How to start the first draft. (p. 291)

The Writing a Research Paper page at Purdue’s Online Writing Center offers comprehensive suggestions for how to get started on the first draft of a research paper. The first page reminds you that you need to have a working thesis statement and, preferably, an outline of your essay before you begin drafting. Just in case you need a refresher about thesis statements, outlines, and even topic invention, links are provided to those topics.

Another helpful feature of this site is that it walks you through drafting different parts of your essay, by explaining how to draft an introduction, the body of your essay, or the conclusion. And if you get stuck, or frustrated with your writing process, there are tips on how to overcome writer’s block.