Online paper submission has become increasingly common for classes at all levels, as it promotes unique, original writing and offers a convenient platform for both students and instructors.  Here are the main benefits of using online paper submission.

• Reduction in Plagiarism
  Collecting papers through an online platform makes it easy to submit them to plagiarism detection sites.  As a result, students who know that they will be turning a paper in online are much less likely to plagiarize material, which increases the quality of their papers.
• Ease for the Student
  Many students do not own printers, and printing at the library can be costly and inconvenient late at night.  Online paper submission gives students the ease and flexibility to submit their papers on their own time from their own computers, without having to worry about printing issues.
• Convenience for the Instructor
  Instructors have also found that collecting papers online offers considerable convenience.  Not only does it allow teachers to access papers easily at any time and from any location, but it also allows them to effectively enforce deadlines.  Online submissions can be controlled so that the platform closes at the time of the deadline, creating a fair way to ensure on-time submissions.  Moreover, instructors are able to download the documents and review the font size, margins, and word count to make the grading process fairer for all students.
• Benefit to the Environment
  Online submissions reduce unnecessary paper consumption and provide another way for schools to stay environmentally friendly.
• Low Cost
  Many universities and colleges offer either free or subsidized online platforms for paper submission.  The low cost for plagiarism websites and software make this technology available for a wide range of classes.
• Database Storage
  Plagiarism websites as well as universities will sometimes store student papers to check for plagiarism in future years.  Moreover, some of the papers can be made available to other students in future years for more information about certain research topics.

While some instructors still prefer reviewing hard copies of papers, many enjoy the benefits of collecting and reading student assignments online.