英文寫作一直是台灣高中生的困擾，尤其面臨學測或指考時，要在30到40分鐘內寫出一篇文情並茂、條理分明的文章，並不是一件容易的事。因此，平時針對寫作要做的功課可不能少，寫作的實力就是要靠自己的努力一點一滴累積。那要怎麼開始準備呢？
一、用筆記本寫下常用的字詞和句型：
準備一本可隨身攜帶的筆記本，在課文、雜誌、同學的作文，任何文章中看到適用的單字、片語、句型，分類寫在筆記本中。但切記，不用記錄「所有」你不會的單字，這樣資料會太混雜，造成記憶上的困難。蒐集寫作上常用到的字詞和句型即可。如，蒐集同義詞、近義詞：
happy = delightful = cheerful = pleasant = ecstatic sad = down = sorrowful = depressed = downhearted
由於寫作時間緊迫，若不提前準備，多半會選用腦中第一個出現的字—通常都是最簡單如happy、sad、good、bad等詞。若平時就能反覆熟悉蒐集的字詞，字彙量就能提升，片語及句型的用法也是一樣的道理。
二、熟悉各類作文的結構：
寫作的結構其實大同小異，若勾勒出架構，再填入內容，一篇四平八穩的文章就能產出。
(1)看圖寫作：看圖寫作就是講故事。要讓自己的故事突出須掌握三個特點：細節、畫面、吸引人的結局。不論是細節或畫面都需要單字、片語、句型相輔相成的營造，最後結局再來一個讓人眼睛一亮的轉折，就能取得高分。
(2)圖表寫作：圖表寫作考驗敘述圖表的能力，可藉由固定的句型將內容清楚陳述，如：According to the table/chart/diagram/graph、we can see (that) +子句， 或As can be seen from the chart/diagram/graph/figures，以及figures/statistics shows (that) +子句。在圖表資料中，挑一樣最讓你驚訝、或與你最相關的資料，結合自身經驗的描述更引人入勝。
(3)意見陳述：指考及學測的題目多希望考生表達自己的想法及意見，因此，平常多閱讀，學習有條理地陳述意見相當重要。此類作文有一定的結構模式，第一段多為開頭＋兩點意見＋小結論的組合，第二段則是利用個人經驗輔佐說明第一段所提出的意見，最後再加上一至兩句話總結整篇文章。
光是說明好像很抽象，現在讓我們看看兩個高三生所寫的好文章吧！（請先閱讀文章，再看文章解析喔。）
範例一：看圖寫作
看圖寫作的答題重點在於細節的描述與精彩的故事情節。以下範例敘述一段學生在數學課中用手機偷看影片、被老師發現的小故事，一起來學習這篇佳作如何說故事，讓情節更吸引人。
4“Math classes must be the most boring thing that human beings have ever created.” My mind flies around randomly as I stared into the clock hung above the blackboard with 3 Teacher Ma's eager tone flowing in and out of my ears. Then suddenly, I realized,“Why am I sitting here wasting my time when I could have so much fun from something else?”
1 And so I did, sneaking the cellphone out from my desk, hopping into the modern 3 "Alice's rabbit hole"—YouTube, that is. One by one, video clips ran their time-bars, with me holding the urge to burst into laughter. Entertained, and somewhat proud that my doings had yet to be discovered by the enthusiastic teacher on the stage, I clicked the video titled “You laugh, you lose.”
I was doing fine in the first three minutes as it went, but then there came this old man, who had the strangest laughter I've ever heard in my life, and that was the moment I know my defeat had come. But things did not end easily, as I forgot to remain controlled from this hilarious video. I laughed out loud. A laughter so loud and clear that pretty much everyone turned their focus onto my strange acts. 2 Interrupted by my unusual behavior, Teacher Ma walked over, expecting an explanation from me. It wasn't needed though, as he soon discovered the phone held in my hands.
3 With a stone-cold expression, he grabbed the phone away from my hands. Surprised, I yelled,4“Hey! Give it back!” Then, from out of nowhere, the usually gentle and harmless teacher threw the phone unto the ground with the screen scattered into pieces. He then returned to the stage, looking like as if nothing had happened, leaving us all shocked. 4 "Turn to page 87, everyone." said Teacher Ma. The class continued, but with an eerie silence. 3 And a frozen me.
