Create a bibliography of books, articles and other literature you should read before writing your dissertation. Writing a qualifying paper opens you up to the academic and intellectual world of your topic. Take advantage of your discoveries and exposure to material by creating a bibliography while you are writing your paper. Building a bibliography is also very helpful as you move on to subsequent steps.
Define the intellectual arena you intend to pursue as a professional. Outline texts, studies and other literary resources that have helped to shape the scholarly aspects of the stated arena. Identify why this literature is important to your topic and provide examples. Defining the intellectual field and supporting it with literary references helps you nail down texts you intend to use in your dissertation and better establish the intellectual foundation on which you intend to build your career.
Analyze any empirical data you intend to use for the dissertation. Break down and assess the results of a previously established or original empirical study in the content of your paper. Choose a single piece of empirical data -- limit yourself to one for the purposes of the qualifying paper -- and identify how the evidence or results address the preceding literature.
Keep your paper succinct and your narrative voice free from too much debate. Maintain a clear point of view from the outset and use this perspective to establish how you will approach the topic and proceed throughout the paper. Avoid substantial debate and make your focus the literature and evidence you will use to craft your dissertation. Save debate for the content of the dissertation itself.