SEPTEMBER 14, 2019

Is It O.K. if College Students Hire Me to Revise Their Papers?

Illustration by Tomi Um

"I am a freelance editor and have been offered a position "copy-editing and organizing" college students' research papers and essays. The work sounds interesting, but I'm not sure that it's ethical. When I was in college, it was assumed that the papers I turned in were entirely my own work. My college had mentors who gave advice on improving your writing but who would not themselves make changes to it. If I accept this job, I will be revising poorly written sentences and shifting paragraphs for clarity.

If a student's college does not have a policy forbidding such things, is it ethical for the student to hire me? Many of the clients are nonnative speakers of English whose knowledge of the subject might be obscured by their poor writing. Would this be any different from hiring a language tutor to help prepare for an oral presentation? Because any ethical issue is really between the students and their universities, should I even be concerning myself with it?"

Read the Ethicist's reply here.

What Can a Star Like Cardi B Do for a Politician Like Sanders?

Celebrities tend to receive more attention than primary candidates. Campaigns have never seemed entirely sure how to use that fact to their advantage.

Illustration by Igor Bastidas

Letter Of Recommendation

Letter of Recommendation: Golfing With Strangers

The best place to get to know people just might be on the fairways of a public golf course.

Matt Eich for The New York Times

My Best Friend Died by Suicide. I Wish I Had Seen the Warning Signs.

Neil was the toughest guy I knew in the Air Force. But no one taught us how to cope with PTSD.

Photo illustration by Ina Jang

Diagnosis

The Unusual Tale of the Roaming Gallstones

The back pain and odd growth seemed to indicate cancer. But one doctor had a different idea entirely.

READ OUR EDUCATION SPECIAL ISSUE

I Was a Low-Income College Student. Classes Weren't the Hard Part.

Schools must learn that when you come from poverty, you need more than financial aid to succeed.

by anthony abraham jack

What College Admissions Offices Really Want

Elite schools say they're looking for academic excellence and diversity. But their thirst for tuition revenue means that wealth trumps all.

by paul tough

The Koch Foundation Is Trying to Reshape Foreign Policy. With Liberal Allies.

Charles Koch has spent a fortune pushing the American government to the right. Now his foundation is promoting a vision of U.S. power shared by many progressives: restraint.

by beverly gage

The Disappearing Schools of Puerto Rico

Over the past three years, hundreds of schools have closed across Puerto Rico. Their ruins are among the most visible evidence of the island's vicious circle of poor governance, neglect by Washington and environmental catastrophe.

photographs by diana zeyneb alhindawi

Stay in touch:

Appreciated this email?

Forward it to a friend and help us grow. Loved a story?

Hated it? Write us a letter at magazine@nytimes.com. Did a friend forward this to you? Sign up here to get the magazine newsletter.

Check us out on Instagram, where you'll find photography from our archives, behind-the-scenes snippets from photo shoots, interviews on how we design our covers and outtakes that don't make it into the issue.

Learn more about the experiences and costs of war. Sign up for the At War newsletter to receive stories about conflict from Times reporters and outside voices.