One agency alone, UK Essays.com, reported over 150 commissions during 2007 from students at the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam.

A student can order a specific essay or piece of coursework on any given topic or question, at a typical cost of £70 per 500 words.

A 10,000 word dissertation can cost over £3,000, while for an extra £52.50 per 500 words, students can be assured of work that will be marked as a 'first'.

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UK Essays.com - one of many organisations offering such services - is so confident about the quality of its writers that it offers a £1,000 guarantee that students won't be accused of plagiarism by university authorities.

Dozens of agencies are offering essay writing services, a business with a turnover of tens of millions every year.

UK Essays.com claims to employ over 3,500 specialist writers and can take in as much as £90,000 a week from desperate undergraduates.

Agencies often claim they are supplying essays as 'inspiration' and they are not intended to be passed off as a student's own work. They insist their services are entirely legal.

But a Sheffield University spokeswoman said the issue was now regarded as a very serious matter.

"The submission of bought or commissioned work amounts to plagiarism and implies a clear intention to deceive examiners," she said.

"The university takes disciplinary action against any student.

"Penalties may be imposed ranging from refusal of credit for the assessed work to expulsion from the university in extremely serious cases."

The spokeswoman said university guidelines on the issue were currently being updated to reflect the rise in the number of students using bought or commissioned work.

At Hallam a spokeswoman admitted that selling essays was unfortunately a growing business.

"Buying an essay to pass off as your own work is plagiarism and is strongly condemned.

"It undermines the academic experience and diminishes the value of education," she said

"However, students or parents who think that spending money on these essays will guarantee a good grade are mistaken. Several of our professors have tested out a service and found it easy to detect.

"The university has policies and procedures in place to deal with plagiarism. Our main approach is to design out the possibility through working closely with the students," she said.

UK Essays.com reported it had 6,000 customers during 2007 - and said many essays were now being bought by parents for their offspring.

The Nottingham-based company says it is middle class families who are overwhelmingly willing to 'buy' their children better degrees.

"Some parents have even confessed that the custom essays are going to be gifts for Christmas," a spokesman said.

Sometimes orders for essays and coursework resulted in bills of over £1,500 a time - proving some families were buying their youngsters' way through university, he added.

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