voice, I saw just such an ad. Writers wanted, to write short pieces on business, economics, and literature."Mamatas also talks about other things such as what types of clients he received, how much money he would get per paper, and what types of papers he wrote.
Mamatas had a wide variety of clients, however he classifies them in three specific categories. The first being "The Dumb Client", these people according to Mamatas,
"They should not be in college. They must buy model papers simply because they do not understand what a term paper is, much less anything going on in their assignments."The second type are the "One Timers" and in the words of Mamatas they are
"A chemistry major trapped in a poetry class thanks to the vagaries of schedule and distribution requirements, or worse, the poet trapped in a chemistry class."and just need one paper to be written for them. The final type of client would be kids that are headed off to college and need help on their personal statements.
In the article, Mamatas states
" Writing model term papers is above-board and perfectly legal", and not only is it legal, it is a fast way to make some money. In one example, Mamatas mentions
" I once boiled the 1000-page New Testament Theology by Donald Guthrie into a 30-page précis over the course of a weekend for a quick $600."
In my opinion, Mamatas is a very smart man. He knows that he is talented in his craft, and takes full advantage of that. It is a win-win situation. He gets cash for something that is easy for him, and the student receives a paper that is gauranteed a decent mark, and possibly save them from failing a course.
Although Mamatas is making money, and the student is receiving a great paper, there is one huge negative to this whole business. The student is getting cheated. On average, college tuition in around $40,000. Students are not only paying to learn, but they are also paying up to $600 on term papers.In the end they cheat themselves. Unfortunately, this business is a game, and money plays a huge factor. Truth is, money does make the world go 'round, even when something as important as education is involved.
