Cheating Greatly Aided by Internet

Students willing to cheat can easily find Web sites offering a wealth of essays, translation services and study guides on hundreds of topics.

Translation sites, such as freetranslation.com, translate text from one language to another, but teachers say such sites can be unreliable.

Often the study guides, at sites such as sparknotes.com, are free, but full-fledged essays can cost $10 per page. Most services will FedEx or e-mail essays. But beware: Teachers are using programs of their own, such as turnitin.com, to scan essays for plagiarism.

Many Web sites, such as NoCheaters.com, say they offer their wares only for comparisons and guidance, but generally don't ask any questions.

Several free sites offer pretty mediocre fare — but point out that this will actually make being detected more difficult.

From his bedroom in Kent, Ohio, Jamie Dick, 17, a high school junior, runs netcheats.com, which offers book summaries, cheating tips and "alternatives to everyday problems," but not term papers.

"What we try to do is say, 'There's ways you can cheat without doing all the work, or barely any work at all,'" Dick said in an interview.

Dick, who described himself as a "good, hardworking student," said he doesn't recommend buying essays to turn in as one's own.

"Downloading term papers on the Internet doesn't do anything for you if you're going to have a test on it," he said.

Mark Oliver, a librarian at Hall High School in West Hartford, Conn., went "undercover" a few years ago and tried to buy a customized five-page paper, but the site he contacted had so many requests — 1,800 that week alone — that they couldn't fulfill his request.