Choose a research topic. A paper is generally easier to write when your subject is one of interest to you. Pick a topic that is engaging while still complementary to the class curriculum (garnering approval from your teacher is a good idea). Prevent overwhelming yourself and avoid choosing a topic too broad in scope. Use the recommended page length as a guide for determining your choice. More pages allow for a more general focus.
Do adequate research. Acquaint yourself with current knowledge, ideas and theories about your topic through a wide variety of sources from the Internet, scholarly journals, magazines and books. Choose an abundant amount of sources and take notes on main ideas, quotations and theories. Highlight important passages and tag them with post-it notes for easy reference.
Write the thesis statement. Usually included in the end of the introductory paragraph, the thesis statement is a sentence concisely declaring the purpose of your paper and at least three main ideas it seeks to address within your topic. Writing a thesis statement before the rest of your paper serves as a guideline. Once you have a well-formed thesis statement, the rest of the introduction provides a general overview of your topic.
Write an outline. Completion of this framework helps clearly organize ideas for the rest of your paper, arrange information gleaned from multiple sources and enable a logical flow from one idea to the next. A basic outline will consist of headings including an introduction, at least three body paragraphs (representing each main idea) and a conclusion. Under each heading, write a sentence describing the section and then arrange facts that will appear in the corresponding paragraph. Bullet points will be sufficient. Adjust the outline in accordance with required paper length, as longer papers usually call for longer introductions, more body paragraphs and a more detailed wrap-up.
Write the paper. Using your outline as a blueprint, flesh out each section with ideas, quotations and supporting research gleaned from your sources. Address each main idea proportionately, writing a relatively equivalent amount of material for each section. The introduction provides a broad summary, body paragraphs support each main idea of your thesis and a conclusion summarizes ideas and ends on a memorable note, such as a quotation.
Revise. Although your paper is written, it is essential to edit for readability, clarity and organization. Some strategies are reading your paper aloud or having a peer or teacher review your work. Eliminate run-on sentences and simplify ideas without sacrificing content. Revise your thesis if research is weak in one or more areas. Focus on content and structure, saving minor grammatical edits for last. As a final step, review your paper thoroughly, citing sources for any information that is not public knowledge or an original idea, even if paraphrasing. Ensure citations are balanced and not too heavily used for one source.