Depending on who you are, your time as a student represents a thankless and stressful slog or some of the best years of your life. Gone are the days when you could pay for college with a summer job. Nowadays, unless your parents support you, you either have to take out a loan or work while attending college.

What this ultimately means is that students are poor and overworked. It is no wonder that legit essay writing services have skyrocketed in popularity during the last few years.

However, using essay writing services is controversial. That doesn’t mean that it is ultimately bad, given that many good things are controversial.

You would expect that the University system does not condone such websites, given that they earn their living burdening students with more tasks than they can handle. At least in the US, the same people that increased tuition to tens, and even hundreds of thousands of dollars, are lecturing lower-class students about ethics.

Also, a legitimate essay writing service can provide immense stress relief. College curricula are filled to the brim with needless information and extra subjects. You can reasonably shave off a year off most college programs, and lose nothing of value. But, it has become profitable to keep students learning for a long time, even though that knowledge is not profitable in the marketplace.

Generalities aside, let’s take a look at a few examples of a trusted essay writing service.

Photo, Isaiah McCarty.

Top 3 Best & Legit Essay Writing Services in 2022

1. PaperHelp

Even though this article focuses on legitimacy, safety, and legality, those are not the most common concerns of undecided customers. Most people are preoccupied with quality.

The Internet is famous for its scams and false claims, and it becomes understandable why someone may be hesitant to pay 20USD per page, only to receive a poorly-written paper.

PaperHelp’s marketing and business model is oriented towards ameliorating that concern. They have made it a priority to hire only native English speakers. Of course, that doesn’t mean that a non-native speaker can’t write, or that a native can’t make spelling mistakes.

Still, you tend to get fewer errors when dealing with someone whose mother tongue is English. Also, every writer is required to pass a complicated test. The company doesn’t just hire cheap writers from Upwork.com, in hopes of saving money.

The company prides itself on its transparency and the fact that it allows oversight from the buyer. At any point during the writing process, you can contact the writer to check on progress or request changes.

2. ExpertWriting

It is possible to buy positive reviews online. Many companies do so. This makes it hard to determine if a product or service is genuinely popular. However, those who buy positive reviews cannot erase the genuine bad ones. This results in a mixed, lukewarm impression which can be the telltale sign of poor quality.

Thankfully, ExpertWriting does not have that problem. This service benefits from an almost universally positive reception. It is refreshing to know what you are getting yourself into.

This company can cover almost any subject under the sun, and their essays will be accepted in any college. Also, similar to our previous entry, they only hire professionals who have managed to pass a rigorous vetting process.

3. 99Papers

There is no shame in having a limited budget, especially nowadays. Students are known for their poverty and nobody can blame you for searching for a bargain. Thankfully, 99Papers offers a comparable service to some of the more expensive sites, while maintaining affordability.

Their cheapest rate is nine dollars per page. Still, that does not mean that all pages will cost only 9USD.

No matter the brand, a research paper writing service will increase the cost based on three main factors: the difficulty of the writing, the number of pages, and the urgency of the deadline.

Even after these factors are calculated, 99Papers is generally cheaper.

In terms of quality, it does not stand out. It is a typical top-tier essay on service website.

Photo, Adolfo Félix.

Essay Writing Services Are Older Than You Think

As previously mentioned, college staff will usually condemn paying for others to write your tasks. However, this criticism is coming from people who needlessly go out of their way to keep students busy with unproductive assignments.

Just like a TV station or website is interested in stretching out watch time, so too are colleges designed to keep you enrolled for as long as possible.

Those who criticise using essay service reviews do not have the moral high ground, at least in this regard.

You should also consider that the practice has been around since the start of the University system. Every institution would have “that guy” who wrote homework assignments for money. This process was underground, and there was no contestation, refund policy, or accountability.

Buying essays is always going to happen, and you cannot prevent it unless you make students write it in class, where they can be supervised. Essay sites took a clandestine service and turned it into a legitimate business.

These sites offer revisions, rewrites, and even refund policies. They are accountable to some extent, and that gives them the moral high ground.

Photo, Emma Shulzhenko.

Safety and Reliability

Do essay writing services really work? And are they safe and reliable?

The answer to both those questions is yes…ish. Similar to any other type of product, it depends on the brand. There are, without a doubt, a lot of essay sites that are scamming people. However, there are also clothing sites that scam people, or tech sites, or any other type of online business.

As an abstract notion, yes, essay sites work, and they are safe and reliable. But that brief categoric answer will not satisfy some of the most inquisitive customers, so let’s dive a little deeper.

Safety

Most online transactions demand that you use personal information. Credit card information, personal emails, date of birth, and other sensitive personal data are required.

It is understandable why a student may flinch from the idea that his teachers will find out that he is using an essay paper service. The stigma is alive and well.

In terms of guarding your personal information, paper sites have a decent track record. At the time of writing, I am not aware of any leaked information, financial or credit card data theft. Their websites are secured and encrypted, for the most part.

