Ed's article has generated a tremendous response from readers, more than any other Chronicle story in recent memory. It seems to have struck a nerve not only with faculty members who deal with the problem in the classroom but also with students who see this kind of cheating around them and other writers who do this for a living.

We are eager to get started and to hear from readers. We're live now so go ahead and start submitting your questions.

First, could you tell us why you decided to come forward and tell your story now?

Ed: Certainly. First, thanks for giving me an opportunity to speak to your readers...

Ed: I decided to come forward because it's the only way that I can imagine making a clean break from this job. I have not done this to exculpate myself. I don't expect a pardon. But I do believe that if I tell my story, some of the things that I have seen while doing this job will be brought to greater awareness.

[Comment From Euro_trash:] Can you tell us about your educational background?

Ed: I went to a state college. I found the experience to be extremely disappointing. I was a Communication major and an English minor but was generally detached from my personal studies

[Comment From AnnaZ:] Why do you think students are more lazy than they used to be?

Ed: That's hard to say. I'm not sure if they are lazier than they used to be. I do think that the pressures to cheat are greater than ever. . . the expense of schools, the competition in the job market, the importance of grading to one's future prospects.

[Comment From Teddi:] I'd love to know if your customers ever say anything about why they need you--do they give any rationales? (btw, I'm really glad that you're giving us this opportunity to ask questions.)

Ed: Teddi, happy to do it . . .

Ed: They certainly do. . .

[Comment From Max:] Your critique of higher education is clear, and there is some merit, it seems to me, for us all to think about how well we are supporting learning and education in deep and meaningful ways.

Ed: Customers will tell me their whole life story before i ask. .. this professor is really unfair, I have ten kids and don't have time to write, I have too many classes right now, I have to fulfill this stupid prerequisite that is unrelated to my major, etc.

Ed: I must say, I have been pleased with the level of response if only because it has caused so many people to reflect on what isn't working in education

[Comment From Euro_trash: Hmmm. Sometimes I am moved to pity my clients. Probably the most depressing request I ever received was from a customer who needed help editing her online dating profile.

lizmcmillen: Ed, didn't you say that you occasionally have parents of students ordering papers for them?

Ed: Absolutely. This proves a simple economic point to me. Parents pay for their child's tuition, their books, their beer . . .

Ed: College is a huge investment. So for parents as much as for students, failing is not an option. It simply costs too much. They would rather see their children succeed in the system than learn or achieve independence. This speaks to a very complicated social problem.

[Comment From Melb:] Do you have a sense that any of the students you worked for experienced an ethical dilemma in what they were asking of you? Are students even aware that what they're doing is problematic?

Ed: I don't get much of that. More than that, students are paranoid about being caught. Sometimes customers have panic attacks where they send you emails in the middle of the night asking for assurances that you won't be selling them any plagiarized work. They don't want to get caught, but they don't seem to feel bad about it.

[Comment From:] Aside from India, what other countries or regions produce the cheapest writers for students to hire?

Ed: I can't make that claim. I just don't know. I think there is a critical de-emphasis on writing instruction at earlier levels of education and I'm certain that is part of the problem.

[Comment From TarHeelFan:] Have you received requests for creative writing pieces?

Ed: Dakin, I'm afraid I don't know the answer to that question with a great deal of knowledge. I work with an American company.

Ed: I have received creative writing requests, and requests for assignments that you would think might actually be fun to write. I've written poems, short stories, reviews of The Matrix and papers about James Brown. Who wouldn't want to learn about James Brown?

lizmcmillen: Thanks for all the great questions, we're getting to them as fast as we can. Several readers want to know what you think should be changed to stop this problem. How, in other words, how would you suggest colleges put you out of work?

Ed: This is a tricky area. I am not an educator, so I am hesitant to offer a wholesale solution to this problem without those qualifications. I only know what I see from my side of things. But based on that, I would again reiterate that grades are killing students. I've seen a number of professors respond to my article by insisting that more severe penalties and a greater threat of failure are needed to address this problem. This is exactly the opposite of the point I'm trying to make.

[Comment From daphne:] we generally believe that engaging students in the PROCESS of writing (i.e. they submit research questions, an annotated list of sources, an outline, a draft-all over several weeks time) that instances of academic dishonesty will decline significantly. from your experience, does that ring true? how often have you been contracted to fabricate the whole process prewriting, drafting, revising, etc.?

Ed: This does not prevent cheating. Quite to the point, I have been engaged in this exact 'process' more times than I can count over the course of these last few years. I have completed many an assignment from proposal to final draft.

[Comment From Teddi:] But if we tell them grades aren't the most important thing, don't we also have to change the system to make that so? Students are too savvy not to focus on grades when so many things--admission to college, admission to grad school or professional schools--depend on them so heavily?

