俗话说，万事开头难，以后难上加难 （手动狗头），又有俗话说，良好的开头是成功的一半。平常自己写文章包括上课中经常发现一些同学开头很困难，不知道如何引出话题。独立写作要求大家根据给出题目论述自己的观点，并且要举例论证。文章内容内容的充实与否就看大家平时积累的素材是否足够，而开头和结尾则是体现大家写作功底的地方，一个好的开头能让提升整体文章的水平。一篇好的文章，开头的语句起到了画龙点睛的作用，雅思托福作文也是一样的，好开头可以快速的吸引到考官的眼球，留下良好的第一印象，才能使考官有兴趣认真的把剩下的文章内容看完，所以好的开头是成功的一半。

今天这一期简单总结一下如何写文章的开头，主要针对考场议论性文章（雅思、托福，考研等），其实也适用于一般性的文章写作。

一．文章开头的作用

设想一下，如果我们是读者，拿到一篇文章之后我们首先想知道的是“这篇文章是关于什么的？”, “我为什么要花时间要看这篇文章？”， “这边文章的作者想要告诉我什么？” 如果作者能够在开头就告诉我们这些问题的答案，会省去我们很多时间，比如这篇文章讨论的根本就是我们不关心的问题，那接下来就不用看了。所以作为作者，我们要在文章开头做的事情就是：介绍这边文章是关于什么的，也就是这篇文章的topic，以及你对这个话题的看法。如果引入的部分能比较有趣，吸引读者的兴趣 （an attention grabber),那就更棒了，不过对于考场写作，或者academic writing，这点比较难，而且相对也没那么重要。所以一般典型议论文的开头包含两个部分，引出话题 （一般是背景介绍）并给出自己的观点(有时也可在结尾给出）。

1. introduce the topic, usually a general statement about the background.

2. Give your opinion about the topic

二．文章开头的方式

那么如何有效引出话题呢？ 一般有下面几种方法，我们先看一下常见的做法，再看一下一些相对没那么常见的“骚操作”。

常规操作

1. 扩充或改写题目

这种写法是用的最多，也很好用的一种写法,不用花费很多时间。我们在开头的时候仅仅需要对题目进行适当的扩充，加入更多细节，就能很好地引出话题。

例如剑5 test2 的话题：

In some countries young people are encouraged to work or travel for a year between finishing high school and starting university studies.

Discuss the advantages and disadvantages for young people who decide to do so.

我们看一下官方范文中的写法：

It is quite common these days for young people in many countries to have a break from studying after graduating from high school. The trend is not restricted to rich students who have the money to travel, but is also evident among poorer students who choose to work and become economically independent for a period of time.

题目中说年轻人高中毕业后旅行或者工作一年。范文中加入了更多的细节，首先讲这种现象很普遍（it is common these days), 后面改写了题目中的用词（have a break after graduating from high school), 然后把work 和 travel 的内容进行了扩写，加入了更多细节travel的学生（rich students, have money)，work的学生（poor，economically independent）

我们在扩写的时候可以把话题涉及的名词进行细化，或者稍微补充一下原因，强调话题的重要性等

2. 介绍背景或趋势

很多同学在写作中会使用句式 with the development of science and technology...当然这种写法用在很多话题当中是不恰当的，不过背后的思路没有问题，介绍话题所处的背景。

例如 Differences between countries are becoming less evident recently. People can see the same films, brands, fashion, advertisements and TV channels. Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?

参考范文的写法：

The world today is experiencing globalization, and more and more interdependence. Technology makes it possible for culture to be shared in a way that could not have been achieved even a few years ago.

国家变得越来越类似，范文的写法介绍了这种越来越相似趋势发生的背景 （globalization，interdependence, technology 等）。通过介绍现象发生的背景，可以很好地过渡到文章所谈论的话题

3.引出争议

一般要求我们发表观点的议论文一定有相冲突的两种观点，我们可以通过介绍两种观点的方法引出话题。我们可以说，对某个话题，不同人有不同的看法。或者是人们对一个话题有相反的观点等。

例如剑9test3

Some people say that the best way to improve public health is by increasing the number of facilities, others, however, sat this would have little effect on public health and other measures are required. Discussion both views and give your own opinion.

官方范文：A problem of modern society is the declining level of health in the general population, with conflicting views on how to tackle this worrying trend. One possible solution is to provide more sport facilities to encourage a more active lifestyle.

With two conflicting views on how to tackle this problem 是引出争议的很好句式。其他类似的句式还有opinions vary when it comes to…./ … has long been a source of debate.

上面这些方法是比较常用的写法，特别是在考场上，如果你想不那么“八股”，除了这些写法之外，还有另外一些开头段的写法。

4.引用数据

通过引用数据，特别是让人印象深刻的数据（dramatic data）,能够激起读者对话题的兴趣。

例如在一篇题为“cyberbullying and online teens”的文章中，作者开头写到“about one third (32%) of all teenagers who use the internet say they have been targets of a range of bullying and potentially menacing online activities—such as receive threatening message; having their private emails or texts forwarded without consent; having an embarrassing picture posted without permission…”文章开头通过引用数据32%表明了网络霸凌的普遍性,也使得文章更有说服力。但一般不太建议大家自己编造数据，引用数据的时候要提一下数据的出处。

5.引用名言

名人名言一般都比较简洁，但是比较有说服力，使用名人名言（quote）也是很好得引出文章的方法。例如托福考试的一道题目：Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: it is more important to use your own knowledge and experience than to ask others’ help to solve problems.

文章开头：Isaac Newton once put it: If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giant”. Drawing upon others’ experience and knowledge is highly beneficial to us. 引用牛顿名言的同时也表明了自己的观点。

6.抛出问题

在文章的开头提出问题（pose a question）引起读者的思考的同时引出文章所要讨论的主题。例如在“is privatization the hope of the future”的文章中，作者在开头提问：Which is more democratic: a public school system serving all equally but controlled by a governmental and professional bureaucracy, or a privatized system offering choice and variety but controlled by business interests seeking profits? 如果在提出问题后自己解答，就属于rhetorical question (修辞性问题，设问或反问)，当然也可以留给读者自己思考。

7.讲故事

可以讲自己的故事（显得真实可信），读者的故事（拉近和读者的举例）他人的故事（历史事件等）引出探讨的话题。例如在文章“rebirth of the body politic”中，作者开头讲了古罗马政治家西塞罗的故事。

After escaping an assassination attempt earlier that morning, Cicero entered the senate under armed guard. It was 7 November 63 BCE, and the Roman Republic hovered on the brink of revolution. Catiline, the aristocrat behind the assassination plot, stood opposite. Faced with the man who had tried to kill him, Cicero gave one of the most powerful orations in all of antiquity: ‘O tempora, o mores!’(‘Oh these times! Oh the ways of men.’)

Central to Cicero’s speech is a provocative metaphor. The republic is a body, and Catiline a plague. Reasoning within this metaphor, Cicero prescribed a cure: to remove the disease, exile Catiline.

Cicero was utilizing perhaps the most fundamental metaphor of political discourse: it runs through Thucydides’ account of the Peloponnesian war, anchors the political philosophy of Aristotle and Plato, and animates the rhetoric of Roman statesmen and Stoics. It re-emerges in the major political philosophers of the European tradition.

西塞罗躲避暗杀后的演讲引出了文章要讨论的话题：政治的身体隐喻。

受限于文章篇幅，一般较短的文章很少使用故事开头，还有一些人认为学术写作中引用故事不够严谨。