英语作文是高中英语学习的重要内容之一,也是高校入学考试的重要组成部分,《全日制中学英语教学大纲》明确指出“培养初步写的能力,是英语教学的目的之一。” 对高三学生的要求是“能根据题意连贯、贴切地进行书面表达”。
可见对英语作文的要求是，切中题意，文理通顺；语言准确、得当。而且英语作文的评分标准分别从内容、语言和组织结构三个方面作出了要求。即评分时应注意的主要方面是：内容要点、应用词汇和语法结构的数量和准确性及上下文的连贯性。
这些都表明一篇好的英语作文应该是组织结构合理、全文流畅结构紧凑、内容充实、语言表达丰富多样的。因此，在平时的写作训练中我们应该把握写作重点，避免学生走弯路，进而写出较高档次的英语作文。
那么怎样作到这一点呢？笔者认为应从以下几方面对学生进行写作训练，即：
一.写好起始句
起始句恰似龙首,在整篇文章中的作用举足轻重。运用所提供的中文材料中所没有的句子，是起始句的上佳选择。添枝加叶固然会增加出错的机会，但只要有一处别出心裁的地方，就可以让学生的作文成为考场上“万绿丛中的一点红” ！
比如，写一段介绍少年体育明星Sun Shuwei 的文章，提供的内容要点仅有简况（男，14岁，广东人）、训练项目、取得的成绩等三项。
行文时自然可以开门见山，这样写：Sun Shuwei, a world champion in diving, is a boy of 14 from Guangdong. 但也可以利用半开半合的方式，这样写：Few athletes will ever be good enough to win the title of world champion, and even fewer will have achieved this by the age of 14. But that is what Guangdong’s young diver, Sun Shuwei did.” Few…,and even fewer…”这一排比句的应用，使文章的开篇气势十足，且与“But that is…”一句紧密呼应，整个段落不仅行云流水，而且令人耳目一新。
为了培养学生写好起始句的能力和重视起始句的写作，我采取了以下措施：
1． 向学生介绍各种各样的开头方法；英语作文常采用以下几种开头方法：
(1) 开门见山、直奔主题式；
(2) 提出问题式；
(3) 列出数字式；
(4) 描写现象式；
(5) 引用名人名言式；
(6) 通过比较和对比引出话题；
(7)以某一社会现象和大众的看法及观点开头。
2． 给学生提供不同的开头范例，让他们比较、对照；现在以On Television为例加以说明。
（1） 直奔主题式：
Television is a great invention of the 20th century. It plays an important role in our life today.
（2） 设问式：
Do you watch TV? How many hours do you spend watching TV every day?
（3） 列出数字式：
According to a survey carried out recently, about 60% of people spend three to five hours watching TV every day. It means about one fourth of our daytime is spent on TV.
3． 让学生自己从课文或报刊中找出他们自己所欣赏的优秀的起始句，在小组间交流学习，并说出它们的优点在何处；
4． 提供几个题目，让学生分别写出起始句，然后先小组比较、交流，再在全班展示。
二.关注文章组织结构 归纳英语作文写作模式
笔者经过观察、研究发现，其实不同文体的作文尽管写作内容和方式多种多样，在组织结构方面仍然有许多共同之处，归纳出不同文体文章的具有共性的写作模式并且提供给学生，尤其对于中等及偏下的学生来说肯定会有一定的帮助，至少在掌握了某些写作模式之后，他们不会在写作时感到无从下笔。为此在辅导学生写作的过程中我总结出了一些写作模式，下面是其中的一部分。
（一） 表格类文章：
第一部分：引言或直接表述图表中的数字。比如，
（1）引言：Computers are becoming more and more popular today/ Computers are now playing an increasingly important part in modern society.
（2）表述数字前的用语：
1. As is shown in the graph,….
2. As can be seen from the table,..
3. According to the chart/ table,…
（3）描述数字的用语：
1. …is increasing/decreasing year by year (in the period from…to…)，while …is decreasing/increasing steadily.
2. …has increased to ../decreased by…percent over the past ..years( in the period from…to ..)…
3. …is on the rise in the .past….years
第二部分：分析原因或陈述事实或分析引起的后果或带来的影响等
1． Why are there changes in people’s diet..?
2． There are chiefly two reasons /three major reasons for the rise/decrease. First of all, Moreover,/Furthermore, /In addition, /Apart from the above reasons.,….
