议论文是作者对某个问题或某件事进行分析、评论，表明自己的观点、立场、态度、看法和主张的一种文体。议论文有三要素，即论点、论据和论证。论点的基本要求是：观点正确，认真概括，有实际意义；论据的基本要求是：真实可靠，充分典型；论证的基本要求是：推理必须符合逻辑。

英语议论文的结构一般较为固定，通常包括以下三部分：

1. 在导语部分提出需要议论的议题；

2. 在正文部分对所提出的问题进行议论；

3. 在结论部分对以上的讨论进行总结和归纳。

写议论文要考虑论点，考虑用什么作论据来证明，怎样来论证，然后得出结论。它可以是先提出一个总论点，然后分别进行论述，分析各个分论点，最后得出结论；或者先引述一个故事，一段对话，或描写一个场面，再一层一层地从事实中分析出道理，归纳引申出一个新的结论；也可以在文章开头先提出一个人们关心的问题，然后一一作答，逐层深入；还可以把两个不同事物以对立的方式提出来加以比较、对照，然后得出结论。

在具体写作中要注意下列几点：

1. 议题的提出要开门见山，不要拖泥带水。

2. 议论时可以采用不同的方法。如：可以摆出正反两方面观点，进行对比；也可引经据典论证作者自己观点的正确性，从而使读者接受自己的观点；亦可提出一种错误的观点然后论证其错误，最终提出正确的观点。正文部分是写作的重点，论证方法可用归纳法、推理法、比较法等。

3. 在结论部分必须表明作者的观点，对讨论的问题做出总结。

4. 注意连接词和过渡词等词语的使用，以增强文章的条理性和逻辑性。常用的过渡词和连接词包括：first, second, third, finally, in addition, furthermore, besides, what was worse, more importantly, in contrast, because, since, now that, therefore，consequently，in that case, as a result/consequence, in conclusion, to sum up等等。

请看下面的范文：

Shall we send children to study abroad?

With more and more people becoming rich in recent years, it is a new tendency for them to send their children to study abroad. But I don’t think it is a good idea. First of all, children are too young to look after themselves. Second, the language barrier is a serious problem. Many children are not proficient in the foreign language before going abroad. As a result, they have difficulty in understanding what the native speakers are talking about. Third, they may get into trouble when dealing with various situations for lack of knowledge of the customs in the strange land. Furthermore, the cost of living is much higher than that in our country, which might cause a heavy burden to the family.

In conclusion, there are more disadvantages in sending children to study abroad. So, we’d better not do it.

河南 昝亚娟