1. THE CAPTION, also called THE STYLE, provides the court in which the Complaint will be filed, the parties, and the title (or designation) of the document. In some jurisdictions, the name and address of the attorney is provided in the top left hand corner. If your template does not have the attorney's name, your jurisdiction does not require it.

2. THE COMES NOW PARAGRAPH introduces the document and the attorney filing the document.

3. THE STATEMENT OF JURISDICTION usually involves two or three seperate paragraphs stating the residence of the parties or stating where the matter in dispute took place. This is a very simple part of the Complaint, but extremely important since it gives the court the right to hear and decide the case.

4. THE GENERAL ALLEGATIONS tell the story of what happened. They are the basic facts of the matter before the court.

5. THE CAUSES OF ACTION, also called CLAIMS FOR RELIEF, provide the reasons that the Plaintiff feels he or she deserves to be awarded damages. There may be only a single cause of action or several. It will depend on your specific legal matter. In most cases, two or three causes of action will be sufficient for this assignment. If you are having difficulty determining what your Causes of Action should be, refer to the Essential Skills Manual: Volume 2, § 6.3, or check with your instructor.

6. THE WHEREFORE CLAUSE, also called the AD DAMNUM CLAUSE or the PRAYER FOR RELIEF, specifies what damages the Plaintiff is asking for.

7. THE SUBSCRIPTION is the attorney's signature at the end of the document with her or his address, phone number, and bar number.