英语说明文的写作方法指导
在英语说明文中，阐述和说明 “主观抽象观念”的说明文占了很大的比重，其中有些类似汉语中的议论文。但是无论是对“客观具体事物”的说明还是对“主观抽象观念”的阐述，英语说明文从结构上看大致可分为三个部分：第一部分一般是文章的第一段，提出文章的主题，也就是说，文章想要阐述、说明的主要内容;第二部分是文章的主体，可由若干个段落组成，对文章的主题进行展开说明;第三部分是结尾段，对文章的主题作归纳总结。从英语说明文的结构可以看出，要写好英语说明文的关键在于第二部分如何对文章主题进行展开说明。在英语中，常见的用来展开文章主题的方法有下列几种：
英语说明文的写作方法指导
1.举例法(examples)
举例法是用具体的例子来说明我们要表达的意思，常用for example， for instance， still another example is…等词语引出。下面这篇学生作文就是用举例法写成的：
Recreation
It is impossible to keep in good health unless we take enough recreation (娱乐)。 The mind， too， needs change to make it fresh and vigorous (有活力的) There is much truth in the old saying， All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.“
There are many games which boys and girls can play after their school work is done， for instance， football， tennis， and kite-flying. Other examples of recreation are boating， fishing， gardening， cycling， walking， chess-playing， and reading. Persons who sit much at their business should take a kind of recreation that will supply their muscles (肌肉) with exercise. Those who spend most of their time in the open air and do manual work (体力活) should adopt (采纳) reading or some other quiet form of recreation.
Cycling is said to be an important means of recreation， but many persons foolishly tire out themselves by cycling too much. The same may be said in regard to football. Tennis is a pleasant form of recreation. Many persons take great delight in boating. Fishing requires much patience， and there is much danger of taking cold by sitting still on a cold day too long. A good brisk (轻松) walk is one of the finest forms of exercise. For persons engaged in outdoor labor， chess-playing is another excellent form of recreation.
可以看出，举例法和罗列法有时可以结合使用：即用罗列法来列出例子，用例子充实罗列的说明。
2.罗列法(listing)
在文章开始时提出需要说明的东西和观点，然后常用first，second，…and finally加以罗列说明。罗列法广泛地使用于各类指导性的说明文之中，下面这篇学生作文就是用罗列法写成的：
Early Rising
Early rising (早起) is helpful in more than one way. First， it helps to keep us fit (健康)。 We all need fresh air. But air is never so fresh as early in the morning. Besides， we can do good to our health from doing morning exercise (做早操)。
Secondly， early rising helps us in our studies. We learn more quickly in the morning， and find it easier to remember what we learn in the morning.
Thirdly， early rising enables (使能够) us to plan the work of the day. We cannot work well without a good plan. Just as the plan for the year should be made in the spring， so the plan for the day should be made in the morning.
Fourthly， early rising gives us enough time to get ready for our work， such as to wash our faces and hands and eat our breakfast properly.
Late risers may find it very difficult to form the habit of early rising. They ought to make special efforts to do so. As the English proverb says，“Early to bed and early to rise， makes a man healthy， wealthy and wise.”
罗列法经常用下列句式展开段落，我们可以注意模仿学习：
There are several good reasons why we should learn a foreign language. First of all， …Secondly， …And finally， …
We should try our best to plant more trees for several good reasons First of all， …Secondly， …And finally，
必须指出的是，有时罗列法并不一定有明确的first， second…等词，但文章还是以罗列论据展开的。
3.比较法(comparison and contrast)
比较法是对两个对象进行比较，从而进行说明的写作手法。比较法又可细分为比较相同点(comparison)和比较不同点(contrast)两种方法，比如：
From Paragraph to Essay
Although they are different in length (长度)， the paragraph and the essay are quite similar in structure (结构)。 For example， the paragraph starts with either a topic sentence (主题句) or a topic introducer followed by a topic sentence. In the essay， the first paragraph sets up the topic focus (主题所在) Next， the sentences in the body of a paragraph develop the topic sentence. Similarly， the body of an essay consists of a number of paragraphs that discuss and support the ideas given in the introductory (引导的) paragraph. Finally， a concluding sentence (结束句) ——whether a restatement， conclusion， or observation——ends the paragraph. The essay， too， has a concluding paragraph which ends the essay logically and satisfactorily. Although there are some exceptions (例外)， most well written expository (说明文的) paragraphs and essays are similar in structure.
可以看出，在比较相同点的时候，常用到similarly，also，too，in the same case，in spite of the difference等这样的词语。
European Football and American Football
Although European football is the parent of American football， the two games show several major differences. European football， sometimes called association football or soccer， is played in 80 countries， making it the most widely played sport in the world. American football， on the other hand， is popular only in North America (the United States and Canada)。 Soccer is played by eleven players with a round ball. Football， also played by eleven players in somewhat different positions (位置) on the field， is played with an elongated (拉长的) round ball. Soccer has little body contact (接触) between players and therefore needs no special protective equipment. Football， in which players make the greatest use of body contact to stop a running ball-carrier and his teammates， needs special protective equipment. In soccer， the ball is advanced toward the goal by kicking it or by butting (顶) it with the head. In American football， on the other hand， the ball is passed from hand to hand or carried in the hands across the opponent's (对手) goal. These are just a few of the features which distinguish (区别) association and American football.
这是一篇用比较不同点的手法写的说明文。从文章中可以看出：however，on the other hand，in contrast，but，nevertheless等表示转折的词语常用来引导对不同点的比较。