Research the role of deacons. You can use the library, the Bible, the Internet and interview deacons at several different churches about their role. Start early; begin researching at least one month before the term paper is due.
Organize your research. You will likely not use every piece of information you come across, so you will need to separate what is absolutely vital from information you don't need to report. When printing information from the Internet, interviewing or xeroxing pages of books from the library, make sure you record all bibliographical information.
Decide how you want to organize your paper. There are various angles from which you can approach the topic. You can discuss the Biblical role of deacons, the current day role of deacons, the contradiction between the current and Biblical role of deacons, the different ways in which deacons perform in various churches, the similarities in deacons between different denominations or write a comparison of the differences and similarities between deacons across denominations.
Type your rough draft. This should be done at least two weeks before the final paper is due. Keep in mind the word/page count your teacher has requested. Even though this is a rough draft, cite your sources throughout the body of the paper. Do not plagiarize.
Ask more than one person to read your rough draft and give you feedback. This should include your teacher, a mentor and perhaps a parent or a student in your class.
Take the feedback you're received into account and tweak your paper. Begin this process at least one week before the paper is due. In regards to citing your sources, using footnotes and writing a bibliography, check with your teacher about whether the paper should be in MLA or APA format. Save the paper as you write, in case you have any computer mishaps.
Hand in your finished draft.