Research paper recipe

If there is no topic area defined, then figure out topic area
If topic area is defined, but the topic is not defined, figure out a topic. Read a lot about the area, and eventually some pieces will start merging together into a topic

Once topic is defined, do the following tasks simultaneously:
- Define paper structure
- Read on the topic.

Once paper structure is defined, you have bones for your paper. You also have a pretty good insight on the topic and sources. Then, start going through the sources and write the citations into the outline. After you're done with that, you have meat on the bones.

Now, start making it pretty. Add transitions, summarize, add critique. Add more sources if you need to.

After you have the body, read it all over again a couple of times. Fix errors, make sure everything is spelled right. Once you have that done, you have the paper.