If you are a writing student who is desperate right now because you have not started your essay which is due tomorrow, as a writing teacher, I have a few words of advice.  First and most obvious, take something positive from your anxiety, and plan ahead for your next essay.  If you learn no more than that from this experience, you will have learned a lot! 

At the same time, you must turn in an essay tomorrow, perhaps an essay you haven't even thought about.  Perhaps you are thinking about turning in one of the model essays in this website as your own.  My advice:  Do not do it  Let me explain why not.

First, if you turn in one of these essays as your own, you are not making a wise ethical decision, but you already know that. It is plagiarism, which is cheating. You cannot feel good about your writing or your ability to express yourself when you turn in someone else's essay.  Think about writing as an opportunity for you to say what you want to say!

Second, if you use one of the essays here, your composition teacher will know it is not original, and your teacher will probably find the essay just as easily as you did. In almost all schools, plagiarism will cause you to fail the assignment, and in some schools, plagiarism can even get you expelled. Turning in a plagiarized essay is not worth the risk.

These are two good reasons why you should not turn in any essay you find off the internet, and you need go no further than that! 

You can, however, write something your own, so this is what I recommend.  Try to find a few short essays here that you can use as models of the type of essay you want to write.  Then, try to express your ideas within the organizational patterns of these models.  Clearly, it will not be easy, especially if you have left a major assignment to the last minute, but whatever you do, it will be better than copy/pasting one of the essays here and turning it as your own! As a composition teacher, I would much rather work with a student and an imperfect essay in the student's own voice than fail a student for turning in a plagiarized essay, copied and pasted off the internet.

Finally, learn to write well! It is hard at first because good writing takes time―at least two or three revisions―so next time get an early start!  Then, when you begin to express your own ideas in your own words, you will be very proud of your work as you should be!

HOME