Why pay a ghostwriter four hundred dollars or more to properly research and write a vitally important term paper? Some people assert that it's considerably better than failing a course for lack of writing skills. But what benefit does the student actually derive from the literary efforts expended by the ghostwriter? Well, not really much of anything except, perhaps, a good grade. If done properly, a ghostwritten thesis or dissertation can be produced by an acclaimed ghostwriter to reflect the approximate academic potential of the student. This is why the ghostwriter must be chosen carefully from the many self-proclaimed writers and pundits who advertise their academic skills.

When you consider that a quality university education currently costs fifty-thousand dollars or more, which just covers tuition, fees, books, and living expenses for four undergraduate years, the additional high cost of a ghostwriter might seem quite exorbitant. Yet, more than a few undergraduate and graduate students employ tutors, at forty-or-more dollars per hour, for studies which are beyond their level of proper preparation. A sad thing it is that most students, graduating from high school, are poorly prepared for college-level writing. Presumably, a college freshman who cannot write on a twelfth grade level after graduation from high school has actually done very little writing in his twelve years of free public education. So, if that person expects to graduate from a top-notch university, he or she has to do either one of two things. Either the student remediates and learns quickly what wasn't learned during the high school years, or finds someone who can do the work for him.

One way or the other, the student who is paying out the ear for a liberal college education she is not ready to receive must find a viable means of getting the required work done and of receiving better than merely passing grades. A good example of such a pragmatic approach to education was that of George W. Bush. Though his high school grades didn't reflect any scholarly ability, he was admitted into Yale University simply because his very prominent father was a Yale graduate. But while at Yale, George W. found more satisfaction in panty raids and fraternity antics than in achieving good grades. According to reliable sources, George W's father paid a tutor throughout the undergraduate years to insure that his son, at least, passed his courses.

George W. left Yale with a low "C" average without the ability to read, write, and do math on a college level. Then, somehow, he was admitted into an MBA program. According to other reliable sources, George actually achieved less than a 3.00 GPA in the business program he purportedly completed. So how did he manage to graduate? I suppose it was the same method he used to be subsequently discharged from the Texas Air National Guard without completing his required service time. He came out of Yale not knowing how to write and subsequently completed a graduate business program that supposedly stressed writing? Perhaps George employed a ghostwriter to complete all of his graduate writing assignments. It would stand to reason.

Norton R. Nowlin holds M.A. and B.A. degrees from the University of Texas at Tyler plus one year of law school at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, in San Diego, California. In addition to the foregoing, Mr. Nowlin's educational prowess extends 70 semester hours beyond a master's degree in sociology, history, and law. Mr. Nowlin is presently a free-lance paralegal. He is also a published essayist, free-lance writer, and poet. He is married, the father of three grown children, and resides with his wife, Diane, in Mountlake Terrace, Washington.