Hey, you—
come here!
Do ya wanna
buy a term paper?
cenes like this could be a common sight if students begin “buying” instead of com-
using their term papers. Photo by Duffy Coffman.
j Tom Rhodes
(The Print
¡They are posted in every
iiilding, tempting students
»king for the easy way out
ith such promises as “an end
¡unnecessary suffering . . .
nprove health, and achieve a
rater peace of mind.”
What are they? No, not the
embers of the Church of
dentology or Army recruiters
it to grab unsuspecting
udents, encouraging them to
in their cause, good or bad.
. 13cm x 21cm sheets of
ip'er titled, “term raper
lues Cured!”
The company is called
icific Research (P.R.), and
ey offer prewritten research
ipers. The papers are four to
I pages long, and include
otnotes, bibliographies, and
st about everything that a
fm or research paper should
dude.
Based in Seattle, Wash.,
K. started with a handful of
rent college graduates who
>dan idea. “We pooled all of
epapers we had written, and
fleeted a bunch from our
ends, and we started offering
»service to students,” said a
tentative from P.R. in a
lephone interview.
The small company grew,
id they put out their first mail
der catalog in 1974. Their
Nertisements are now posted
folleges all across the nation.
(The term papers are written
i 40 professional writers who
tspecialists in different
ademic fields. P.R. has well
itt 10,000 papers on file with
pics ranging from Marxism to
fcen Kane.”
Those 10,000-plus papers
¡al! listed in their mail order
talog, which costs $1. If the
sterner sent in another
lar, he or she would also
teive a special booklet,
biting Effective
Term
P«rs.” The booklet explains
* to use big words that im-
Sthe profs.
hwriting to P.R., I just slip
fl two George Washingtons
•an envelope and mailed it,
with an order form, to Seattle.
Much to my surprise, within a
week I received a 393-page
catalog, an order form for the
research paper, and a notice
stating, “Due to the over
whelming demand for “Writing
Effective Term Papers,” there
will be a slight delay of three to
five weeks for delivery.” The
catalog lists information con
cerning how to order a paper,
how much they cost, ($3 a
page), and many of the other
services the company offers.
The company has a special
phone number to call in orders.
Before I phoned, 1 had to
choose a subject. I chose a
typicalpaper:
13008—THE EFFECTS OF
MASS MEDIA ON VOTING
BEHAVIOR. An analysis of
how the uneasy marriage of
media conglomerates and big
government developed to the
point where it is threatened by
legislative control. Features an
historical perspective as well as
current concerns abojut the in
fluence of media corporation
on voting behavior. 6 pages/5
footnotes/4 bibliographies.
I picked up the receiver and
dialed the number, (206)-282-
8800. This conversation took
place:
P.R. Hello . . . Pacific
Research.
ME: Hello ... I’d like to or
der a research paper.
P.R. What is the number of
the order?
Me: 13008
P.R. Okay, I’ll see if we have
it on file . . . (long pause) . . .
Okay, the paper is on the effec
ts of mass media on voting
behavior, and it’s six pages
long.
ME: That’s right.
P.R. Okay, what is your
name?
ME: Thomas Rhodes . . .
that’s R H-O-D-E-S.
dnesday, January 16,1980
P.R. Your address, Tom?
ME: 17402 S.E. Boardman
Court . . . Milwaukie . . .
Oregon...97222.
P.R.: And how would you
like to pay for that, COD? ($5
extra for COD)
Me: Yup.
P.R.: Let’s see ... $3 a
page, it’s 6 pages, plus $5 for
COD, that comes out to $23.
P.R.: Okay, it will be here
around Thursday.
Me: All right.
P.R.; Thank you very much,
Tom.
That was it, a three-minute
conversation and I had a
research paper on the way to
my house. It was that easy.
But, could 1 pass a class like
WR 123, where you spend the
entire term writing papers, by
ordering a 22-page paper on a
subject?
“Conceivably,
it could
work ’’ admitted WR 123
teacher Dick Andrews, “but it
would be awfully difficult.”
Andrew 5 has taught WR 123
for some time, but has never
encountered a student who has
admitted using a term paper
written by a company such as
Pacific Research. “I don’t think
the students here at the .College
are affluent enough to pur
chase a term paper,” he said
after being informed that the
maximum charge for a term
paper is $70.
“We basically know the in-
dividual students’ style,” com
mented Andrews, “so we could
tell if they used a pre-written
paper.” He added, “I suppose
the student could buy one then
re-write it, but that would take
too much time and effort. They
might as well write it them
selves.”
Two days later, my paper
arrived. It was just as P.R.
described it. Clean, well writ
ten—but not too well written.
All in all, it was a good paper.
P.R. takes it in good faith
that the person who orders a
paper will not use it as the
"paper turned in for class, by
having the customer sign the
following statement:
“I fully realize that the
material I am contracted to buy
from P.R. is designed and in
tended to be used solely for
research and reference.”
Pacific Research does offer
more than just research papers.
For example:
CUSTOM RESEARCH:
If a person wants a topic that
is not listed in the catalog, he or
she can write in the subject of
the paper, what is to be
covereu sucn as oymoonsm oi
a specific story like BOEWULF,
how many pages, footnotes,-
bibliographies,
charts,
illustrations, etc., are needed.
Cost: $7.50 per page with five-
page minimum. Science,
business, and economic papers
are $8.50 a page. Thesis
assistance is $15 a page.
WRITER’S GUIDE:
—Send in paper. P.R. will
proofread and correct errors in
both style and grammar. Cost:
$3 a page with five-page
minimum. P.R. will retype
paper for a fee of $4.50 a page
with a $22 minimum.
—P.R. will provide an
for any topic. Bibliography
costs extra. Cost: $30 per
outline; $40 with bibliography.
—Send in paper and P.R. will
return a one-page critical
analysis. $15 for 15-page or
shorter paper. $1 extra for
each additional page.
—P.R. will send a notated
bibliography to help in research
for topic. Cost: $15 per page
(five sources).
As one can see, Pacific
Research’s services are not
cheap. There is a great deal of
money involved in this business
and the student should look,
things over carefully before or
dering for assistance.
Before spending money for
help from P.R., students might
also remember that there are
teachers here at the College
who will offer the same
assistance—for free.
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