This document provides guidance on the key elements that must be included in any academic paper. It identifies five essential components: topic, audience, purpose, thesis statement, and support. For each component, it asks questions for writers to consider as they plan their paper. It emphasizes the importance of thoroughly analyzing these five elements during the planning process to facilitate a smooth writing experience. Finally, it introduces various pre-writing strategies that can help a writer effectively organize their ideas before beginning to draft the paper. These include clustering, mind mapping, freewriting, listing, and using journalistic questions.