As an English teacher with over 20 years of experience, this is an issue I deal with on an almost daily basis.

First of all, "life lesson" aside (I'll address that next), it will take a teacher about 10 seconds to spot an essay he didn't write. He will get caught, and he will fail. A student's writing style is as unique as their handwriting. If the teacher is on top of her game, that's all the proof she will need. There's also the option to type all of a part of the essay into Google. If he thinks he's the only person that essay went to, he's wrong!

The takeaway from this is simple, but he may not realize it or even care at this age. It hit me when I got to college. The bottom line, he's cheating himself out of an education. That essay was given to him for a reason. No teacher is going to hand out work to students just because they want to grade! There is a skill he was to gain from the assignment, and now he doesn't have it. He is essentially starting his life in college at a deficit.

I hope this information was helpful. If I can do a follow-up for either of you, please reach out.

Thanks.