Believe it or not, it's faster to write a good paper than it is to write a bad one! What you want to do is avoid over-researching, over-writing, and over-editing. All you need is a very simple step by step process to keep you from getting off track.
Step one: Always begin by carefully reviewing your teacher's instructions regarding topic, resources, and style (such as MLA).
Step two: Choose a thesis statement (sometimes called a topic sentence). In a nutshell, this is a single sentence that describes what you are trying to tell your audience. It is the main point you are trying to make. Often your thesis statement will be an opinion. Don't make it complex. What do you want to say? An example of a thesis statement is, "Springfield is a good city."
Step three: Quickly choose suitable resources. Check with your instructor's specifications for your paper, but typically a five hundred word paper will need to cite three printed sources. Do not select more than required and come home with a stack of thick books. As you browse in the library, look only for sources which you can quote to defend your thesis statement. An interesting source on the same topic, but that does not defend your statement, will not help you and will waste your time.
In a five hundred word paper, you will be looking for three points to defend your thesis statement. For example for the above thesis your defending points could be: 1) Springfield has a good climate, 2) Springfield has a variety of entertainment, 3) The people of Springfield are nice. It may be that Springfield also has good employment and many other qualities, but in a five hundred word paper there is usually not enough room for more than three defending points.
You find your points as you are browsing in the library for resources. As soon as you find something that can defend your statement, insert a bookmark to mark the page. This step of your paper should take from five to twenty minutes.
Step four: Organize your paper as follows: You will have five paragraphs, on rare occasion, six. In the first paragraph you will write your thesis statement and explain what you are going to say in your paper. Your next paragraphs will each make one point that defends your thesis statement. Each paragraph will also have at least one reference to a source that defends your point. You might include quotations from your source, as it relates to the point in that paragraph. The last paragraph in your paper is a summary and restates or rephrases your thesis, and makes mention of the three defending points. In brief: 1) Tell them what you're going to say, 2-4) say it in detail, 5) tell them what you just said. Writing your paper need not take more than an hour.
Step five: Write your resources page according to MLA style or as otherwise required by your teacher. Read your paper for errors and make corrections, and you are done. With practice, you can research and write a good paper from beginning to end in two hours. Good luck!
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