Instead of viewing the research paper as a big project, try to view it as something that's assembled step by step. The writing process begins in the pre-writing stage, when you initially conceive your ideas. These typically take the form of scribbles, notes and miscellaneous drawings. It can be fun to include these types of items in your research paper to demonstrate where the ideas for the research came from.
Following the IMRAD structure, write the section that seems easiest to you, whether that be the introduction, methods, discussion or results. Tackle each section one by one before moving on to the revision phase, in which you refine your ideas and fix typographical errors.
You should include several essential elements in a research paper. Aside from the title, you need to include an abstract that provides a brief summary of the paper, its objectives and findings. Another essential element, outside of the IMRAD structure, is the works-cited section, which will help establish credibility and demonstrate that you have sufficient background knowledge for the paper to have academic merit.
If your research paper involves a lot of data, it can be helpful to provide some visualizations of the data in the form of charts and graphs. Create 3-D line graphs, bar charts and pie charts to help give your research paper some visual flair. You may also want to include pertinent visuals of research subjects and methodologies to show readers how the outcomes of the research were arrived at.