Research the topic. Look for websites with articles about leadership. Go to the library and check out books about leadership and famous leaders.
Brainstorm ideas. Think about all the good leaders that you know and know of and consider the qualities that make them good leaders.
Consider the specific essay question. Make sure you understand exactly what the assignment is and organize your research around it.
Develop a solid thesis statement. It can be an observation or a statement of fact, but it needs to make the answer to the questions you will be exploring clear. Your thesis needs to be easily identifiable, assertive and specific.
Make an outline to give your essay structure. An outline ensures that you won't veer too far off the path of where you're trying to go with your essay.
Write about communication skills. Being able to speak and write well is something every good leader needs. Explore how communication skills help leaders, and also how others judge a person's leadership using those abilities.
Write about creativity. Good leaders make the people around them better by having plenty of their own ideas rather than just relying on their subordinates.
Write about intelligence. Does a person's intelligence quotient make a person a better leader or not? There have been great leaders throughout history that weren't the brightest people academically, but who knew how to get things done by leading.
Make liberal use of historical examples.
Find examples of poor leadership to illustrate your points about great leaders.
Find or create your ideal environment for writing. Some people work best at home, while some people work best at a library or coffee shop. Do you work better with music playing or in complete silence? Finding the ideal environment will only help you write a better essay.
Begin work on a first draft.
Work on a solid introduction. Make it memorable by using a personal example or a historical anecdote. Be sure to include your thesis statement in your introduction.
Fill the body of your essay with the examples and ideas you have brainstormed. Work to make transitions between different sections smooth and not obvious.
Write a solid conclusion that wraps up your ideas and drives your point home. This is your final opportunity to state your case to those reading the essay.
Create a good works cited page. You don't want your hard work to be wasted by not properly citing your sources both within the essay itself and on the works cited page.
Give your draft to teachers, friends and family to read. Take their suggestions to heart and make any necessary adjustments.
Write your final draft.
Run your word processor's spell checker to make sure there aren't any spelling errors. When writing a long essay, it is easy to make little mistakes that you may not catch.
Read through the final draft one last time before submitting the essay, making sure your thoughts are clearly stated and that you have used proper grammar.