1.通过媒体报道把问题呈现在读者面前，引发思考

例如在写关于该不该禁烟的话题时，可以这样开头：

A recent study conducted by Zhongshan University has found that the number of smokers has been increasing sharply over the pastfive years. Research findings also reveal that the incidence of smoking-related conditions has soared. As a result, the ban on smoking has been in the spotlight.

中山大学最近做的一个研究表明，在过去五年里，吸烟人数急剧上升。研究结果同时显示，吸烟导致的疾病发病率也急剧增长。因此，禁烟成为一个热点话题。这个开头通过媒体报道把问题呈现在读者面前，从而引出吸烟比例急剧上升造成的危害，引发读者思考。

2.提出有争议性的问题，激发读者兴趣，使其积极参与讨论

例如在写到警察是否应该持枪这篇文章时作者说：

If police in the U.K. are able to go without guns and not have crime getting completely out of control then they have already set a fine example that other countries should follow. The fact that they are able to do this is an indication of their ability to control the flow of guns to the general populace and this makes citizens safer than anything else. To a civilian, taking guns away from criminals is more important than giving them to police.

提出这个有争议的话题，激发读者的兴趣，使读者积极参与到讨论中来，让大家各抒己见进行讨论。

3.引起读者兴趣的话题

例如在写关于体罚的话题文章时，采用这样一个开头：

It is reported that a boy in Zhuhai was beaten to death by his father on Father' Day. Ample evidence also shows that children who are frequently abused by their parents or teachers tend to be introver ted, pessimistic, indifferent and even world-weary. Recently, there has arisen a fierce argument on whether corporal punishment should be abolished. Teachers, parents and exper ts take diverse attitudes towards this issue.

据报道在父亲节那天，珠海有个小男孩被爸爸打死了。充分的证据也显示，经常遭父母或老师虐 待的小孩往往比较内向、悲观、冷漠甚至厌世。近来关于是否应该废除体罚出现了一场激烈的争论，老师、家长和专家各执一词。

当读者看到这个话题时产生了浓厚的兴趣进而引起了对这件事情的思考。

4.呈现该话题正反方的观点

例如在写到男性和女性谁可以做更好的父母时可以这样开头：

At the mere mention of women governing the world, most of us may naturally form an unrealistic picture of a more peaceful world where the sun always shines. The other side of the picture, however, is just to the opposite.

在开头提出两种不同的观点，不同的读者可以根据自己对问题的看法进行思考，从而引发读者的探究心理，进一步思考这个问题从而得出结论。

5.引用名人名言、谚语等作为文章的开头

例如在写到先天跟后天哪一个更重要时：

Genius is two percent inspiration and ninety-eight percent perspiration is the opinion held by Edison. This remark has been confirmed time and again by more and more people.

天才是百分之二的灵感，百分之九十八的汗水是爱迪生的观点，而且反复被越来越多的人所证实，通过引用名人名言揭示了文章的主题，为下文很好地做了铺垫。

6.对将要讨论的话题进行定义

例如在写到Globalization时：

Globalization-the international spread of products, ideas and information-is bringing the world closer together. But globalization is not a new concept. For thousands of years, nations have roamed the earth in search of new markets and new sources of raw materials for their own industries.

关于全球化这个名词，考生并不陌生，但是如何用合理的语言来赋予它一个含义，这并非易事，上述的引言段就很好地做到了这一点，先是从字面上诠释了全球化的定义，进而又从实际生活角度赋予了它另外一层含义。

7.追根溯源法

即从题目给出的话题中找出这个现象产生的原因来扩展背景句。这种方法适合大多数的话题。

例如题目：

There are social, medical and technical problems associated with the use of mobile phones. What forms do they take? Do you agree that the problems outweigh the benefits of mobilephone?

话题是mobile phone, 所以考生可以从它产生的原因来考虑，就是科技的繁荣，而科技的繁荣，手机的广泛使用是在20世纪末，这样背景句就有内容可写了。当然要通过相应的句型来写，这个背景句就可以写成：

The late 20th century witnessed the boom of science and technology, which gave rise to a series of technological innovations, including the mobile phone.

再如另外一道题目

「 Nowadays, some universities offer students skills that assist them to find employment, but some people believe that the main function of a university should be to provide students with access to knowledge for its sake. What is your opinion? 」

这题要求大家讨论大学是提供职业技能还是传授知识。

从传统观点来看，大学是传授知识的地方，为什么会提出要传授技能呢?所以这里考生也可以用追根溯源法思考一下，大家肯定可以想到是由于找工作已经成为当今教育的目的之一了，所以很多大学就转移到以传授技能为主了。

As job-hunting has become one of the main purposes of university education,the majority of the universities tend to offer vocational trainings to prepare the students for their future career.

8.重述法

即对关于这个话题的当前现状的重述。

比如题目：

「 Nowadays, people are facing more and more work-related stress. State the possible reasons for this phenomenon and make some recommendations about how to combat it. 」

本题的话题关于压力，那考生可从当前社会现象来考虑这个问题，考生不难想出当下对压力这一现象的情况，即很多人都在承受着或多或少的压力。可用it is generally believed that 形式主语的句型。

参考：

It is generally believed that white-collar as well as blue-collars workers are suffering from psychological and physical stress stemming from work.

再如:

「 Environmental problem is too big for individual countries and individual people to address. In other words, we have reached the stage where the only way to protect the environment is at an international level. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement? 」

本题话题为环境问题，考生也可用重述法对当前环境问题进行重述，这时，可以用In modern society/ At present, 等表时间的介词短语来引导一个叙述句型。

参考：

In modern society, environment related issues have confronted ecological scientists, government agencies and the general public.