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 pent my vacation”（我怎样度假）的开头是：
I pent my lat vacation happily.
下面是题为“honety”（谈诚实）一文中的开头：
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：
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：[由wwW.HaoZuoWen.com整理]
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）的开头是：
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. uddenly， 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.