Across Australia, Year 12 students are finishing their final exams and many are turning their attention to university.

But there are fears that some students are resorting to unethical behaviour to achieve top marks in the exams.

Some students and teachers have told ABC's Lateline that many pupils resort to "extreme" measures to get the extra marks to get into law, medicine and other elite courses at top universities.

The measures include buying or obtaining essays from other students and tutors and memorising them for the standard Higher School Certificate (HSC) exam.

In the standard English exam, 50 per cent of the mark is made up of assessment tasks and the other 50 per cent is made up of an exam which includes essays written in exam conditions.

In the worst-case scenario, some tutors are offered money by parents and students to write the assessment tasks and essays. The students then submit the work as their own.

Tutor Angus Hannam says this has happened to him.

"It is unethical and pretty dishonest. I have had a couple of requests I guess, and there are some tutors who will do that for money - and for quite a lot of money - but it isn't right," he said.

He says sometimes students ask him for essays.

"I have had many times someone say to me... well, I begin by saying what are you struggling with and they say 'I don't have any essays'," he said.

"And I say I don't know what you mean? I say if you want me to write an essay you can go and learn from someone else."

Kim Jaggar, principal of Sydney Boys High, one of the top boys selective schools in Sydney, says the problem is widespread and many students do not see it as immoral.

"Kids are doing what comes naturally to maximise their chances. It is only one subject, so we shouldn't condemn the whole HSC because of one subject," he said.

"But the students do know that it is fairly easy to adapt one year to the next and there are some excellent answers prepared by previous students who have a thumb-drive or a CD who can sell or give them to you.

"It is in your own interests to acquire them and improve your score... the answer to the question is yes, it is prevalent and yes it is a problem."

'Pressured into it'

Dr Jaggar says students also do not believe they are plagiarising anyone's work.

"The idea of intellectual property is changing. It started with downloading music. People see information as not so personal; they see it as international so what right do you have to own it anymore?" he said.

"It is quite hard to get the kids to see it is immoral; they see it as a smart move."

The Board of Studies in NSW requires students to sign a document called All My Own Work.

The state's Independent Commission Against Corruption investigated the issue of a tutor writing an HSC assessment task but the probe did not lead to a conviction.

Former HSC student Alicia Aitken-Radburn, who attended one of Sydney’s top selective girls schools, says "unfortunately there is rote learning in NSW schools at the moment".

"We are essentially pressured into it. You see the band 6 students, those children, those guys who got 99 per cent have all rote-learned their essays.

"The HSC is a bit of a game and you do have to know how to play it."