lagiarism is nothing new. For example, so-called "literary gentlemen," who would "help" students at Harvard write papers, were well known around Cambridge during the nineteenth century. When a tutor enables a student to write a research paper that far exceeds the student's own abilities, then plagiarism has occurred. Some professors determine if a student has received too much "help" by asking the writer to explain the complex ideas and finely phrased passages of a suspicious paper. It's obvious that when a student cannot explain what is supposedly "his" or "her" own paper, then excessive help has been received.

There also are many web sites that claim to offer "research aid" to students who have to write research papers. These sites, however, send very mixed messages about what they offer for sale. For example, if you wanted some "help" on a research paper about school reform, what are some of the contradictions in the following statements from an actual Internet site that claims to sell "research aid"?

School.sucks.com - "Download your workload"

#2855 Models of School Reform Discusses 4 conflicting models: standardized testing, learning style approach, culturally relevant teaching, and purpose-oriented learning. 22 citations, 7 sources, 8 pages. 2000-01. Available for internet download.

All papers ordered through this site are owned by Research Associates. Papers are intended for research purposes only and may only be used as a reference by students writing their own papers. All papers must be cited properly. Be advised that it is illegal to buy any of our research papers and submit them as your own for academic credit.

Of course, if you want a new "research aid" written on your topic, it will cost even more so what exactly is being sold? Fortunately, just as the Internet has made plagiarism easier to commit, it also has made it much easier to detect!