A few key points: Papers have to be written in your own words. MOST IMPORTANT ADVICE: AVOID ALL CUTTING AND PASTING TEXT FROM THE WEB OR OTHER SOURCES! On the rare occasion that you feel you must cite something literally, it has to be put in quotation marks and the reference should be indicated. Reference material that you consulted should also be listed at the end, even if you do not take literal citations from it. Do not literally cite excessive amounts of direct text from sources. Use your own words. Direct citations usually only include a single sentence or statement here and there as needed. It is best to indicate a reference where you use it and then put the full reference at the end.

Example of how it would be phrased in an essay: Jones and Smith (1988) argued for the existence of man before apes were around, based on their discovery of a cellular telephone in 50 million year old deposits in a south african mine shaft. They could not rule out, however, that a miner had lost the cell phone from his belt clip. The latter hypothesis gained support when it was discovered that the batteries still worked. Subsequent analysis  of the device showed a voice message from his wife that he left his lunch box at home.

And then at the end:

References

Jones, B., Smith, C., 1988, Journal of the American Society of Fringe Scientists, Volume 1, page 1.

Overall purpose:

The paper should explore the principle topic as stated. Try to stick to just one or a few points you are trying to make, keep it focused. Materials to be consulted can range from text books, to science books or science articles in journals, etc. Try to include more than just one reference, don't summarize just one article or textbook section. Try to look at your topic from difference perspectives, including your own. You want to write something that others would find interesting to read.

Please consult me if you have any questions.