Select a topic. Look through the textbook and other reading material assigned to you in class. If no reading material is offered, check out headlines in major newspapers and financial blogs, listen to financial radio talk shows or watch finance-focused TV programs to get ideas for a paper. Learn about major financial trends or changes in the economy to help you brainstorm a topic for your paper.
Do research on your chosen topic. Use your local or school library as a springboard to find information. Find articles on the web that discuss various angles of your topic. Look for sources that have authoritative experts. Ask fellow students or your professor for ideas on where to find more information.
Create a thesis statement that embodies the main point of your paper. Assemble your research by developing an outline based on your thesis statement. The purpose of an outline is to get your ideas in order before you begin drafting the paper. Use numerals to indicate the main points of your paper, with letters or bullet points to headline sub-topics under the main topics.
Revise your outline. Finance, money and banking can get confusing when too much information is included or the information is not germane to your thesis. Cut out any points or sub-points that do not contribute to your topic.
Find graphics, charts or graphs that will lend more clarity to your topic. Use charts to expand or visually show the relationships between the financial matters you plan to discuss.
Write your paper. Use your research, outline and charts as a reference for creating the first draft of your paper. Do not edit. Get all your ideas out first and save the revising for later. Keep paragraphs short and succinct to make them easy for the reader to understand.
Read your paper and revise it. Go line by line through your paper to see if your thoughts and ideas make sense. Read the paper aloud to help check for grammatical, spelling and vocabulary errors. Go through your paper several times to make sure your writing is lean and easy to understand.
Format the paper. Use word processing software to format the paper to your professor's required specifications. Insert the graphics you have found in the appropriate areas of your paper to help your readers understand your topic. Include a works cited, or references, page to source the information you have gathered.