A polycarbonate drop was sheared inside a polyethylene matrix in a transparent rotating parallel plate device at 220 degreesC and low shear rates. A flat sheet was formed during the initial shearing of the drop. The drop then developed into either a thin thread or a sheet with a thin cylindrical tip. Sheet formation was found to occur at a critical strain or time. A stress ratio (S-r) between the matrix breakup stress, made up of the matrix normal stress and viscous stress, and the drop restoring stress, made up of the drop normal stress and the interfacial stress, is used to characterize the sheet formation during the drop deformation and breakup process. It was found that the viscosity ratio (eta(r)), stress ratio (S-r) and Deborah number (De) of the system could be used to predict the drop deformation and breakup. (C) 2004 Published by Elsevier Ltd.