“没有规矩，不成方圆。”对于一般英语学习者而言，写出优秀的文章有赖于后天习得，但并不意味着机械背诵、生吞活剥，或者照搬照抄、人云亦云。所谓研习，需要有独立思考和个人的判断，本着“他山之石，可以攻玉”的精神，汲取文章的精华部分加以研究。研习主要侧重两个方面，包括文章章法和语言表达。文章章法指文章的行文思路、布局谋篇、结构安排、逻辑顺序。许多学习者面对一个话题，可能存在两种不同的困惑，一是下笔千言，但离题万里;二是思绪万千，却无从落笔。导致两种困惑的根源皆在于欠缺思考问
题、组织思路的恰当方式，以至于文章不得要领、章法紊乱。这就要求我们从全篇脉络角度多研习范文，之后领悟如何以演绎法行文、怎样用归纳法谋篇以及如何围绕特定话题拓展思路等等。此外，研习还要侧重于语言表达，包括遣词造句和句子、段落之间的各种衔接手段，以用在自己日后的写作中派上用场，因为英文写作皆通一理。只有善于借鉴，勤加研究，才会借他人的优势和长处，提高自己的写作水平。
背诵
背诵是提高写作的又一有效途径。要学好写作，首先要处理好语言输入与输出之间的关系。前者是后者的前提条件。如果头脑空空如也，就根本谈不上写出像模像样的文章。只有读过大量东西，并且有意识地将其中精彩部分储存于记忆之中(commit the highlights to memory)，才能保证下笔流畅、文通字顺。因此，背诵对于写作极为重要。但背诵不是机械记忆，而是有选择性的背诵，是有意义的记忆。因为机械背诵的结果要么是记忆很快就荡然无存、了无痕迹，要么是无法活学活用、付诸实践。背诵包括五个方面：重点词汇、常用套语、精彩句子、优秀段落、经典篇章。
重点词汇
美妙的用词及搭配皆在此列，像fall victim(受害)，stand a fair chance(大有希望)这种地道的动宾搭配要勤加记忆。为了积累写作词汇，应将文中同属一个话题的用词汇总归纳，组成主题词族(topic family)。归类记忆可以使自己日后即写即用，得心应手。下文是一篇阐释爱心的优秀文章，多处用词精巧，现将文中关于爱心这一主题的词汇总结如下：
emotional strength 情感的力量
the noblest of human emotions 人类最高尚的情感
no thought of gain 不计得失
the lamp of love 爱心之灯
help the victims of natural disasters 支援自然灾害受害者
donate whatever they can 倾囊相助
help their needy fellow citizens 帮助有需要的同胞
be ready to give a helping hand 随时准备伸出援手
When we use the word “love”，we do not simply mean an attraction to a person of the opposite sex，which is a very narrow definition of the word. Love is emotional strength，which can support us no matter how dark the world around us becomes. In fact，throughout history people of many different cultures have regarded love as the noblest of human emotions.
As an example of the power of love，we should remember how the Chinese people of all nationalities respond to the call to help the victims of natural disasters every year. Although their incomes are still low by international standards，people all over the country do not hesitate to donate whatever they can ― be it money or goods ― to help their needy fellow citizens. Moreover，they do this with no thought of gain for themselves.
In my opinion，the best way to show love is to help people who are more unfortunate than we are. We should always be ready to give a helping hand to those who are in trouble，no matter whether they are family members or complete strangers. In this way，we can help to make the world a better place，for the darker the shadows of sorrow become，the more brightly the lamp of love shines.
当我们用“爱”这个词时，我们不仅仅指异性对一个人的吸引，这只是对这个词非常狭隘的解释。爱心是一种情感的力量，不论我们周围的世界多么黑暗，爱心都能支撑我们。事实上，纵观历史，不同文化背景的人都把爱看成是人类最高尚的情感。
说到爱心的力量，我们马上就会想起每年中国各族人民是如何响应号召支援自然灾害受害者的。尽管按照国际标准他们的收入还处于低水平，全国人民毫不犹豫地倾囊相助――不管是钱还是物――帮助那些有需要的同胞。而且，他们这么做并不考虑自己的得失。
我认为，表达爱心的最好方式是帮助比我们更加不幸的人。我们应该随时准备向有困难的人伸出援助之手，无论他们是家庭成员还是素昧平生。这样，我们就能够助一臂之力把世界变成一个更美好的地方，因为，悲伤的阴影越黑暗，爱心之灯的光芒就越闪亮。
常用套语
套语指流行的公式化语言，在写作中适当使用颇有必要。如在商业信函结尾，期望对方早日回复的表达方式就要遵循套语的基本模式，使表达规范得体。下面试举几个例子：
Kindly favor us with an early reply. 请早日赐复。
Your prompt reply will be highly appreciated. 如能及时回复，将不胜感谢。
We look forward to hearing from you soon. 早日回复。
We are expecting your prompt reply. 急盼回复。
Please have the kindness to answer this letter quickly. 请早日回信。
Kindly let us have your reply at your earliest convenience. 请在您方便时尽早赐函。
We would appreciate it if you could respond right away. 如能即刻回复，将不胜感谢。
当前流行应试写作模板，即套语的使用贯穿文章始终，万能公式型的文章主架，每句表达皆由固定套语框定，考生只要背下套用句型、过渡词语，在考试中根据特定考题填充具体内容。这种应试策略使写出的文章矫揉造作，生硬刻板，虽可以让考生及格过关，但绝对得不到高分。套语的过多使用不妨可以比作大海中的救生圈，有了它，仅仅可以让不擅游泳者保全性命，却无法自在畅游，一展泳姿。一般而言，套语较为空洞，如使用过多，文章容易流于空泛，言之无物。写作宜虚实结合，形式与内容相统一。下例是一篇比较在家学习与入校读书谁优谁劣的范文，文中巧妙地使用了一些固定句式和过渡词语，不仅增强了表达效果，而且实现了形式与内容的统一。
There are two major arguments that can be made for studying at home. First，as advances in the electronic media have brought the whole world of scholarship into the home via the Internet and educational courses on TV，the classroom is no longer the only place for acquiring knowledge. Second，it is widely held that a person studies better in the familiar surroundings of his own home and when he can arrange his own study time.
But we must not lose sight of the fact that there are advantages to studying in the classroom，too. Being surrounded by people of roughly the same abilities and interests can be a great stimulus to acquiring knowledge，whereas studying in solitude at home is boring for many people. More importantly，there can be no substitute for a good teacher，who must not only be able to impart facts and theories，but also to appraise and encourage his students.
Given the choice between these two methods of learning，I prefer the classroom. This is because I am the sort of person who finds it difficult to concentrate on study in the midst of household chores，and disturbances from visitors and telephone calls. The classroom environment，I feel，is the only one in which most people feel comfortable applying all their energies to the all-important task of acquiring knowledge.
关于在家学习，我们可以提出两个主要论点。第一，由于电子媒体方面取得的进步把整个世界的知识通过互联网和电视上的教育课程带入了家庭，教室不再是惟一获取知识的场所。第二，人们普遍认为，在自己家里这样熟悉的环境中，并且能自己安排学
