You pay a tutor for editing assistance, and they drastically re-write your original paper. Can you submit this new, edited version to your professor?

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BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Question context: You paid a tutor for editing assistance, and they significantly rewrote your original paper. The issue is whether you may submit this edited version to your professor.
Option 1: Yes. This is typically not allowed. Submitting a heavily edited or rewritten paper by someone else as if it were your own work constitutes academic dishonesty or plagiarism in many institutions. Even if you paid for editing, the substantial rewrite means the work is not your own original writing, and passing it off as such would violate most academic integrity policies and guidelines about authorship and responsibility for the work.
Option 2: No. This aligns with common integrity standards: you should not submit work that is not your own original writing. Instructors expect you to submit your own work, or at minimum to clearly indicate where external editing aids were used and to ensure the final submission reflects your own understanding and voice. If editing is allowed, it is often limited to copyediting or formatting, with substantial content and ideas still attributable to you rather than to the editor. Misusing edited material can also raise concerns about attribution and originality.
Why the first option is flawed: it implies that one can present a rewritten product as their own without consequence, which clashes with typical policies on authorship and academic honesty. It overlooks the distinction between permissible editing (e.g., grammar and clarity) and unacceptable submission of someone else’s substantial contribution. Why the second option is sound: it reinforces that ownership and integrity in submitted work matter, and it acknowledges common boundaries around editing assistance and originality. It helps prevent misrepresentation of authorship and aligns with expectations that students ultimately engage with and produce the core content.
In summary, recognizing the boundaries of acceptable collaboration and editing is essential; submitting heavily edited or rewritten work as your own generally violates academic integrity rules, whereas submitting work that remains your own with appropriate disclosures or using editing only for surface-level improvements supports ethical academic practice.

IAT222 D100 Cheating - Self-Check

You pay a tutor for editing assistance, and they drastically re-write your original paper. Can you submit this new, edited version to your professor?

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