Writing a Paper from Start to Finish

No matter what type of paper you are writing, there are certain steps you can take to ensure writing success.

Step 1: Choose Your Topic

Your topic should be narrow in focus so that your paper is detailed and to the point. Most papers that fail, do so because the topic selected is not refined enough. If for example the subject you are interested in writing about is World War II, narrow your focus very definitively to cover one small topic of the war, such as "The Battle of Stalingrad: Why Defeat Was Imminent."

Step 2: Research the Topic

Before you begin writing, you have to research a topic fully and comprehensively. You should gather information from books, journals, newspapers, critical essays and commentaries to ensure the information you reach is representative of many different perspectives. While researching the topic, take detailed notes, making sure you record the page numbers, title and other relevant information about sources you plan on citing in your paper.

Step 3: Outline

Next create an outline for your paper. Your outline should be a rough estimation of the main points you would like to make in your paper. You should also develop your theme or primary point in the outline from which your paper will stem.

Step 4: Create a Rough Draft

From your outline you should be able to create a rough draft of your paper. Your rough draft should include any critical components including thesis, supporting statements, facts and conclusions.

Step 4: Revise and Amend

You are not done your paper when you have written a rough draft. You must then go back and revise your document. Proofread to check for spelling errors and be sure you cited any information you quoted directly from sources throughout your work.

Your paper should include a reference page or bibliography at the end that gives credit to any authors you borrowed from to create your paper.

General Resources

There are many resources and writing style guides you can use when writing your paper. The three most common style guides used for writing papers are provided below.

The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers - This guide, written by Joseph Gibaldi, outlines the proper style for writing research papers (Bedford, 2003.) It includes detailed information about citing parenthetical citations within the text and at the end of the paper. This guide is used primarily by writers in the following fields: literature, language, arts and the humanities. Why invest in this guide? You'll find valuable information about the purpose of your research and suggestions for selecting and refining your topic, researching your paper and composing a paper.

APA - The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (2001) is another style guide that provides information and insight to writers who are primarily in the social sciences fields (Bedford, 2003). You can use this style guide to help you prepare papers that are scholarly, or other manuscripts. Like the MLA handbook, the APA style guide will offer detailed instructions about citing references, organizing, and writing your paper.

The Chicago Manual of Style, 14th ed. (1993) is another popular citation and paper writing guide. The manual provides detailed information for citing Internet sources and bibliographies (Bedford, 2003). The manual also will provide you with guidelines for writing your paper, proofreading and treating citations and other important elements of your document.

Other styles you may be requested to use include Harvard, Turabian and CBE. Which style should you select? This will depend in part upon your instructor. Some will tell you ahead of time which style they require. Be sure to check into the guidelines so you meet the standards required by your instructor.

Conclusion

Writing a paper is a complex task that requires a lot of forethought and planning. Before you write any paper you should always consider first and foremost the type of paper required of you. Once you have determined this, you can then proceed with writing the actual paper, which will consist of a series of steps outlined for you in this guide. Be sure to also consult one of the style guides recommended in this work for more information about writing different kinds of papers. Remember- when writing a paper, planning is the key to success.

GOOD LUCK!