Where help ends: academic integrity, editing, essay services and AI

The short version

Academic integrity sounds like a rulebook, but most of it comes down to one test: could the work you hand in reasonably be called yours? Spellcheck passes that test. A friend explaining a method passes it. A proofreader your course allows passes it. A finished section written to your brief does not, whether it came from a paid service, a classmate or a chatbot. The hard cases sit in between: an AI tool that rewrites your paragraphs, a paraphrase that keeps the source's structure, an editor who changes more than the grammar. This section is about those cases. It explains what universities usually treat as misconduct and why, how markers check work, what the law now says about essay writing services in several countries, and how to read the policy that actually applies to you. Rules differ more than students expect. Two modules in the same department can set different limits on AI tools, on proofreading and on group work, and a policy written for coursework may not cover a take-home exam. That is why each page here gives you the questions to ask rather than one answer for everyone. It ends with a checklist to run before you submit. Nothing here is legal advice, and nothing here overrides your institution's rules. Where your handbook is unclear, the safest move is to ask your tutor in writing and keep the reply.