第三部分：总结、得出结论或分析深层原因或作出预测
1. The figures given in the table indicate that .. and so we can conclude that in the future…
2. From the above, we can see that.., and we can also expect that…
3. Therefore, it can be predicted that…is/are to be on the rise/decrease in the future.
（二） 表述观点的文章
模式一（一分为二）
第一部分：引言 比如，
Nowadays,…is playing a more and more important role in…..Like everything else,…has both advantages and disadvantages/favorable and unfavorable aspects. The advantages/favorable aspects can be listed as follows:
第二部分：陈述有利之处
First of all,…Secondly,…What’s more,/In addition ,….
第三部分：陈述不利之处
However, “Every coin has two sides”. The disadvantages(negative aspects) are also apparent( obvious). To begin with,…To make matters worse,.. Worst of all,..( In the first place, Secondly,. .Besides/ Moreover,..)
第四部分：照应主题，得出结论。
1 All things considered, we can see that …does us more good than harm. Therefore,…..
2. On the whole,…. .If… /As long as….., I believe..
模式二（明确表明观点）
第一部分：引言及简述不同观点
People’s views/ideas/opinions on… vary from person to person. Some people think that…is good for…as (原因)….while others think that…does harm to….because…
第二部分：表明自己的观点并陈述理由
1. In my opinion,
2. So far as I am concerned,…
3. My view is that…
第三部分：强化主题及自己的观点
In a word,…./Therefore,…/In conclusion,…/In short,….
三． 句子结构多种多样 选用高级词汇
以前英语作文评分依据是根据要点和语言准确度而定，但近几年要求“应用词汇和语法结构的数量和准确性”，因此要想得高分，除了要点和语言准确性以外，还必须在较复杂的句子结构或较高级的词汇上有所表现。句式单一，缺乏生气的文章，哪怕无任何错误也不可能得高分，相反“有些错误，但是因为使用了较复杂结构或词汇所致”，给分档次仍在最高档。
（一） 句子结构丰富多样
以下四种手段是增加句子复杂性的常见方法，也是得高分的“亮点”。
1． 改变句子的开头方式，不要一味地都是主语开头，接着是谓语、宾语，最后再加一个状语。可以把状语置于句首，或用分词做状语等。试比较：
(a) We met at the school gate and went there together early in the morning.
(b) Early in the morning we met at the school gate and went there together.
(a)The young man couldn’t help crying when he heard the bad news.
(b)Hearing the bad news, the young man couldn’t help crying.
2． 在整篇文章中，避免只使用一两个句式，要灵活运用诸如倒装句、强调句、主从复合句、分词短语、虚拟语气等。
（1） 强调句
It was not until two years later that he knew he had misunderstood her.
What is it that has caused the heavy traffic?
（2） 由what等引导的从句，此处的what相当于中文中的“所….的”，有很大的概括力，如：
China is no longer what it used to be.
What impressed me most was that he never gave up in the face of difficulties.
What puzzled the doctor was that he couldn’t find the cause of the patient’s illness.
（3） 由with或without引导的短语，如：
With so many advantages, it’s no wonder that mobile phones are becoming more and more popular.
He went to work without having a rest.
（4） 分词短语，如：
Satisfied with the result, he decided to go on with a new experiment.
Not having received his answer, I wrote him again.
（5） 倒装句，如:
Only in this way can we achieve our goal.
Never before have I seen such a wonderful film.
To the east of the library lies a new teaching building.
（6） 省略句，如：
You can make some changes wherever necessary.
While shopping , people can’t avoid being influenced by advertisements.
I won’t go to the party unless invited.
（7） 对比，这是中文中也常用的方法，如：
United, we stand ;Divided, we fall.
Failure is not a crime, but failure to learn from failure is.
3． 通过分句和合句，增强句子的连贯性和表现力。
(a) We had a short rest. Then we began to play happily. We sang and danced. Some told stories. Some played chess.
(b) After a short rest, we had great fun singing and dancing, telling jokes and playing chess.
4． 学会使用过渡词。
(1) 向学生介绍常用的过渡性词语：
1． 表添加事实：and, also, besides, moreover, furthermore, in addition (to), additionally, as well as, what’s more, what’s worse, we must also remember, It’s also true that.., It’s the same with..
