一篇文章通常可分為三個部分，即開頭、正文和結尾。這三個部分安排是否得體，直接影響到文章的質量。
文章的開頭一般來說應儘量做到開門見山，用簡單明白的敘述引出文章的話題，使讀者瞭解文章要談論什麼，一下於引起讀者的興趣。
作文常見的開頭形式大致有以下幾種：
1.開門見山，揭示主題
文章一開頭，就交待清楚文章的主題是什麼。如“How I Spent My Vacation”(我怎樣度假)的開頭是：
I Spent my last vacation happily.
下面是題為“Honesty”(談誠實)一文中的開頭：
Honesty is one of the best honest man is always trusted and the contrary， one who tells lies is regarded as a “liar”，and is looked upon by honest people.
2.交代人物、事情、時間或環境開頭
在文章的開頭，先把人物、事件和環境交待清楚。例如“A Trip to Jinshan” (去金山旅遊)的開頭：
The day before yesterday my clawent on a bus trip to Jinshan. The bus ride there took three hours. The long trip made us very tired， but the sight of the beautiful sea refreshed us.
3. 回憶性的開頭
用回憶的方法來開頭。例如“A Trip to the Taishan Mountain”(泰山遊)的開頭是：
I remember my first trip to the Taishan Mountain as if it were yesterday.
4.概括性的開頭
即對要在文章中敘述的人或事先作一個概括性的介紹。如“The Happineof Reading Books”(讀書的快樂)的開頭：
People often say that gold and silver are the most valuable things in the world. But I say that to read books is more valuable than anything else， because books give us knowledge and knowledge gives us power.
5.介紹環境式的.開頭
即開頭利用自然景物或自然環境引出要介紹的事物。如“An Accident”(一場事故)的開頭是：
It was a rainy and windy morning. The sky was gloomy， the temperature was low， and the street was nearly empty. I was on my way back to school. Suddenly， a speeding car came round the corner.
6.交待寫作目的的開頭。
在文章的一開頭就交待寫作目的，如通過文章要表揚誰，批評誰，或說明一個什麼問題等。如 “Pollution Control” (控制汙染)的開頭：
In this article I shall draw your attention to the subject of pollution control.
英語作文的文章的正文
文章的正文是由若干段落組成的，段落通常由幾個或者更多的句子組成，有時候一個句子也能成段。
文章的正文應以文章的開頭為線索，具體地敘述、說明或論證文章的主題。文章不論長短，每個段落都必須為主題服務。像說明文和議論文這一類的文章，一個主題還常分成幾個小主題，每個小主題要用一個段落處理，另起一段時，應是一層新的意思。每一段的開頭，要放一個表示段落小主題的主題句，這樣可使文章條理化，易於閱讀，便於讀者抓住主題。段內的所有句子應圍繞主題句的意義加以闡述或論證，為中心思想服務。句子之間應銜結自然，有條不紊，而且還要合乎邏輯，段落中不能出現任何與主題無關的句子;英語寫作比較重視主題句的作用，缺少它段落意義就會含糊不清。主題句也可放在段落的中間和末尾等部位，但對初學者來說，以放在段首為好。見下列這篇題為“How to Be a Good Student” (怎樣做個好學生)的文章：
We students are the builders and masters of the country. It is important for us to know how to be a good student.
A good student， I think， should be diligent in his studies. The more he studies， the more he will increase his knowledge. Without enough knowledge， we cannot make great contributions to the modernization of our country.
To take care of one's own body is another important thing for good student to do. Anyone， who hasn't got a strong body， can do nothing for his country， even if he has much knowledge. There was a man， who， when he was student， studied hard but neglected his health. No sooner did he come to serve the country than he died of poor health. From this we may see that to have a strong body is really very important for a student.
Lastly， to cultivate one's own virtue is most important. Virtue is the essence of a noble and good character. It will greatly help one to be useful and his country heart and soul. When learned people go astray， they do more harm than good to society. We should draw lessons from this.
這篇文章的第一段引出了文章的主題，第二、第三和第四段則是文章的正文，每—段的第一句即是段落的主題句，它們既支援了文章中心的觀點和思想，同時又概括了全段的意思。在同一段落中，其餘的句子都圍繞主題句所表示的中心展開，同時句子間的銜結也很自然;各層的意思都很連貫。
分段是文章組織上重要的一步，但如果寫的題目範圍很小，那就無須再將題目分成小的主題，並分入各個段落去闡述了。像一篇簡短的評論;某一事情的簡短記載，某一個想法的說明，對一個人物或一件事情的簡要敘述或說明等，就可以只用一個段落來表現主題。
在記敘文中，段的結構有時可以很簡單，不需要有主題句，敘事一氣呵成，中途沒有停頓。段與段之所以分開，只是為了起修辭作用，以便把某一細節置於顯著的地位。
某些測試用的表達題，在題目中就已經說明只需要根據。所給的提示寫一個段落，而不是一篇文章。對於這一類的寫作試題，就可以予以簡潔的處理，並不是非要擴充成一篇有頭有尾的完整文章。