1.字彙與句型的活用—形容詞、副詞、動詞
sneaking透露出在上課中偷偷摸摸拿出手機使用的緊張心情，hopping into表示愉悅且迫不及待，跟後面「Alice's rabbit hole」譬喻結合，說明了要脫離無聊數學課，跳進驚奇世界的期待心情， 兩個動詞完整捕捉主角心情。
2.運用分詞構句
這個句子巧妙地使用分詞構句來陳述動作：過去分詞（interrupted）及現在分詞（expecting）縮短了動作間的時間差，製造出緊張感。分詞構句是高中英文中最重要的句構，善用分詞構句來描述多個動作，除了能讓句子簡潔不囉唆，更能加快節奏，讓動作間的時間差縮短。
3.生動的譬喻
這幾個譬喻生動又有畫面！看圖寫作很重要的技巧就是藉由許多活潑貼切的描述，讓故事活脫在眼前。
4.關鍵句的引用
關鍵句是看圖寫作中很簡單的技巧，利用引號引述主角的內心話或關鍵對話，即能以第一人稱的角度，瞬間將讀者帶進故事。但要切記，一個故事不宜引用過多關鍵句，頂多五句，以免看圖寫作變成劇本了。
範例二：意見陳述
題目：請以性別刻板印象為主題，寫一篇至少120字的作文。第一段請說明你曾遭遇過哪些性別刻板印象，及這些經驗對你的影響；第二段請描述性別刻板印象形成的可能原因，及消除刻板印象的方法。（取自妙妙卷）
1 Have you ever been told to act like a specific way just because of your gender? If your answer is yes, you have been through gender stereotypes. 2It is actually pretty common for people to have these kinds of experiences, and I do, too. 3 As being male in gender, since I was a child, I have been taught to be brave, to put away my tears, and to be certain at making choices. I had a pretty hard time fitting in this kind of gender stereotype. Since I was shy, people often told me to "be a man". I couldn't forget that one time when tears began rolling down my cheeks, a man just yelled at me "Stop acting like a GIRL!" As a result, this gender stereotype forced me to always remind myself to act braver in front of other people.
4 My guess is that the stereotype for men to act bravely probably came from the structure of a family in the past. In the past, men were supposed to earn money, and women were expected to stay at home and take care of the family. 5 Hence, men had to be brave so that they could protect their family. Nowadays, women and men are treated equally. They can both go to work and be the breadwinners of the family. 5 Nevertheless, people still expect men to be brave in any condition. To eliminate this kind of gender stereotype, it is important for people to realize that they can't expect a person to be brave just because he is a "man". Also, being depressed and lacking confidence aren't just traits of women. 6 Instead of asking a man to "act like a man" or having fixed expectations for women, people should remember that a person's personality doesn't rely on his/her gender.
1.結構清晰完整
以提問的方式開頭，能讓讀者覺得有參與感，且藉由問題回答定義了性別歧視，接著分享自己兒時的經驗，然後在第一段結尾做了一個小結論。
2.It is + a. + for人+ to +原形動詞
用It is開頭來描述一個狀況，再如例句加上個人經驗（and I do, too），自然地將自己及讀者連結在一起。
3.to+原形動詞，三個相同構句的連用
排比讓語氣有越來越強調的感覺。除了排比，長句與短句的交錯使用，也能創造出快慢交錯的節奏感。長句短句在第一篇範文中頻繁出現，如：I laughed out loud. A laughter so loud and clear that pretty much everyone turned their focus onto my strange acts.
4.My guess is that +句子
可帶出自己對一個議題的意見，跟In my opinion、In my point of view或From my viewpoint/perspective意思相似，不同的地方是，它和It seems to me that＋句子，都是表達比較婉轉、客觀的看法。
5.轉折語的使用
意見陳述的寫作要能清楚條列意見及想法，也要提出自身經驗輔佐論述，故轉折語，如Therefore、Hence、Yet、Besides、Moreover；時間順序語，如First、Second、Next、Then、Later的活用很關鍵。
6.Instead of + N./Ving
instead of的句型能協助重點的強調，在論對錯是非的文章中，此句型能幫你點出重點。
看了這麼多寫作技巧及範例，是否也覺得手癢想動筆寫寫看呢？寫作是各項功夫的總和，想要寫好一篇英文作文並不是一蹴可幾，而是要靠日常的努力與練習慢慢累積，看到好文章、好句子、好用法，千萬別猶豫，趕緊記在自己的筆記本裡。先試著模仿寫出類似的好句子，熟練後，就能內化成為自己能運用自如的技巧了！ Don't doubt it! Yes, you can write, too!
文／張秀帆
延伸閱讀》活用基本句型 英文寫作不卡關
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