(一)开头

　　好的开篇是文章成功的一半.对于四级考生来说,文章的开篇恰恰是难点之一.文章的开篇写作既要引人入胜,又要提供必要的背景知识;既要点明和切中文章的主题,还要概括和总结全文的内容.所以,写开篇时,作者必须想好从何处说起,再向何处展开.下面介绍几种可行的开篇方法:

　　(1)故事法:叙述事件发生的时间、地点,引起读者的兴趣,且提出文章的主题.

　　On September 6, 2002, I entered the college. Having lived for one year in the college, I think my life on campus is both challenging and colorful, or, to put it this way, busy.

　　(2)对比法:通过对两种不同的观点和态度的比较,引出自己倾向哪种观点,即引出文章要讨论的主题.

　　Usually we see two types of students: those who are active in school activities and those who spend more time on their studies and do not take part in school activities. But I prefer to be one of the first type because I think good health is indispensable to knowledge-acquisition in campus life.

　　(3) 引用法:通过引用名人名言,箴言谚语,或有代表性的看法见解来引出文章要讨论的观点.

　　"He who will not learn when he is young will regret it when he is old. "No one should be content to simply end his education with high school education. For education is a lifetime study. We must insist on studying in college.

　　(4) 问题法:用提出设问的方式讨论有争议的主题,可激起读者的兴趣.

　　"Why have I chosen to attend college? Is the four-year academic life worthwhile?" I

　　have put these questions to myself at many times in the past year. "Is it because of my parents' influence, or because I have some goal of my own that I wish to pursue? What should I do in campus life?"

　　(5) 现象法:对于大学生活存在的各种现象和倾向进行剖析,从而引出自己的看法.

　　Nowadays there is an immense and justified pride in what our colleges and universities have done. At the same time, however, there is a growing uneasiness about their products. These young men and women who carry away our degrees are attractive, energetic and eloquent. But what about their intellectual equipment? What have they done in college?

　　(6) 观点法:文章开门见山,直截了当提出文章的中心思想.

　　Maybe it is time to reexamine our present values of college life and try to figure out why college life is greatly different from high school life. College life is not only for study but also for enriching your social experience.

　　以上各段均可作为写大学生活的开篇.如果要写成描写文,还可以从场景写起,也可使用一件奇闻轶事或一段对话.议论文则可从提出中心论点、举典型事例、使用统计数字等开始.

　　(二) 结尾

　　结尾部分是总结全文, 深化主题,对文章思想的升华,不必要提出新的观点或问题.其内容应简短有力,起到画龙点睛的作用.且要与开头段遥相呼应.开头涉及的问题,在结尾处必须给出明确的交代或回答.

　　常见的结尾方法有:

　　(1) 总结式:把全文的主要观点、中心意思进行概括总结. 如:

　　So, speaking allowed people to laugh, and nature rewarded those who laughed by improving their chances of survival.

　　(2) 提出希望或展望未来,常在总结、报告的文体中使用.如:

　　In the very near future, no doubt, the computer will play a more important role in people's daily lives.

　　(3) 引语法:采用谚语、格言、名人的语言等结束全文.如:

　　In particular, I agree with what Francis Bacon said: "Studies serve for delight, for ornament and for ability."

　　(4) 反问法:结尾对文章所提观点进行反问,引起读者思考.如:

　　Wouldn't it be strange if we were to stick to such old ideas?

　　(5)号召式:用于呼吁读者行动起来,或敦促采取行动.如:

　　It is high time that we school put an immediate end to this deplorable phenomenon. Our colleges and universities should be more willing to shoulder their responsibilities to students and their families. But too often, these responsibilities have been evaded. This we can not afford.

　　以上只是几种常用的结尾的方法,还有很多种方法可以使用,只是要根据文章的内容恰当使用,为文章画上一个圆满的句号.

　　(文/严建英; 英语通大学英语四级考试版2004年第3期;版权归英语辅导报社所有，独家网络合作伙伴新浪教育，未经许可，不得以任何形式进行转载。)