1. Subject. What theme or subject will your paper address? What works will you compare? What limits will you place upon the subject? In other words, if you’re writing about initiation, how did you decide which two stories to compare? Will you compare characters? Plots? Themes? Settings? Do the stories you’ve chosen have significant similarities and differences?

2. Approach to the topic. Will you be writing a subject-by-subject comparison? A point-by-point comparison? What will your organizational plan be? Are you looking at the subject from a particular critical perspective? What will be new or unique about your approach? What do you want to tell the reader that probably isn’t already known?

3. Thesis. What argument are you making in this paper? Remember, a thesis must be 1) limited to a single subject (but not too limited); 2) arguable; and 3) able to be developed in the amount of space you have available. What topics will you cover in the paper? If you know your thesis statement, include it here.

4. Body & Conclusion. Do you have a topic sentence for each paragraph? Does it follow your thesis? Does it make sense? Did you check it for grammar and other technical errors? Are you presenting materials in an orderly fashion? Does your conclusion summarize/wrap-up what you have written in your introduction and body? Have you properly cited outside resources (including the texts) in your paper? Remember: Do not present new ideas/materials in your conclusion!

REMEMBER ALL THE STEPS INVOLVED IN THE WRITING PROCESS THAT WE’VE DISCUSSED IN CLASS. IF YOU FORGET SOMETHING, PLEASE REFER TO YOUR TEXTBOOK, MLA BOOK OR MLA PACKET. If you have any questions, please feel free to email your professor!