Create a list of potential topics and choose the one of most interest to you. Writing a term paper on the American Revolution does not mean that you have to retell the events from the Boston Tea Party to the surrender of General Cornwallis. Instead, explore topics such as the ideology that led to the revolution or whether the revolution was even all that revolutionary. Scholars like Bernard Bailyn content that it was not. Consult books such as "Interpretations of American History," by Gerald Grob and George Billias for other possible topics.
Research your topic thoroughly. One of the best places to start finding source material is in the bibliographic material provided by Grob and Billias. Their book lists important scholarship works on the subject, taking much of the guesswork out of where to start. Since books often lag behind newer scholarly work, consult journal articles in your university or college's electronic database to access material like "The Journal of American History." Using recent articles in the field will likely boost your grade, since many professors prefer articles to books for research purposes.
Read your sources carefully. Take notes as you go and start to develop a thesis. You are not writing a dissertation at this point in your college career, so it is not necessary to come up with a unique thesis. You could debate a point of view like that of Bernard Bailyn, contending that the American Revolution was, in fact, a conservative reaction to British imperial policy.
Create an outline for your paper, including a thesis statement in your introduction. This outline will be your writing guide for your paper. The paper should include an introduction, body and conclusion. This basic structure will simplify your paper and make it effective for developing your topic.
Compose your paper following the basic structure of your outline. The introduction should again include the thesis statement and some remarks to introduce your topic. The body should support the main thesis by providing concrete examples from history that support the main thesis. For instance, if your thesis is that women played an instrumental role in the American Revolution, then the body of the paper should provide examples of how this was true. Conclude your paper by reiterating the main ideas of the body and the introduction. Provide a full bibliography of all works consulted.