一篇文章通常可分为三个部分，即开头、正文和结尾。这三个部分安排是否得体，直接影响到文章的质量。
文章的开头一般来说应尽量做到开门见山，用简单明白的叙述引出文章的话题，使读者了解文章要谈论什么，一下于引起读者的兴趣。
作文常见的开头形式大致有以下几种：
1.开门见山，揭示主题
文章一开头，，就交待清楚文章的主题是什么。如“How I Spent My Vacation”(我怎样度假)的开头可以写成：
I Spent my lat vacation happily．
"Honety"(谈诚实)的开头可以写成：
Honety i one of the bet virtue．An honet man i alway truted and repected．On the contrary, one who tell lie i regarded a a "liar"，and i looked upon by honet people．
2.交代人物、事情、时间或环境开头
在文章的开头，先把人物、事件和环境交待清楚。例如"A Trip to Jinhan" (去金山旅游)的开头可以写成：
The day before yeterday my cla went on a bu trip to Jinhan. The bu ride there took three hour. The long trip made u very tired, but the ight of the beautiful ea refrehed u.
3. 回忆性的开头
用回忆的方法来开头。例如"A Trip to the Taihan Mountain"(泰山游)的开头是：WWw.hAOZUowEN.com
I remember my firt trip to the Taihan Mountain a if it were yeterday.
4.概括性的开头
即对要在文章中叙述的人或事先作一个概括性的介绍。如“The Happine of Reading Book”(读书的快乐)的开头：
People often ay that gold and ilver are the mot valuable thing in the world. But I ay that to read book i more valuable than anything ele, becaue book give u knowledge and knowledge give u power.
5.介绍环境式的开头
即开头利用自然景物或自然环境引出要介绍的事物。如“An Accident”(一场事故)的开头可以写成:
It wa a rainy and windy morning. The ky wa gloomy, the temperature wa low, and the treet wa nearly empty. I wa on my way back to chool. Suddenly, a peeding car came round the corner.
6.交待写作目的的开头
在文章的一开头就交待写作目的，如通过文章要表扬谁，批评谁，或说明一个什么问题等。如 "Pollution Control" (控制污染)的开头：
In thi article I hall draw your attention to the ubject of pollution control.