Your paper should have the following sections:
Title
Abstract
Introduction
Results
Discussion
Literature Cited
Title. The title should be brief and informative. This is the "bait" that lures the potential reader to continue further, so think about it carefully.
Abstract. This brief section (half of a typed page or less) gives a concise, specific, balanced summary of the main points you make in the paper. Write it after you have finished a full draft of your paper.
Introduction. This section can range from one to several pages. In it, introduce the topic. If your topic is a question, state the question that you are asking. Put the question or topic in a more general context so that readers understand why the topic is interesting and important. For example, if your question is, "Why do century plants reproduce only once, at the end of their life, while oak trees reproduce every year?" then the context might be the ecological forces directing the evolution of different life-history strategies in plants and other organisms.
Also use this section to explain how you are going to address the topic. In the above example, you might state that you are going to (i) summarize several hypotheses specific to long-lived organisms, (ii) place long-lived organisms in the more general context of the r-selection/K-selection controversy, (iii) discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each hypothesis, and (iv) finally draw your own conclusions about the best-supported view or views. You will present information from the literature in support of your conclusion.
Results. This is the body of the paper. Use this section to introduce the information you have learned from the papers you have read. You can organize this section in whatever way seems clear clearest (refer to the section called Principles of clear writing for some advice). You must use proper paper citation format when giving information from the papers you have read. Do not plagiarize. Whenever you write something that is not an original thought of your own, you must sight the source. Extract the key concepts and data from the papers and organize your own paper using those concepts.
Discussion. In this section, present your conclusions. If you side with one point of view or another in a controversy, say which side you support and provide reasons for your opinion. Remember, most scientific "facts" are really only hypotheses that have survived previous attempts to falsify them. Controversies represent competing, alternative hypotheses for which the data are inconclusive. The quality of your paper rests not on which side you support, but on how well you support your position. If there is no controversy, use this section to discuss major conclusions of the papers you have read. This is your chance to cut through all the details and to state simply and clearly what you have learned about the question posed in the introduction. Be sure to return to the general context again. Remember, you have specific conclusions about your question, and now you can say how your question might apply more generally.
Literature cited. This is where you list complete citations for the papers and books referred to in the body of your paper. Do not list papers or books you read that you didn't cite. Use the format shown in this example both for how to refer to papers in the body of your paper (the citation) and how to list it in this section.