I get to write a research paper.

I have to take a composition class in order to obtain my degree, and for this class I have to write a 5-7 page research paper. Our professor allowed us to pick our own topic, so I decided to pick keeping Ball Pythons more specifically, the advantages in keeping Ball Pythons in tubs rather than keeping them in glass tanks. Any thoughts, comments, or advice?

5-7 pages seems like an awfully big space to fill with what is, essentially, a two or three paragraph argument.

Also, your topic is rather abstract for the average person. Might be like you trying to read a paper from a hair stylist explaining why they prefer braids instead of pony tails. 5-7 pages of that would make your eyes cross and fall out of your head because it wouldn't mean anything to you.

You might need to reconsider your topic. Maybe discuss WHY people are drawn to reptiles as pets and snakes in particular. What makes them good pets? You can incorporate some basic husbandry discussions and still keep the paper relevant and interesting to your reader. Even if they wouldn't personally want to keep a pet snake, almost anyone is curious about WHY others do so.

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Originally Posted by JLC

5-7 pages seems like an awfully big space to fill with what is, essentially, a two or three paragraph argument.

Also, your topic is rather abstract for the average person. Might be like you trying to read a paper from a hair stylist explaining why they prefer braids instead of pony tails. 5-7 pages of that would make your eyes cross and fall out of your head because it wouldn't mean anything to you.

You might need to reconsider your topic. Maybe discuss WHY people are drawn to reptiles as pets and snakes in particular. What makes them good pets? You can incorporate some basic husbandry discussions and still keep the paper relevant and interesting to your reader. Even if they wouldn't personally want to keep a pet snake, almost anyone is curious about WHY others do so.

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This plus you will find it extremely difficult to find scholarly sources to back your positions up.

I think 5 pages could be do-able. Especially if you can use quoted material in the paper. Quotes can take up a good bulk of a paper in my experience.

A few things that you can write about to include into the paper to introduce the topic
- Natural history of Ball Pythons and behavior/living conditions in the wild
- Discuss why captive husbandry is so important to keeping reptiles and what poor conditions can do.
- Compare/Contrast a tub vs glass tank vs natural living conditions
a) pros glass tank
b) cons glass tank
c) pros tub
d) cons tub
- Discuss when it's appropriate to use a tub and when it's not
- Maybe discuss how tubs benefit a ball python specifically, but perhaps not other species.

But I agree that it will be difficult to find scientific sources for the overall topic. You may have to find a herpetologist/qualified reptile vet to quote directly from. I know there are many biologists in the community that house their animals in tubs. They might be able to assist. Wild conditions will be easy to find since you can probably just pull up the average temp/weather from a reputable weather station site.

Don't forget to try searching under other common names(Royal Python) and scientific name (Python regius).

This site has some sources on the bottom that may be useful. They're mostly printed publications.
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.ed...Python_regius/

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Originally Posted by Montypython696

I have to take a composition class in order to obtain my degree, and for this class I Have to write a 5-7 page research paper.

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Shouldn't the title read" I have to write a research paper"???

I agree with the sentiment above that selecting a different topic may be the best choice. If it is a research paper, then I imagine there would be a requirement for scholarly article citations, and I know when I grade a paper, bulky quotes that take up space are instant downgrades. Good luck.

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Originally Posted by ewaldrep

I agree with the sentiment above that selecting a different topic may be the best choice. If it is a research paper, then I imagine there would be a requirement for scholarly article citations, and I know when I grade a paper, bulky quotes that take up space are instant downgrades. Good luck.

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Yeah, in my experience any quote more than a line or two = points off, and Non-scholarly quotes = fail.

The topic shouldn't really matter as long as you can get evidence supporting your idea. Also you are not going to be grade on the topic selection, you are graded on the execution of the paper. I once wrote a research paper on off road vehicles and how to choose one that's right for you. It is a very limited topic with very little interest from the professor but I got an A on it because of the execution of it and using the correct format.

I think you should change topic and use topic that people are interested in so that you can get good marks. However I think you should learn how to get good marks from here http://writemypaper.com.au/custom-as...-to-good-marks , Then you are able to chose a nice topic or complete your assignment successfully.

It's a research paper. Just use codominant (invomplete dominance) gene expression in ball pythons. You can write the whole paper on the complexes alone. Not to mention it gives you a good reason to call amd get quotes about different lines from breeders.