Write a section stating the title of your paper and the question it will answer.
Write a section providing background to the topic, such as important research on the issue. This may take the form of a literature review, in which you survey all the major published works on the topic.
Explain your hypothesis, which is the theory you intend to prove or investigate. This is optional, depending on your subject and degree program. Undergraduate papers don't always require this.
Describe the methods you will use to research and write your school paper. Your methodology may include quantitative research involving the gathering of statistics, for example, or qualitative research, such as interviews.
Write an outline of your paper, describing what sections you will write and what they will contain.
Write about the intended audience for your research. This may include, for example, members of a sector of industry that may benefit from your economics paper or researchers in a particular medical field who can build on the results of your science paper.
Provide a list of references you will use. It need not be complete, but should give your professor an idea of the final bibliography.