Read your teacher's directions carefully before starting your research. Failing to meet all her requirements may hurt your final grade.
Jot down everything you can think of that pertains to your subject, as well as any questions you have about your topic. Use one of your ideas, or a combination of them, as the specific focus for your research paper.
Do a quick scan of library and Internet sources to see how much information you can find on your topic. Bookmark helpful websites. Make a list of the publications and books that contain useful data.
Narrow your focus if there's too much information, or broaden your approach if you can't find enough details. Change the focus of your research paper, if necessary.
Take detailed notes as you read the articles, books and websites. Create a numbered note card for each resource. Write down the name of the publication or website, date, publishing house, the author, page number and any quote you plan to use in your paper. Include any details you want to use as material for your paper.
Organize your note cards. Use them to create an outline. Include an introduction, which provides a broad overview of your topic; three to five paragraph headings, which focus on your data collection; and your conclusion.
Write a rough draft using your note cards and outline. Don't worry about your writing style, spelling or grammar during your first draft -- just get all your information down. Include your resources by marking each fact with a superscript number that matches the corresponding note card.
Revise your paper, fixing grammatical errors and misspelled words as you go. Ensure your paper conveys what you intended to say. Add missing details. Double check your resources so they're correctly numbered and listed at the bottom of each page.
Ask someone to proofread your paper. Ask him to check for correct tense and punctuation. Do a final check to ensure you included all your citations.