Free is always good for students, but in some cases it can backfire. Although seeking out online homework help can benefit students in some ways, there are always problems with this source of assistance. From deadline issues to quality problems, online sources of essays and schoolwork can be fraught with issues.
The Internet is a place where anyone can post information. Even reputable news sources sometimes have to retract information. If a reputable journalist has problems providing quality information, a homework help site can definitely have issues. Before students outsource all of their schoolwork to the Internet, they should make sure that the quality level of the site is assured.
Students have deadlines, but an online writer or researcher may not meet them. By outsourcing their schoolwork, students are betting on the assignment being completed in time. In some cases, this plan has backfired.
On the Web, plagiarism problems are abundant. Anything that the student can find online can also be found by a teacher. In most cases, the teacher will fail the student on the assignment or in the entire class. At strict institutions, the student may even be expelled.
Although there are free sites, students will get the best information from a site that costs money. Since most students are relatively poor, paying for a quality paper or answers can be impossible.
At some point, most classes will require the student to actually show their learning. The student may have an in-class essay, exam or pop quiz. If the student gets all of their schoolwork from the Internet, they will be unable to demonstrate their knowledge in class. The entire goal of an education is learning. If the student is not learning, it will show in their course grade.
For many students, ethics are the last thing that they think of when they turn to the Internet for help. Each assignment turned in by the student has the student's name on it. If the assignment was not completed personally by the student, it is essentially a lie. Completing an education unethically is setting the student up for a lifetime of cheating to get to a goal.
One of the main risks of using online homework help is that the student will get caught. Getting expelled from a school for cheating will make it difficult for the student to enroll in college or get a job later on. If the student is already in college, an expulsion will waste all of the time and money that they have spent.