Pick a topic, if not designated by your instructor, and research-related evidence to support it. Find a wide variety of sources that include books, journals, encyclopedias, newspapers and the Internet. Perform detailed note taking and annotate each source to evaluate critically and thoroughly relevant supporting documentation for your main points. Underscore, mark or highlight the most useful information that supports your argument. Research serves as the basis for a definable and arguable thesis statement.
Create a thesis statement after reviewing and analyzing your research notes. A good thesis statement consists of your argument proposal and claim support. Writing your thesis statement idea on paper will compel you to visualize the thesis in clearer and more logical terms. Your thesis statement may evolve as your paper takes form and at the same time maintain its original and important characteristics.
Outline a rough draft of an introduction, although you may want to revise this paragraph later. Summarize the main points that support the thesis statement in your introduction. Introduce background data the reader should realize. Define key terms right at the onset. For example, if you use the word "work," define the word in the context of your discussion.
Present your thesis statement in the last sentence of the introductory paragraph.
Rethink, revise and rewrite your introduction and thesis statement, so that it adequately presents the critical essay's problem and its importance.