Thus, a paper on John Locke's Second Treatise of Government, for example, could focus solely on questions derived from Locke's argument as developed in the text. If you choose to focus on a single text, you first need to master the text, developing a solid understanding of its purpose, structure, logic, and themes. If your are concentrating on the relationship between text and context, you will need to undertake a more systematic and comprehensive review of secondary literature examining the author's audience and purpose and the wider historical context. In the early stages of research, it is sufficient that you identify a topic that will lend itself to analysis and interpretation. It is generally helpful to identify an overarching question and a potential thesis, but typically questions and theses change as work progresses.
Effective writing takes work.
You will always be rethinking, remodelling, and rewriting, and you will constantly need to find new sources and undertake more research. As your argument takes shape, however, your work becomes more focused. You may need to conduct more research, but you know exactly what kind of evidence or context you need. You may need to rework or clarify a section of your argument, but you can isolate the paragraph or sentences that need to be reworked.