Ed: Teddi, I agree. This is why I'm hesitant to offer a wholesale solution. I think the problem is systemic. I think grades are connected directly to the facilitation of the admissions process and the job market. A lot would have to change from the top-down in order for that to occur. And as so many comments have noted, there is an enormous political pressure placed upon professors to evaluate and to be evaluated. . .

Ed: While a lot of professors have reacted defensively to my article (which I fully understand), I really think professors are largely stuck in the same inept system as are their students.

[Comment From Guest:] Any ideas for how academics can tell if our student papers are ghost written? I can certainly think of some things like comparing papers to in-class essays etc -- but what about requiring presentations and/or oral descriptions of the paper...or something else?

Ed: I don't really know. I don't go to school and I don't know how the academic integrity review policy works from one institution to the next. But-and this is just me, you are welcome to disagree-I don't think professors should worry about catching cheaters. They should spend their time trying to honestly assess why students choose to cheat and finding ways to remove these motives.

[Comment From Adjunct:] I am an adjunct at an online university paid a flat rate per week regardless of how much time I spend, and in my case, if I were to take steps to investigate and accuse a student of cheating, it would take me time I am not paid for, so I don't do it. Also, I rely on this job and don't need to make waves. Do you think that the trend toward colleges using adjunct professors is part of the problem?

Ed: I think one professor said it best in a comment on the Chronicle site when he explained that he simply has too many students to monitor all of them. While he said this in a defensive way, I felt like his complaint was exactly demonstrative of the problem. I know I hated being in 200 person lecture halls. I didn't particularly feel that I was getting the most out of my professors this way. . .

[Comment From Jackie:] From the comments on your article, a few people accuse you of assisting, essentially, an inept generation into positions where they might actually wield some sort of power in the next decade or so and influence American politics, etc. Does this influence your decision to continue doing this job? Or, in general, the number of requests that you get with awful spellings, etc.-- do these make you hesitate about helping a kid graduate who can't necessarily string words together him/herself?

Ed: I've been accused of shifting blame away from myself, but this is not my intention. I accept the blame for my part in the process. But that's sort of obvious. I'm an enabler. This should not prevent us from considering this fact though; if all a hopelessly deficient individual needs to get a job upon which lives depend is a bunch of good grades and adequate markings on his/her written work, then there are many levels of failure within the education/occupation market.

[Comment From SarahInSeattle:] Hi Ed, just wanted to say that I fully support the conclusions you reached in your story. As a college student, I never cheated, but I did struggle in certain classes. I took a few D's, a one F, and when I left college, I started a nonprofit organization; I now hire on interns and staff, finding so many Ivy League kids that have no capacity to experiment, or be resourceful, or think creatively. I weed them out as early as I can from my applicant pool. If they fooled me in the hiring phase, I often fire them within the first 2 weeks. ...If universities and professors don't get your point---that an emphasis on grades produces students who care more about grades than learning... I don't know what will shake them up enough to realize they're graduating the newly unemployed. Also, while yes, I wasn't the best student, I learned, I researched, and now, I advise governments and am a published author. But many Universities would never consider me for a masters program. Thanks for shedding light on the misguided emphasis on grades.

Ed: Thanks so much for your comments Sarah. That is appreciated.

[Comment From ChadVader:] How will you list this work experience on your resume? If it has been your full-time pursuit for several years, to exclude it would leave a noticeable gap that might be seen negatively by prospective employers. Will you fabricate a different job? Or massage the current one?

lizmcmillen: And a related question: What do you tell your parents about your job?

Ed: I don't go on a lot of interviews. I've done this work for so long because I have intended to make a living as a writer. I am not willing to compromise this goal. . .

Ed: With respect to my parents, they know full well what I do. I have never hidden this from the people around me. I am neither ashamed nor proud of what I have done. It is, quite simply, what I have done to get by.

lizmcmillen: We're getting to the end of the chat. Thanks to everyone who submitted questions -- there were so many excellent questions. Here's the last one:

[Comment From Matt:] Once the outrage, frustration, and discontent settle down from educators who read your piece, what do you hope they will take away?

Ed: I hope they will be moved to engage more openly and honestly about why students are so inclined to cheat. There is so much discussion on detection of cheating but I really believe this is a question of motivation. I hope educators can find ways to work around the rigid nature of our educational system and make their students truly want to learn. I know for me, once all the grading and formalities were stripped away, education became a thrill.

Ed: Thanks to all for your questions. I am grateful for the opportunity to speak with you directly.

lizmcmillen: Thanks to Ed for chatting with us today. This has been a very interesting discussion and again, we're sorry we didn't get to all of your questions. For those of you who missed the chat, a transcript will be available on this page on The Chronicle site.