Drafting

Produce a complete first draft from your outline, with sources integrated so readers can tell your voice from theirs.

Do this first

Pick one paragraph from your outline that you already understand well. Set a timer and draft it as claim, evidence, analysis, link, without editing until the timer ends.

Steps

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Draft the middle first
Start with the body sections you know best, since introductions are easier once you know what the paper argues. Work from your outline of topic sentences so each session has a clear target. Leave notes such as [NEED SOURCE] or [CHECK DATE] instead of stopping to look things up.
Write in short, regular sessions
Short sessions most days (25 to 60 minutes) usually produce more than rare marathons, especially on long projects. Set a goal you control, such as 300 words or one subsection. Stop at a point where you know what comes next, so the following session starts easily.
Choose quote, paraphrase or summary deliberately
Quote when the exact wording matters: a definition, a striking phrase or a text you are analysing. Paraphrase to restate a specific idea in your own words and sentence structure, and summarise to condense a longer argument to its main point. All three need a citation.
Integrate sources, do not drop them in
Introduce each source with a signal phrase that names the author and shows your stance (“Ahmed argues”, “as Lee's data show”, “Patel overlooks”). Follow it with analysis explaining what the source means for your claim. Avoid starting or ending a paragraph with a quotation, because those positions belong to your own voice.
Paraphrase from understanding
Read the passage, close it, and write the idea from memory in your own sentence structure; then check it against the original for accuracy and borrowed phrasing. Swapping synonyms into the original structure (patchwriting) is treated as plagiarism at many institutions, even with a citation. Cite every paraphrase just as you would a quotation.
Write the introduction and conclusion last
Once the body exists, write an introduction that gives context, states the problem or gap, gives your thesis and previews the structure. The conclusion restates the thesis in light of what you showed, then says what follows: implications, limits or next questions. Compare your final thesis with your working thesis and update the introduction to match.

Templates

Integrating a quotation (claim, quote, explain)

[Signal phrase, e.g. As Author argues / According to Author], “[short quotation]” ([citation]).
In other words, [the point in your own plain words].
This matters for my argument because [analysis connecting it to your claim].

Signal phrases by stance

Neutral: [Author] reports / notes / describes / finds that [idea].
Agreeing: [Author] rightly shows / convincingly argues that [idea].
Disagreeing: [Author] overlooks / underestimates / assumes [idea].
Extending: Building on [Author]'s work, I [your move].
Contrasting: Whereas [Author A] claims [X], [Author B] finds [Y].

Introduction outline

Context: [what readers need to know first, in one to three sentences]
Problem or gap: [what is unresolved, disputed or missing]
Question or aim: [what this paper asks or does]
Thesis: [your answer]
Roadmap: [Section 1] shows [point]; [Section 2] examines [point]; finally, [Section 3] [point].

Check your draft

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Does every paragraph in my outline now exist in draft form?
Does each source have a signal phrase and a citation?
Is every quotation followed by my own analysis?
Have I quoted only where the exact words matter?
Do my paraphrases differ from the original in both wording and sentence structure?
Can a reader tell where a source's idea ends and mine begins?
Does the introduction state the thesis the body actually argues?
Have I listed my placeholders ([NEED SOURCE], [CHECK]) so none survive to submission?

In your field

Sources are mostly summarised and cited rather than quoted, and direct quotation is rare in many science journals. Methods and results are often easiest to draft first, in the past tense for what you did and found.

Common mistakes

Trying to perfect the introduction first and stalling for days.
Stringing quotations together with little of your own analysis between them.
Paraphrasing by swapping synonyms into the original sentence structure.
Forgetting to cite paraphrased or summarised ideas because no quotation marks are involved.
Editing every sentence while drafting, which slows you down and polishes text you may later cut.

Go further

Purdue OWL: Quoting, paraphrasing and summarisingClear explanation of how the three techniques differ and when to use each.
University of Toronto: Paraphrase and summaryShows legitimate and illegitimate paraphrases side by side, using a passage by Oliver Sacks.
University of Manchester: Academic PhrasebankModel phrases organised by section of a paper and by function, such as referring to sources or being critical. Especially useful if English is an additional language.
They Say / I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing, by Gerald Graff and Cathy BirkensteinTemplates for summarising other writers and responding to them, which helps you find your own voice among sources.