Essays earn graduates thousands

Essay-writing services can charge up to £500 for coursework

A former Oxford university student has said graduates can earn up to £30,000 a year by writing essays and selling them to school and university students.

The writer, who is in his 20s and wanted to remain anonymous, said he was commissioned by a firm that sells essays by Oxford graduates on the web.

Students are charged between £70 for GCSE essays and £20,000 for PHD work.

The government warned that those who submitted coursework written by somebody else faced strong sanctions.

The graduate said he gets paid about £500 for an undergraduate essay.

He said: "I'll do a 2,000-word essay in about two or three hours.

'Fair enough'

"I don't have a problem with it - it's not selling drugs, just using your brain. I went to private school so I see it as recuperating some of those costs.

"I've spent a lot of money on my education. It's only fair enough if I can make a little bit directly off it."

In a statement the Department for Children, Schools and Families said no GCSE or A level pupils should pass off other people's work as their own.

It said teachers and markers were trained to spot tell-tale signs of cheating.

Oxford University said that students at the university were forbidden from buying, and then submitting as their own, essays written by other people.

Not illegal

A spokesman for Universities UK, which represents university leaders, said the essay- selling companies made sure they operated within the law.

"They carefully word the small print to say that buyers should not present [the works] as their own, but use it as a guide. But how many are likely to do that?

"There is nothing illegal in selling or buying essays, but the universities impose severe penalties for those caught cheating."