Writing a term paper may seem like an overwhelming task, more than anyone can reasonably handle with the busy lives we all live today. But, if you attack the task of writing a term paper in small, manageable steps, even you can produce a quality term paper. The necessary steps include the following: selecting a topic, writing a thesis statement, researching and taking notes, creating an outline, writing your paper, and finally, revising and editing your paper.

The first step in writing a term paper is to select a topic. A topic must have a serious purpose, must be of interest to the academic community, and must be a subject that can be proven in your paper. If there is a subject you are interested in learning more about or a personal experience that can be transformed into a term paper topic, then you must consider whether there are resources available that will support your position. An internet search or a visit to your local library will help you determine whether there are current, legitimate resources available for inclusion in your paper.

Once you have decided on your topic and determined whether there are research materials available to you, you will need to take notes. Your notes should include the name, author, publisher, date of publication, and page number of the source. Notes should also be taken word-for-word, in case you decide to quote the material in your term paper. Also, you should think of your notes in terms of whether they support your thesis statement. Keep in mind that the thesis statement is the main idea of your paper. A term paper is not just a compilation of facts that you have accumulated from your sources. You must make a statement and then prove that statement, using your own words. Any information from your sources may be thought of as evidence that your position is correct.

Next, outline your paper before you begin to write. This step will help you organize your material into a usable format. Use your notes to create an outline that will be your roadmap as you begin to write your paper. The outline may be a topic outline, which is set up using keywords, or a sentence outline, which may be set up using what will become topic sentences for the paragraphs in your paper.

Finally, you are ready to write your paper. Begin writing, without worrying about punctuation, spelling, or grammar. Just write, and write, and write. However, be sure to document each source, if you use information from your notes, so that you are not accused of plagiarism. Once your first draft is complete, put your paper aside for a couple of days. When you go back to your first draft, you will be better able to revise and then edit the draft into a quality term paper. Remember, revising your document means adding, deleting, or moving text. Editing means correcting spelling, punctuation, and grammar. If you effectively complete each of these final steps you, too, will have a quality term paper.