Start vague, then go into detail

When writing a report, or beginning a project, you need to plan the rough shape of your essay/project, then go into details.

You will normally have an introduction, a middle, then a conclusion. Then go into more details for the middle section. What are the main headings? What about the sub-headings? You can then start adding notes to each section. It is only at the very end that you start working on the final text itself.

You can do this using bullet points in a Word Processor. Use various levels of indentation (press the tab key) to show which are your main headings and sub-headings.

Think of a painting a picture. You don`t start in the top corner and paint every square inch on its own. You begin by sketching out the rough shapes, then go into more details. It is only after having the overall structure that you go into detail with the paint.