Choose a topic that you find interesting, challenging and manageable. Ensure that the topic is not too broad. For example, rather than choosing a topic such as "The Impact of Technology on the World," choose "The Impact of Technology on Today's Youth." Additionally, How-to-Study.com recommends that you ensure that there is enough information available on your topic; it will be difficult to write a research paper if there is little or no research material available.
Find information about your topic. Aim to use a variety of sources, such as the Internet, scholarly journals and books. The online "A Research Guide for Students" recommends critically evaluating websites to ensure that their information is factual and unbiased. Websites that end with .edu, .org and .gov are generally reliable sources.
Create an outline to help you stay focused when writing your research paper. The outline should be logically organized using topics, sub-topics and details. Creating a good outline is time-consuming, but will make the writing phase more efficient.
Use your outline to write a first draft of the research paper. As you write, be sure to include numbered footnotes or an alternate method of crediting information sources you consulted for your paper's major ideas and quotations.
Reread and revise the paper. It can be beneficial to reread it after leaving the paper for a day or two so that your mind is fresh during the process. During revision, ensure that sentences are well written and of varying lengths; spelling and grammar are accurate; and the ideas are not repetitive.
Make final formatting changes. Look at the assignment to double-check expectations for font, spacing, and indenting, and verify that your paper meets the standards. Additionally, your pages should be numbered and there should be no headings at the bottoms of pages, where text follows on the next page.
Write a bibliography. Depending on the course and professor or teacher's instructions, you bibliography will need to follow a specific style. This generally includes alphabetizing the authors and sources in the bibliography and indenting all but the first line of each one.
Create a title page at the beginning of the document. Although some instructors may specify the information that should be included on the title page, it is generally expected that the title of the paper, your name and the due date should be present.