After you have finished analysing your sources and before you begin writing, you should outline a draft structure for your text. This should reflect both your conceptual preparatory reading as well as the findings of your literature and source analyses. The ability to structure a written text is an important skill for any author, because it not only requires important initial conceptual decisions to be taken, but also gives direction to any piece of writing. Furthermore, a structure which clearly spells out the course of your argument serves as a very useful guide for readers.
One method of ensuring that your text has a logical structure is to adopt the following approach: divide the different sections of your paper – whether they are still in planning or already written – into distinct thematic units and arrange these into the most logical sequence. This will help to reveal whether your argument is logically structured, or whether there are any passages which need to be supplemented, modified or removed.
Introduction
The introduction is key to any written paper. It describes and explains the aims and interests of the text. It defines, delimits and problematises the focus of the investigation. It situates the research topic in its wider context and highlights its broader relevance. It explains the research question and clarifies its key terms and concepts. It substantiates the author’s methodological approach, particularly in relation to the secondary literature and source material which have been consulted. A section on the current state of research discusses relevant contemporary debates and theories. Finally, the introduction outlines and explains the text’s structure.
Main Body
The main body of your text should concern itself with the results of your source and literature analyses. It can be structured according to linear criteria (the sequence of your argument or the chronology of the events it discusses) and/or by thematic criteria. The main body should not provide a step-by-step description of your research but should bring together in the most meaningful form the most significant findings from the secondary literature and sources which you have consulted. As such, you should only discuss or quote what is essential to your argument. As a general rule, sources and secondary literature should be examined concurrently in your text. Source analysis should thus be incorporated into the flow of your argument to avoid unnecessary repetition. In specific cases, however, it can make sense to devote a separate section to the analysis of a paradigmatic source.
Conclusion
The conclusion of a paper briefly summarises the main findings and provides answers to the questions which were raised in the introduction. Critical reflections on methodology can also be included here, while any questions requiring further investigation which may have arisen during the course of your research can be identified.