A simple procedure for writing Lewis structures is given

in an article entitled Lewis Structures and the Octet

Rule (please see page 4 of this article for clickable
links).
Examples for writing Lewis structures following the
above procedure are given bellow:

Let us consider the case of CO
2
:
Step 1: The central atom will be the C atom since it is the
less electronegative. Connect the C atom with the O
atoms with single bonds



Step 2: Calculate the # of electrons in bonds (multiple
bonds) using formula (1) (please see page 4 for links):

Where n in this case is 3 since CO
2
consists of three
atoms.
Where V = (6 + 4 + 6) = 16
Therefore, P = 6n + 2 V = 6 * 3 + 2 16 = 4
there are 4 electrons in CO
2



2 double bonds must be added to the structure of Step
1 or 1 triple bond.

Step 3 & 4: Two double bonds between C and O are
added to the structure in step 1. Alternatively, 1 triple
bond is added between C and O. Unshared electron pairs
are added so that there is an octet of electrons around
each atom. All the equivalent resonance structures are
drawn by delocalizing electron pairs. Therefore, the
Lewis structures for CO
2

are as follows:




Figure 2: Lewis structures for the CO
2
molecule. Resonance
form 1 contributes significantly to the ground state of the
molecule. Resonance form 2 is not significant it is not
energetically favored because of the larger charge separation
compared to 1.


Please see the following links for a detailed description
of the method and for more examples:

Lewis Structures and the Octet Rule: A simple method
for drawing Lewis structures

Chemistry Net