paper mill

Definition

A commercial service that sells pre-written or custom academic papers to students for plagiarism purposes, ranging from high school essays to doctoral dissertations. These academic black markets undermine integrity while proving remarkably difficult to prosecute.

Example Usage

We caught three students who bought papers from the same paper mill—they all had identical citations.

Origin

Academic integrity discourse, term used since at least the 1970s

Fun Fact

Paper mills generate an estimated $100 million annually, with some operating openly despite obvious ethical violations.

Source: Academic integrity and plagiarism detection communities

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