一、写英语作文时，使用各种语法手段是必要的。语言的形成是先有“语（声音）”，后有“言（文字）”，最后在 “语言”实践的基础上才上升为指导使用语言的“语法”。没有人因为不懂得语法而不会讲话。因此，写作文时应该按照题目的要求组织语句和段落，没有必要先考虑语法而后构思句子。可以按照下列四步去完成写作任务：
1. 勾勒要点：即把作文要求中的所有要点没有遗漏地勾勒出来。
2. 编写提纲：即用英语简单句按照要点写成提纲。
3. 梳理成段：即用必要的连接手段把提纲按照发展顺序梳理成段。
4. 润色成文：即在已经构思好的段落中添加比较高级的词语，如过渡句、关联词语等，并把简单句改写为复杂句，如各种复合句、非谓语动词、虚拟语气等。
二、另外，有效地使用了语句间的连接成分，使全文结构紧凑，是高考作文能否获得高分的必要手段。因此，考试前有必要学会语句间的承接手段。
1. 有些孤立的句子，可以通过下列手段，使它们有机的连接紧凑：
a) 表示先后次序：at this time; first; second; at last; next；previously; simultaneously; eventually；last but not least；to begin with；to start with；to end with；finally；seeing...；since then；first of all；afterwards; following this; preceding this.
b) 表示因果关系： because；because of this；being that；another important factor／reason of...；since；as；for；in that...；owing to；due to；for the reason that...；in view of；the reason seems to be obvious; there are about...；for this reason; as a result of this；therefore；...and so...；consequently；as a result；thus；hence；so；so that...；in consequence；as a consequence；accordingly; inevitably; under these conditions; thereupon.
c) 表示转折关系：but；even so；however；though；even though；independent of；reckless of；despite that；in spite of that；regardless of; yet...；and yet；but unless.
d) 表示并列关系：and; also；too；as well as；either...，or...；both...and...
2. 如果要从一层意思过渡到另一层意思，可以使用下面的词语：
a) 表示补充或递进：furthermore；moreover；further；In this way；still；not only...but also...；not...but...；in addition (to)；additionally, much more interesting, more specifically, next, besides；as far as... is concerned; moreover；in other words；along this line of consideration；on the one hand...，on the other hand...；even；as a poplar saying goes...；in order to do it...; meanwhile；at the same time；accordingly；In the first place...，in the second place...;equally important; of even greater appeal.
b)表示对照：yet; still; for all of that; notwithstanding; rather; neither ... nor; although; though; but; however; something is just the other way around；yet; conversely；unlike；opposed to; as opposed to；in contrast (to)；by way of；on the contrary；different from this；as opposed to this；nevertheless; contrary to；whereas；while；but on the other hand.
3. 用来扩展文章篇幅可以使用如下手段：
a) 举例： for example；for instance；in this case; namely；as you know；as he explains；like；such as；a case in point is...; consider...；in particular；including...；for one thing...，for another...；put it simply；stated roughly；as an illustration，I will say...；a good example (of...)would be...；to detail this，I would like to...；It is interesting to note that...；in this situation; as proof; take the case of; take as example (something)；as for; as regards；as to；according to; on this occasion.
b) 重申：in other words; that is to say; as I have said; again; once again, namely
4. 需要把简单句变成复杂句，下列手段是必要的：
a) 进行比较：similarly; in like manner, in comparison with；when compared with；compared with；when in fact...; like...；likewise；similarly important；apart from (doing)...；... rather than...，by doing so；both…and...; in the same way; not only...but (also).
b) 予以强调：in fact; especially；particularly；moreover；naturally; what is more important；in reality；certainly; of course; indeed; in particular；not to mention...；believe it or not；undeniably; other thing being equal；it is certain／sure that...；to be strict; to be true；by definition; definitely; undoubtedly; without a doubt; in truth, in any event(不论怎样); without reservation(毫无保留地); obviously, not only.. but(also...), both... and...
c) 增加条件：if；unless; lest；provided that；if it is the case；in this sense；once...；if possible；if necessary；if so；if not all; if anything.
d) 指出地点： beyond; opposite to; adjacent to; at the same place; there; over; in the middle; around; in front of; in the distance; farther; here and there; above; below; at the right; between; on this side.
e) 说明目的：with this object; for this purpose; in order that; in this way, since; so that; on that account; in case; with a view to; for the same reason.
f) 得出结果：accordingly; thus; consequently; hence; therefore; thereupon; inevitably; under these conditions; as a result; as a consequence; because; because of; so that; not only...but (also...); so... as to.
g) 说明时间：at once; immediately; at length; in the mean time; meanwhile; at the same time; in the end; then; soon; not long after; later; at once; at last; finally; some time ago; at present; all of a sudden; from this time on; from time to time; since then; when; whenever; next point; a few minutes later; formerly; as; once; since; occasionally; in a moment; shortly; whereupon; previously
5. 文章结尾——归纳总结类：
in other words；on the whole; in sum; therefore；hence；in short；in brief；to sum up；in conclusion; in summary；to conclude；the conclusion can be drawn that...; for this reason; in short.
三、作文举例如下：
（一）题目：写一封请一位外国朋友来学校当教师的信。
内容——课程：英语日报、英语写作、今日美国、今日英语等。对象：高中生。工作量：每周12节课。担任顾问。
（二）写作步骤
1. 勾勒要点
a) 格式：邀请信
b) 外国的朋友来学校当教师
c) 担任课程：英语日报、英语写作、今日美国、今日英语
d) 授课对象：高中生
e) 工作量：每周12节课。
f) 角色：担任顾问
2. 拟写提纲
a) It is my pleasure to invite you to be an English teacher and adviser.
b) Your students are all of senior classes
c) You are asked to shoulder some courses, such as English Daily, English Writing, America Nowadays, English Today
d) Your workload will be 12 periods per week
3. 梳理成段（括号中是梳理过程中添加的词语）
It is my pleasure to invite you to be an English teacher and adviser. Your students are all of senior classes. You are asked to shoulder some courses, such as English Daily, English Writing, America Nowadays (and) English Today. (The school authority says that) your workload will be 12 periods per week.
4. 润色成文（括号中是在梳理段中增添的润色部分）
Dear, XX
(I am supposed to be) pleasure to invite you to be an English teacher and adviser (in our school). I am informed that your students are all the senior classes, (me and my classmates included, by the way). (Besides,) you are asked to shoulder some courses, such as English Daily, English Writing, America Nowadays (and) English Today. (So, I suggest that you gird yourelf with some necessary materials ahead of schedule before leaving for China). (Otherwise, I have to let you know) the school authority says (that they decided) your workload will be 12 periods per week. Please let me have your answer as to your own views on this matter as soon as possible. I am looking forward to your arriving.
High regards!
Yours,
XXX