1) 開頭段落
首段要引人入勝，並幫助讀者抓住要領，易於領會全文;開頭方法有：
a. 引用名人名言;如：
As the proverb goes…;
It goes without saying that…;
There is no denying that…;
As everyone knows….
b. 數字統計;如：
According to a recent survey, about 78. 9% of the college students wanted to further their study after their graduation;
A recent study shows that …
c. 描述現象現狀;如：
With the reform of Chinese higher education, more and more colleges and universities put emphasis on…;
Nowadays, some famous universities have become a hot tourist attraction.
d. 對立觀點陳述; 如：
Some people believe that …while others argue that…
2) 主體段落
主體段落由三部分組成，也就是主題句(topic sentence)，推展句(supporting statement)和結論句(concluding statement)。
主題句概括段落的主要內容，它不僅確定段落的主題，而且限制該主題在本段落詳細討論的範圍。因此主題句是整個段落的綱領。
推展句是對主題句的`論證，解釋和說明，是每段的主體部分。只有寫好了推展句才能使文章言之有理，具有說服力。在文章寫作中，推展句的多少，長短要適中。既要把思想內容表達清楚，敘述翔實，又要注意簡明扼要，重點突出。句與句之間應脈絡清晰，相輔相成。
結論句是用來標誌段落的結束，同時向讀者提供記憶的要點。但並非所有的段落句都是總結句。
主體段落的寫作方法有舉例論證段、對比比較段、因果分析段、利弊分析段等。
a. 舉例論證段落。
通過舉出典型事例來解釋作者觀點，且事例可多可少。例如：
There are cases in which people have to trade goods for the things they need. For example, a person who needs something badly and happens to be penniless, what should he do? A good solution for him is to trade the goods he has for the things he needs. For another example, a person needs something and its owner is reluctant to sell it unless he gets the thing he wants. In such case, the person has to trade goods for what he needs.
舉例論證中常用的連線詞有for example (instance), such as, take…for example, besides, furthermore, moreover, what is more, in addition等。
舉例論證中常用的句型有:
A good case in point is . . .
As an illustration, we may take . . .
Such examples might be given easily.
. . . is often cited as an example.
b. 對比法或比較段。
將同類事物按照某種特定的規則進行比較分析，通過對比更容易闡述所述物件之間的異同和優缺點。例如：
The heart of an electronic computer lies in its vacuum tubes or transistors. Its electronic circuits work thousand times faster than the nicer cells in the human brain. A problem that might take a human being a long time to solve can be solved by a computer in one minute.
常用於比較或對比的連線過渡詞有…more than, compared with, in contrast with, as…as, be similar to, similarly, the same as, just like, just as 等。
常用於比較或對比的句型有：
The advantages far outweigh the disadvantages.
The advantages of A are much greater than those of B.
A may be preferable to B, but A suffers from the disadvantages that. . .
It is reasonable to maintain that . . . but it would be foolish to claim that. . .
For all the disadvantages, it has its compensating advantages.
Like anything else, it has its faults.
A and B has several things in common.
A bears some striking likenesses to B.
However, the same is not applicable to B.
A is different from B in several ways.
Evidently, it has both negative and positive effects.
People used to think . . . , but things are different now.
The same is true of B.
Wonderful as A is, it has its drawbacks.
It is true that A . . . , but the chief faults (obvious defects) are . . .
Indeed, A carries much weight when compared with B.
c. 因果分析段。主體句提出現象或論點，推展句分析原因。例如：
Why do they want odd jobs -- jobs usually requiring little skill and knowledge? The primary reason, I think, is money. Feeling the financial pressure as books, movies and bus fares have all gone up in price, there is scarcely a young boy or girl who does not want to earn a little money to help cover the increasingly higher college costs, and at best save enough to go traveling or buy things they have long desired. In this way they hope to be economically independent and avoid the indignity of having to ask for money again and again. Besides they want to gain some experience in the ways of society
常用於因果分析法的連線詞有because, so, as a result, consequently，one reason, First, secondly, third, for one thing, for another thing等。
