Every now and again the UK media whips up a storm about the essay writing industry. For example, BBC Education Correspondent Reeta Chakrabati's recent piece for BBC News. A few months earlier The Independent was gleefully parading the headline 45000 Students Cheating at Britain's Universities.

The media and the British public have, in recent years, developed a jaundiced view of the education system. The media and the man in the street appears to believe that the system is going to hell in a handcart: standards are crumbling; qualifications are worthless; educational outcomes are poor in comparison with other countries.

This is a particularly British attitude. The fact is that the British education system is admired throughout the world. Students compete for scholarships, or general entrance places at our prestigious centres of learning, and we export our public examination system around the world. Students in Singapore study for British 'O' Levels (remember them?) awarded by Cambridge.

The media have to write about something, and 'falling standards' is to the mass media what a conversation about the weather is to gossiping neighbours. It's a perennial favourite. The essay writing industry and the practice of buying essays are not bringing about the collapse of academic civilization.

But not everyone can afford to buy an essay...

The other angle the media like to pursue in educational matters is the matter of equality. The seasoned trope goes something like this:

Everyone should be equally entitled to follow whatever academic dreams they wish to pursue. The state education system, and the application of a standards-based approach to teaching and learning are there to ensure a level playing field for all. Therefore anything that 'queers the pitch' is morally objectionable.

We haven't traced the origins of this way of thinking. We suspect it came to the fore in the days of New Labour, but it may go back further still. The private school system is tolerated because they follow the same curriculum as state schools, so in theory the only difference between the education you receive at a British Public school and a state school is that it costs a pretty penny to sit in rather nicer surroundings. This is just a matter of choice (which government and media alike tell us is a Good Thing). However, when it goes further than that, the media gets a bit twitchy.

Of course, it does go further than that: students from families who can afford to not only go to a good private school, but be sent off for summer schools, attend crammer colleges and have private tutors to help them throughout the term are inevitably going to do better than those who can't.

But economic inequality isn't morally wrong or practicably avoidable. Not everyone can afford to buy a Ferrari, or to give their daughter a pony or have a boat moored on the south coast, or... well, the list goes on. The fact is, the 'one-size-fits-all' education is fine for a large proportion of the population. But for those who want something better for themselves or their children the marketplace has always offered a range of options.

Buying exemplary essays from an established essay writing company which are written by professional academic writers with impeccable credentials is unashamedly aimed at those discerning individuals. Just as being sent to a private tutor is not going to magically afford the student excellent results with no effort, buying a model essay is just the start of the story. That essay needs to be closely examined and analysed. How does the writer approach the question? How do they handle the essay form? How do they articulate the main arguments and conclusion? How do to they synthesise other people's arguments? These are all skills for the budding essay writer to learn, and the best way is to learn from a master.

So, should you buy a university essay?

If you will be taking a subject at university that requires you to write essays, you need to acquire a good essay-writing technique. We can't think of a better way to get started than to spend some time studying a model essay. The real question is 'Can you afford not to buy a university essay?'.