Pick a question or topic the paper will focus on. If the paper is a school assignment, the question or topic may be assigned to you. Determine your stance on your topic or question. This could be an answer to the question or an original observation on a focused part of the topic. You should be able to state your stance in one sentence, the thesis statement of your paper.
Research the topic to verify and develop your thesis. It is all right to change your thesis during this stage. The point is to find an idea that is original, useful and true, then support it with strong arguments and expand it with useful examples, explanations and applications. Note these points down as you encounter them.
Write an outline based on the ideas you developed during research. The first point in the outline should be your introduction, in which you state your thesis and summarize how you will defend and apply it. The final point should be your conclusion, in which you repeat your thesis and summarize how your paper supported it and why the reader should care. The middle sections will be the body, with one section for each major argument you make.
Write a rough draft of the paper, following the pattern set out in your outline. Every section should support the thesis of the paper with one main point. You may want to write the introduction and conclusion last, after you have a paper to summarize, or you may want to write them first to help you focus the rest of the sections.
Edit your draft for style and content. The final copy should be free of grammar and spelling errors. Each paragraph should support the main point of the section it is in. Every sentence should tie together in a coherent unit with the other sentences in its paragraph. Title your paper with a catchy summary of your thesis.