Identify your research question. This should be stated clearly and should be answered within the scope of the paper. Some questions are open-ended ("What factors characterize effective teaching?") and some can be answered with a yes or a no ("Is direct instruction an effective method for teaching kindergarten reading?"). State your research question at the end of a one-paragraph introduction that gives an overview of your topic and why it is important.
Describe your methods. If you are just reviewing literature, you will describe the way you selected your sources, including articles and books. If you completed a study in addition to reviewing literature, describe your approach (qualitative or quantitative), the way you selected participants, the way you collected your data and the way you analyzed your data.
Present your findings. You can summarize the results of your review of the research literature or, if you conducted a study, list or describe the results of your study. Summarize your results in objective language, without drawing conclusions or making judgments; you will have the opportunity to do that in the next section.
Discuss your conclusions and any implications of your research. What are the next steps, or what changes should occur in education because of your findings? Are you recommending further research and, if so, what kind? Are you recommending new policies or different instructional practices? How does your research support the need for these changes?
Cite your sources and double-check your citations. In education research, the most common source citation format is American Psychological Association (APA) style, but check with the instructor to find out what style you should use.