To begin formulating the structure of your paper, look back to the brainstorming answers and begin to narrow down a topic with specifics. Sample questions for a compare/contrast paper follow:

v     Whom will I compare and contrast in this paper?

v     In what ways are these two characters or people alike?

v     In what ways are they different?

v     From the above two questions, what three things are most important about these characters? These will be your main body paragraphs.

v     What key words would signal the reader about the kind of paper I am writing?

v     Where can I use these words?

The next step is to construct a blueprint of your essay. Just as an architect uses lines and symbols for walls, windows, and doors, writers plan essays using outlines, webs, and organizers. Following are a few types of outlines:

The Traditional Outline

I Introduction

A Purpose Statement
B What is to come

II Main body

A Idea #1

Detail #1
Detail #2

III Main body

A Idea #2

Detail #1
Detail #2

IV Main body

A Idea #3

Detail #1
Detail #2

V Conclusion

A Restate purpose
B Restate solutions
C Make prediction based on solutions

Web Outline

Paragraph Blocks

Paragraph blocks can be used to construct your essay. Use one block for each paragraph of your essay and number them in order. This is a more tangible organizer that you can physically move around as you write and restructure.