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”的開頭可以寫成：
I Spent my last vacation happily.
"Honesty"的開頭可以寫成：
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" 的開頭可以寫成：
The day before yesterday my class went 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"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 Happiness of Reading Books”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”的開頭可以寫成:
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" 的開頭：
In this article I shall draw your attention to the subject of pollution control.
下面是兩篇例文，供大家可以參考：
關鍵字：毒雞蛋
The Chinese news agency Xinhua says the People's Daily newspaper have both carried reports suggesting that the addition of industrial chemical melamine to animal feed in China is an open secret. Quentin Sommerville reports from Beijing.
Animal feed in China is routinely contaminated with industrial chemical melamine, according to the country's state media. Chemical firms have been repackaging scrapped melamine as protein powder and selling at home. When added to the feed, it gives the illusion of boosting nutritional levels. China's melamine scandal began in the dairy industry, 4 babies died and 20 thousand children were hospitalised after the chemical was added to milk. This week, the authorities in Hong Kong discovered melamine in 4 brands of Chinese produced eggs. It's believed they have got there because of contaminated animal feed.
關鍵字：感恩節
Live with thankfulness
Do you know Thanksgiving Day? Do you know why human thank God?
Thanksgiving falls on the fourth Thursday of November, a different date every year. The President must proclaim that date as the official celebration.
Thanksgiving is a time for tradition and sharing. Even if they live far away, family members gather for a reunion at the house of an older relative. All give thanks together for the good things that they have.
In this spirit of sharing, civic groups and charitable organizations offer a traditional meal to those in need, particularly the homeless. On most tables throughout the United States, foods eaten at the first thanksgiving have become traditional.
What should we thank?
The thankful great universe provides the environment of existence for us and give us sunlight, air, water and everything in keeping with we existence of space, bring storm to let us accept to toughen for us, bring to us mysterious let us look for.
The thankful parents give us the life, make us feel the merriment of the human life, feel the genuine feeling of the human life, feel the comity of the human life, feel happiness of the human life, also feel hardships and pain and sufferings of the human life!
The thankful teacher works with diligence and without fatigue everyday of teach, give us knowledge ability, put on the wing which flies toward the ideal for us.
The thankful classmate and friend grows up road of, let I no longer standing alone in the itinerary of life; The with gratitude is frustrated and let us become in a time the failure stronger.
