Narrow the topic you have chosen. For example, if choosing “Holidays,” pick a holiday and then narrow your focus to one small aspect of the holiday, such as food or music or gifts.
3. Plan your paper by engaging in prewriting strategies. You may also find it helpful to complete the attached Compare/Contrast Planning Guide.
4. Brainstorm five or six points that you could discuss with good detail. Continue to narrow your topic as needed. (For example, if comparing Christmas in America to Christmas in Germany, you could narrow down to the types of sweets eaten in each country at Christmas and then explain why there are similarities and/or differences.)
5. Choose three points from your brainstorm that follow a single principle (for example, if comparing Christmas in America to Christmas in Germany, stay focused on food or stay focused on beliefs about Santa Claus — don’t mix the two).
6. Find information from at least two sources to help you support your points. Cite and summarize these sources in your Informal Annotated Bibliography assignment. This assignment will be collected and graded separately.
7. Repeat the brainstorming step as needed to come up with three good points for your comparison/contrast paper. Note that your points may change as you progress through the research process.
8. Confirm your three points meet the following criteria: they allow for good detailed discussion, they follow a single principle, and you can use research to bolster at least two ideas. Remember to research the underlying cultural beliefs that explain or contribute to the differences and/or similarities.
9. Create an outline based on your ideas using either the subject-by-subject organization method or the point-by-point organization method (I recommend point-by-point). Indicate where your research will be used.
10. Confirm that your outline follows either the subject-by-subject organization method or the point-by-point organization method (I recommend point-by-point).
11. If you have not already done so, type your outline in Word. You will submit and receive feedback on this Outline assignment separately.
12. Open a Word document and set it up in MLA format (MLA page setup instructions are attached).
13. Use your outline and other prewriting to develop a full draft of your paper (600-800 words, or approximately 2-4 pages). Focus on the big picture first, allowing yourself to ensure correct documentation, grammar, and punctuation once your draft is complete.
14. Type a Works Cited page that lists the source information for the two sources you used in your paper.
15. Make sure your paper includes in-text citations where needed.
16. Revise, edit, and proofread your paper and submit the final version according to the instructions given on Blackboard.