You can work through the writing process with these tips:
Approach the assignment from the “top” down. At the very least, include the following:
Is your purpose to inform? To review a particular article or book? Or to persuade with your point of view?
If you’re writing to 2nd graders, your tone will be significantly different from the tone you'd use for an academic assignment.
Build an outline within the parameters listed above. This can help you see how your ideas relate, in what order they should be presented, and if more information is needed to support each one.
Outlines can be created with short phrases or full sentences. Short phrases are good for when there is a variety of topics, but sentence outlines are helpful for topics that include complex details.
Once you've got a solid outline in place, writing your first draft is simply a matter of filling in the blanks. Be sure that your sentences flow together nicely and that your paragraphs contain more than 1-2 sentences.
Outline formats use Roman (or Arabic) numerals along with the letters of the alphabet (both uppercase and lowercase). See the example below.
By convention, each category consists of a minimum of two entries. If your first category is Roman numeral I, your outline must also have a category labeled roman numeral II; if you have a capital letter A under category I, you must also have a capital letter B. Whether you then go on to have capital letters C, D, E, etc., is up to you, depending on the amount of material you are going to cover. You should have at least two of each numbered or lettered category.
The above was adapted from information created by the University of Washington [1].
The completed outline could look like this:
Outline derived from:
Mooney, Chris. 2017. "U.S. scientists officially declare 2016 the hottest year on record. That makes three in a row." The Washington Post. January 18. Accessed January 20, 2017. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/01/18/u-s [2].
Links
[1] https://psych.uw.edu/storage/writing_center/outline.pdf
[2] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/01/18/u-s-scientists-officially-declare-2016-the-hottest-year-on-record-that-makes-three-in-a-row/?utm_term=.51ad1f972477
[3] https://www.e-education.psu.edu/emsc302/sites/www.e-education.psu.edu.emsc302/files/lesson04/OutlineExample%20%281%29.docx