Conduct primary research using literature, periodicals, newspapers and government records. Once you have your topic, decide on the type of information you will need to foster a point of view, be it factual evidence, research and scholarly writing, or literary analysis and opinions.
Analyze your research and split your topic into section headings. This will increase the readability of your paper, organize your most important points, and help focus your material by eliminating unnecessary content and shaping narrative flow.
Create a blank document in your word processing software, and make sure that the format is the standard 8.5-inch by 11-inch paper. Set the margins to one inch on both sides.
Type your name in the upper-left corner of the first page, followed underneath by your professor's name, the course and the date. This information, just as with the rest of the document, should be double-spaced.
Type the title of your paper, capitalizing the first letter of each word, and center it. Don't use all-caps, underlining or italicization.
Type a header in the upper-right corner of the page, starting with your last name, then a space, followed by the page number. Each subsequent page should include this header.
Indent the next line and begin your introductory paragraph. All subsequent paragraphs should start with an indentation as well.
Type "1" followed by a period, then the name of your first section heading. Each subsequent section heading should be formatted like this.
Type quotation marks around the title of any book you refer to in your text directly. It's also acceptable to use quotations marks.
Cite your references in-text following any mention of its content or a specific quotation. Type the last name of the work's author at the end of the sentence, followed by the page number on which the information or quote is found. Enclose this information in parentheses, followed by a period.
Type "Works Cited" on a separate page at the end of your document. This should be centered at the top of the page.
Cite each source by first typing the last name of the author, followed by his or her first name, then a period. Type the title of the work in italics, followed by a period, then type the place of publication, a colon, the publisher, the year of publication and the medium of publication (i.e., book, paper or online source), all separated by commas, ending with a period. If your citation goes to a second line, indent it.