It by no means has to be perfect -- it only has to outline what you want to say. Cover all the main points with supporting evidence, but don't worry about transitions now. Have a general idea of your purpose in mind.


Having a paper to work off of makes it much easier to see the overall arc of your work. Without it, all the information is just floating around in your head, unorganized.
Keep in mind which points are strongest and which are weakest. If any just don't seem to fit right, throw them out now.
 Before your paper, you had "pollution is bad." An idea to start off with, but definitely not anything revelatory. Now, hopefully, you can narrow it down -- "Consumption by the world's largest economies needs to be cut in half by 2020" is much better.


How do all your points agree? What does their agreement say that you didn't necessarily set out to write? Does their agreement expose anything to strengthen your argument?

, Now that you've found out what it is exactly you're writing about, go. Come out with it right out of the gate. Your introduction will be direct and to the point; you can deal with the details later.


Consider the following example: "The illusion of power drives men to do many things. It causes them to go mad, to destroy, and to distrust. In Crime and Punishment, Raskolnikov does all this in his quest to become an Übermensch and seize the power he believes he deserves."With this start, the reader knows exactly what to expect and how the author feels about the work. A solid thesis and a solid start to the paper.
Write a rough draft of your work.
Find the connection between all your points.
Start with your thesis.
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