I say “for the most part”, because new sites are appearing all of the time, and nobody can vouch for all of them. Thankfully, some platforms specialise in gathering data and reviewing paper writing websites.

A categorical answer to the safety question: it is entirely safe if you stay on the main path. Don’t go too crazy with unknown/new sites. Be sure to read reviews before deciding.

Reliability

Again, the standard disclaimer should be mentioned: the good ones are reliable, while overnight scam sites are a wild card.

In terms of clarifying the term, reliability represents the consistency of quality. Can you rely on this service to deliver the same level of quality every time? Can you depend on the fact that your paper will show up before the deadline expires?

If the answer to these questions is “yes”, then you are dealing with a reliable service.

One of the major problems with essay sites is that many of them do not deliver on time. And, as a consolation, they offer credits, a full cash refund, or a re-write.

But if you depended on that paper to get a grade, a full refund means nothing. You want a paper that you can use, not excuses and a bunch of wasted time.

When this happens, people will usually rush to complain online. Look for negative reviews complaining about reliability before you decide to spend your money.

Do not deny yourself the benefits of trustworthy essay services just because of some bad apples.

Photo, Barney Yau.

How Can You Tell if a Service Is a Scam?

How can you tell the difference between a safe essay site and a scam page? Most of them promise the same things, in the same manner.

Well, the honest answer is that you can’t tell the difference at first glance. As I understand from online forums and communities, there is an offshore company that runs bad-quality paper writing sites. And, as soon as one of these bad sites gathers too many negative reviews, the company just makes a brand new page.

The cycle repeats until the entire industry gets a bad reputation.

This is why paper sites have some of the most vocal online communities. Customers have become reliant on each other to combat misinformation and false advertising. A sub-industry has developed, one that deals with reviewing paper sites.

Scam sites will not be mentioned or ranked on these review platforms.

This can put new services at a disadvantage. New pages can be slow to get off the ground because they are indistinguishable from scam sites, as they have few reviews. Yet, sticking with an established brand is so far the best way of minimising risk.

Addressing the Legality Concerns

The question of legality is by far, the most important one. Nobody wants to break the law when it comes to online services.

Legality depending on where you live, and where your University is located. For large countries such as the US, federal/local distinction must also be considered.

Each state has the right to make its laws. What is legal in Nebraska may not be legal in Florida or New York. Be sure to check regional regulations before buying an online paper.

In general, paper writing websites have two main disclaimers:

1. Once the writer hands over the work, you will be the legal owner of that paper. From a legal standpoint, the essay will be yours. It will not be considered plagiarism.

The paper is written from scratch, and all resources used for research and inspiration can, and should be included.

2. The paper isn’t meant to be written by the service’s allotted writer and then turned in as if it was yours. This practice can be illegal, or at least severely frowned upon. The website should contain a disclaimer stating that the essay must be used only as inspiration.

Similar to how students use Wikipedia or YouTube for research, the essay must be informational. It must not be presented as your original work.

So, in conclusion: In most areas, it is legal to hire an essay site to write an essay for research purposes. However, the local laws can vary and students are obligated to check with local laws before deciding to purchase.

Photo, Tim Gouw.

Is It Legitimate to Use an Essay Writing Website?

Hiring someone to write an example essay is legitimate. You are paying someone not to do your work while you contribute nothing. The paper serves as inspiration, and you are asking someone else to show you how it is done.

However, it is not legitimate to turn in that essay, without doing anything yourself. Many students tend to just put their names on papers that other people wrote, and that is wrong. In some areas, it can even be illegal. Since nobody will find out, it can be tempting to use paid essays.

Yet, this practice is unethical. And you will learn nothing from the process.

Try to notice how the writer gathered info. Observe the language used, the paragraph lengths, and the overall structure. As teachers are fond of saying: use your own words.

What’s the Difference Between Legality and Legitimacy?

Legality, in the broadest sense, is something that breaks the established laws of your government. Doing something illegal will cause you to be expelled from school, penalised, held back, and even fined.

If you ever encounter an online source that encourages illegal behaviours, just ignore it.

Legitimacy is about being who you say that you are. It can be tempting to lie on the internet. Paper sites can claim that their writers are professionals with degrees while being staffed with amateur freelancers.

To be legitimate, the service’s advertising and statements must match reality.

How to Find a Legit Site

As previously mentioned, look for an overwhelming amount of positive reviews, preferably on reputable review platforms such as Trustpilot.

Photo, Crew.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will it be expensive?

The rates can vary, but you shouldn’t expect a college-level task to cost less than $60-100. Costs are calculated based on paper length, difficulty, and urgency.

Can I get my money back if I am not happy with the result?

You should be able to get your money back. And if the service doesn’t offer a refund, do not use it.

What if I need details changed after telling the writer what I want?

Good services offer feedback constantly. Do not settle for a site that doesn’t let you talk to the writer while the process is ongoing.

Conclusion

The internet makes it easy to scam people. Still, it also makes it easy to find exactly what you need. In the information age, you need to stay informed.

If you can spend over $100 on a college paper, then you should at least be able to spare 2 hours researching what service to use.