Fill in the blanks to create a perfect essay!

Several of my classes are in the early stages of writing major essays, and I find myself struggling philosophically. While I believe that they will write best about topics they create and pursue independently, many of them are in constant need of more and more structure. In my regular English 10 class, I have students who are unfamiliar with outlining or using an outline to write a well-structured essay. I find myself giving suggestions that are more like fill-in-the-blank thesis statements...the more structure I give, the more appreciative my students are. Or perhaps they're just relieved because I'm doing the hard work for them. I'm wondering where other teachers who teach writing draw the line between passion and organization. I realize that structure is not the enemy of constructivism, but my zillions of handouts, mini-lessons, and rubrics are beginning to take on a life of their own.