Research is an ongoing dialectic between problems and questions, questions and materials, analysis and data. But all the time you are further refining your approach, your sources, and your data. As you end your research, these should all be sharply focused, and you should have a clear interpretation of what you think the data means. This is your thesis . Now the task shifts to communication , organizing your ideas coherently in order to convey them to someone else.
Some people find it easier to write their way into a topic, however, thinking it through as they go.
If you do this, remember that your first draft is simply a stage in developing your ideas, and that it will have to be substantially rewritten to realize your thoughts effectively. State the thesis or problem in the introduction, thus leading your reader into the body of your paper where you develop a clear and logical argument that presents your analysis point by point and supports each point with detailed evidence and explanation . Having captured your basic ideas on paper in your first draft, you now want to make sure they are developed clearly and literately. It often helps to print out your first draft here and take a break of a day or more. Then when you come back to it, you will be able to read it more critically.