We all have different ways that we like to write, but it's not something that often gets talked about. So here's the stages that I go through when I'm writing something academic. It's maybe not the most creative and free-flowing method; but it ends up with a fairly coherent, clearly structured and comprehensive text which, ironically, people often say reads with a real flow. If you're just setting out on writing essays for a course, or have been doing it for some time but want to improve, you may find some useful ideas here for your own writing.
I start off by spending some time reading through books, chapters and papers on the topic. This might involve a literature search, for instance on Google Scholar. Years ago, I used to make handwritten notes on everything I read; but these days I just pencil notes directly onto the book (except if it's a library one!) or paper. This makes the process vastly quicker, meaning that I can cover much more literature in whatever time I have. My notes generally just consist of a word or a short sentence, reminding myself of what I want to cover in my paper. Being obsessive/pedantic, I've even developed a 'star system' over time: two stars if I definitely want to cover a point, one star if I want to review it later, and underlining any other text that seems important.
Either before, after, or alongside the reading, I work out a 'skeleton' structure for my paper. I'll either do that using the Style/Headings feature on Office Word (and I always do that at some point, see below), or I'll do it with the bullet point feature, so i can do higher and lower level bullet points. I'll revise and check over that a few times, to make sure it makes sense, and that it's answering the question. If you're writing an assignment for a course, this is something that can be really helpful to run past your tutor or supervisor, so that you know you are on the right lines.
I go back over all my notes and type out the points and quotes I want into my document, under the appropriate heading/sub-heading/sub-sub-heading. This is where the headings and sub-headings on Office Word are essential, to give a structure that I can then flesh out. At this stage, I always make sure I add in where the reference came from (both text and page number): so that I can go back to it later if I need to check, and also so that I don't have to scrabble round for references at a later date. Referencing software, like Endnote, can be invaluable here.
I read over what I have in my document, move things about using cut and paste, change headings and subheadings, etc. Until I'm a bit happier with the structure.
I do a very very rough first draft. What I call 'Draft 0'. It's awful, I give myself permission for it to be, but it's essentially just getting all my points together in some kind of logical sequence so that they roughly follow on one from the other. This often involves some changing around of the structure. I'd never let anyone read it at this point!
I go back over it all and try and get a half-decent first draft. Now that I don't need to be consulting my sources when I'm writing, I can get more flow into it. Often, at this stage, I'll be rewriting the whole of what I wrote at the previous stage, or large parts of it. Personally, I often find that rewriting from scratch gives more sense of flow. But only if I'm feeling in flow! This is also where being a fairly fluent typist helps. It's really difficult to do this if you're poking away one finger at a time (see 'Six things that can really help improve your writing' blog entry).
And then I go back over it and over it again until I'm happy with it -- sometimes three or four further rewrites; sometimes from scratch again, but building up on the previous text and ideas. A lot of it is dependent, as above, on whether I'm feeling in flow and can just 'run' all the way through it, or through particular sections of it. But having the previously drafted text there is really essential for me in terms of having the content and the material to build on. So even if I am re-writing something afresh, I've always got in front of me what I was trying to say. At this stage, a lot the process feels to be about really trying to bring out the essence of what I am wanting to communicate. It's not about trying to find cleverer words, but going back over it again and again and thinking, 'What do I really want to say here?'
Getting feedback from others is essential for me, as part of finishing off a piece of writing. Generally, apart from the skeleton structure, I won't ask for much feedback until I'm at least two or three drafts in, and am fairly happy with it. I ask a few people that I trust, and who I know will be honest with me. And, ideally, I can say to them the specific things I'd like feedback on and the level at which I'd want it (for instance, if I'm a few days away from a deadline, I'll make that clear to people so they don't spend time giving me extensive comments I won't be able to work through). If you're working on an assignment, I would really recommend that you try and run it past peers or friends or family at some point. And the more specific you can be about what you want from them, the better you can use their time.
For me, the process of writing is a bit like what I imagine painting can be. You start off with building the canvas, then some loose pencil sketches to get a sense of what you are going to do, then slapping things down, then refining over and over again with an increasingly fine brush. I don't always love it, but I do love getting to the end and seeing the finished product. and there's everthing I want to say there: in the right place, and saying it like I really want it to.