You start out with brainstorming for the topic and researching information. Then you put it into drafts. After that rough draft, then it is important to have a peer edit it.  Then write a second draft and have someone edit that one.  You should have a few drafts before your final product is written.  To write an essay, you start with an introduction explaining what your essay is going to be about.  Then you have the body of the essay which are facts and evidence to support your topic.  At the end of the essay you end with a conclusion about what the essay was about and restating any thesis you might have.