2． 表时间与顺序：first(second, third…….); firstly(secondly, thirdly….); first of all, to begin with, in the first place( I think); the first reason is that…;next, then, afterwards, after that, finally, lastly, at last. Last but not least,
3． 表对比、对照：on the other hand, while, instead (of doing sth), whereas, meanwhile, otherwise ,by contrast (with..), on the contrary, contrary to…
4． 表结果、结论：to conclude, in conclusion, to sum up, in a word, in short, therefore, so, as a result (of sth..) in this way, thus (doing sth..), so that, so… that
5． 表原因、目的：in order to, so as to, so that, in order that, for this(that, some ) reason, for this purpose, with the purpose of…
6． 表例证：for example, for instance, for another example, take …for example, take ..as an example, such as, like
7． 表达观点： so far as I am concerned, as for me, to me , in my opinion, I think, I tend to think that, apparently, no doubt, there is no doubt that, It is certain that, to be honest, in most cases, in some cases, generally speaking,
8． 表转折、让步：however, yet, but , though, although, nevertheless, of course, in spite of, Young as he is,
9． 表强调：indeed, in other words, in fact, actually, as a matter of fact, perhaps the most important part is that.. most important of all, above all
(2) 训练学生使用过渡性词语。训练方法有：
1． 学习、体会课文中一些常用的过渡性词语；
2． 让学生用一些常用的过渡性词语编有趣的故事；
3． 给学生提供一些段落，让学生根据句与句之间的内在联系添加适当的过渡词。
（二） 词汇选择标新立异
1． 应用高级词汇
俗话说，见微知著，一叶知秋。词汇的选择，能体现作者的词汇能力和整体的英语水平。因此，选用高级词汇，哪怕只选用一个，都会令作文“鹤立鸡群”。比如，表达“不同的旅程”，various tours当然比different trips更容易给阅卷老师留下深刻印象。在有把握的前提下，若采用多数学生不大会运用的高级词汇，相信有助于得高分。请体会下面句子中黑体部分被括号中的高级词汇替代后的效果：
1） 这件事情挺难的。
That is a difficult job. (challenging)
2） 最后他了解到了所有的事情。
He learned about everything at last. (eventually)
3） 感谢你不辞辛苦地帮助我。
I should thank you for taking so much trouble to help me. (am awfully grateful to you)
象access, inaccessible, available, annoy, confuse, contact, essential, fascinate, participate, schedule, terrific, occupy等单词都属于高级词汇，在平时的作文训练中要教会学生多加运用。
2． 注意使用词组、习语来代替一些单词，以增加文采。如：
a) A new railway is being built in my hometown.
b) A new railway is under construction in my hometown.
a) This word has several meanings.
b) This word has a couple of meanings.
3． 使用一些很有“洋味”的单词（比如下面黑体部分词汇）。
1) Thank you for sharing the time with us.
2) The way he views the world is very practical。
3) It will be a lot of fun. (=very interesting)
4． 避免重复使用某一单词或短语。
有时一篇作文里需要多次使用相同意思的词，这时，表达方式的变换（用不同的单词或词组表达相同的意思）就显得非常重要。如果表达方式过于单一，不免有黔驴计穷之嫌。而丰富的表达方式则可反映出英语应用能力之高。如“喜欢”可用like /enjoy /be fond of/ favorite ；“年龄”可以有at the age of seven/ at seven /aged seven/以及 a boy of seven / when he was seven years old等多种表达方式。尤其在高三复习阶段教师应该多帮学生总结同一意义的多种表达，这一点对开阔学生的视野很有益。举例如下：
1） 他太年轻不能干这项工作。
He was too young to do this work.
He was so young that he couldn’t do this work.
He was not old enough to do this work.
2） 我的手表坏了。
My watch doesn’t work.
My watch has stopped.
My watch has gone wrong.
My watch doesn’t keep good time.
My watch refuses to work.
There is something wrong with my watch.
3） 他刚进屋，便听到电话响了。
As soon as he entered the room, he heard the telephone ring。
The moment he entered the room, .he heard the telephone ring .
The instant he entered the room, he heard the telephone ring.
Directly he entered the room, he heard the telephone ring.
On entering the room, he heard the telephone ring.
He had no sooner entered the room than he heard the telephone ring .
No sooner had he entered the room than he heard the telephone ring.
He had hardly/barely/scarcely entered the room when he heard the telephone ring.
Hardly/Barely/Scarcely had he entered the room when he heard the telephone ring.
(三) 语言表达追求灵活、精确
在批改作文的过程中，教师恐怕最头疼的就是发现学生不会表达或表达欠
准确甚至表达错误。很显然这与学生的基本功太差是分不开的。那么怎样帮
助学生提高语言表达的准确性及灵活性呢？笔者认为根据语言功能意念对
学生进行同义句型的联想辨析训练既可以使学生所学的零散的句型具有一定的系统性，也有利于学生联想记忆、促使他们自觉辨析句型结构的异同、掌握对于同一意念的多种英语表达方法，从而使语言表达更为灵活、更为精确。比如：
表比较:
1)最…
Health is the most valuable thing in the world.
Nothing else is more valuable than health in the world.
Nothing else is as valuable as health in the world.
2)超过/不及
Tom plays the violin better than I do.
I don’t play the violin as well as Tom.
3)一样/同样
Tom is as old as Jack.
Tom and Jack are of the same age.
表原因:
4)因为…所以
He could not go there because he was ill.
He was ill, so/and therefore he could not go there.
He couldn’t go there because of his illness.
He couldn’t go there, for he was ill.
表结果:
5)结果/以致于…
I was caught in the rain, and caught a bad cold.
I was caught in the rain, so I caught a bad cold.
I was caught in the rain. As a result, I caught a bad cold.
I caught a bad cold as a result of being caught in the rain.
His theory is very advanced, and so nobody here can understand it.
His theory is so advanced that nobody here can understand it.
His theory is too advanced for anybody here to understand.
His is so advanced a/such an advanced theory that nobody here can understand it.
四． 力求内容充实
与前面几项相比，笔者认为写英语作文最不容易达到的标准就是作到“内容充实”。在我辅导高三学生写作的过程中，有一次学生写出的作文非常令我失望，也给我留下了极深的印象。作文的标题是“the Value of Sports”。这次写作之前我没有给学生丝毫提示，结果发现大多数学生写出的内容是那么单一，似乎他们知道的运动的好处就只有一点----强身健体。这使我认识到，学生由于受其知识及思维局限性的制约往往想出的要点不多，更谈不上全面，这原本是正
常的，正如俗话所说“巧妇难为无米之炊”。这时，作为教师，我们能做的就是
尽可能地多给予指导和帮助。经过认真考虑，在以后的作文辅导中，在让学生动笔之前，我采取了以下几种措施，实践下来，学生写出的作文，内容果然充实多了。这几种措施是：
1） 事先设计几个与作文有关的问题让学生分组讨论，让他们从不同角度发表自己的观点、看法，这样不同的学生所给出的答案、表达出的观点必定是不尽相同、多种多样的，他们可以把各自的观点中的要点记录下来，并进行分类整理，加上老师适当补充的一些要点，这样写出的作文，内容肯定不会那么空洞。
2） 写作之前先给学生一定的时间准备，让他们从网上或其他渠道收集与作文题目有关的信息，动笔之前先进行分享、交流，以扩大其思维空间，以便写出内容充实的好作文。
3） 将同种类型的话题放在一起，如电话、电视机、电脑、因特网等有关的作文题一块给学生，让他们先单独思考这些东西对我们人类或学生各有哪些有利及不利之处，然后再给他们提供相关文章，让他们在比较中找出自己思维方面哪些地方有待改进（是概括力不强还是想的不周到还是知识面不够宽），这样经过对比，学生会在以后的生活或学习中有意识的朝自己不足的方面努力。
4） 号召学生进行广泛的阅读，以扩大其视野及知识面；此外，教师也要结合客观实际，关注现实生活，在传授书本知识的基础上多给学生讲解或提供一些可能涉及到写作的好的文章或素材。也可以结合书本或报刊上学生所关注的热门话题举行讨论、辩论，以锻炼其思维的扩散性及其对相关内容的归纳、概括性。
总之，写英语作文是英语学习中较高级的一种语言活动，它实际上也是一种交际能力的体现。它要求学生既具备一定数量的词汇及句型知识又具备较强的对词、句、篇及材料的组织能力以及较广的知识面。要想在较短的时间内让学生的作文水平有所提高，进而写出较高档次的英语作文，除了抓好基础知识的学习、掌握以外，只有把握写作重点，进行一步一个脚印的训练才行。
参考文献：
1．姜发兵 “使高中学生英语书面表达更具文采” 《中小学英语教学与研究》
2003年第2期
2．“如何写好高考英语作文？” 《高考》http://www.sina.com.cn2002/06/27
松江第六中学 周琼