嚴格來講，我們所說的寫作其實可以分為Creative Writing 和Academic Writing 兩種，Creative Writing 會偏文學類壹點，應用會相對少壹些，而Academic Writing 則幾乎是所有英語學習者都必需用到的技能，比如從四六級到托福雅思的考試作文，學術論文，日常郵件，陳述講稿等，我們接下來要說的也是Academic Writing 這壹類型的寫作。
對於英文寫作提升，我們要解決的有兩個主要問題：閱讀和模仿。
先說閱讀。
壹個現實情況是，有不少人雖然學了好幾年英語，但學習過的資料大部分是為了應付考試，比如四六級的詞匯書、作文書，或者各種習題資料，終歸沒脫離開考試的範圍，除此之外讀過的原版書幾乎壹個手指頭都能數得過來了。如果沒有足夠的素材儲備，他們寫出來的作文可能會是這樣的：
Nowadays,with the rapid development of society, purpose of education being changed.There are some people who think that competition in children should be made .Others believe that children who are taught to cooperate as well as become more useful adults.There are advantages and disadvantages for both of the arguments.
To begin with, what is good if a sense of competition in children is made? They can develop themselves more and more as they learn and study a lot to win from the competition.To prove this, in my country it is popular and common to have a tutor who come to students' house to teach extra pieces of study with paying a lot of money. ...
上面的這兩段是我從壹篇學生習作中選的，其文風和錯誤應該都非常典型：生硬套用作文模板，中式英語，語法錯誤，內容空泛...造成這種問題的壹個主要原因就是讀英語讀得太少了，腦子裏幾乎沒有什麽地道的英文儲備，寫出來的東西也不會高明到那裏去。
因此，提高英文寫作水平的第壹步是：大量閱讀，閱讀是壹個量變引發質變的過程，在妳讀到壹定量的時候，可能會在某壹瞬間突然發現虛擬語氣原來是這種感覺，動詞搭配原來是這麽回事...當妳提筆寫作的時候，妳會在腦海裏重現類似的例句。新手可以從泛讀開始，選擇壹些生詞較少，內容簡短且情節精彩的小說，慢慢培養閱讀的習慣，有條件的可以去買個kindle, 閱讀體驗會更好。大量的閱讀會帶來詞匯量的提升，通過閱讀積累的詞匯理解最為深刻，記憶效果也最好，最容易轉化為積極詞匯從而應用到寫作中去。
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在泛讀的同時還要註意壹點：強化語法。語法有多重要？舉個例子，現在分詞過去分詞及各種從句的靈活運用，主動被動的轉換，虛擬語氣表達的特殊感情，這些都是寫作的基本技巧。語法不好，寫作水平也不會高到哪裏去，具體表現為通篇語病，只會用簡單句型，不會寫漂亮的長短句，偶爾憋出個長句還是錯的。不會運用高級語法，比如獨立主格，虛擬語氣等，句式的多樣性和表達的靈活性受到很大的影響。因此我們有必要強化壹下語法。基本思路是先通讀壹兩本語法書，建立起基本的語法框架，然後通過大量的閱讀和聽力練習不斷鞏固完善語法。目前市面上的語法書非常多，但內容其實都大同小異，挑選好壹兩本認真啃下去就是，推薦《賴世雄語法》 或者劍橋的語法在用系列。
寫作進階：品經濟學人，習上乘佳作
在大量閱讀，強化語法的基礎上，相信妳現在寫作時已經能夠做到少犯或不犯語法錯誤，寫出來的英文還算湊合了，這個時候如果需要進壹步提高文筆應該怎麽做？可以采用精讀經濟學人以及使用英英詞典和搭配詞典的方法。以Academic Writing 為例，壹篇漂亮的文章至少要做到以下幾點：句式豐富多變，長短句靈活應用，用詞準確出彩，論點豐富，論證有力，邏輯嚴謹。而經濟學人就滿足這種“漂亮”文章的標準，是非常好的閱讀和模仿素材。好的文章是模仿出來的，要學會模仿閱讀時遇到的優美的詞匯用法、句型結構、巧妙的比喻、幽默的風格等等，慢慢化為自己的熟練表達。
比如很多人習作中出現的壹個問題是句式單壹，用詞平庸。我們可以學習壹下經濟學人文章的寫法，增加語言的張力。舉個例子，下面的這壹段節選自上周的經濟學人文章 The enemy within:
EMPLOYEES are often said to be a company’s biggest resource. It is equally true that they are its biggest liability.Scarcely a week goes by without a company falling victim to employees-turned-enemies-or-embarrassments. On July 20th Ashley Madison, a website for married people looking to have an affair, announced that it had been hacked. Noel Biderman, the company’s chief executive, says that he thinks the attack was “an inside job”. On July 6th HSBC fired a group of employees when it emerged that they had filmed themselves engaged inan “ISIS-style mock beheading” of an Asian colleague dressed in an orange jumpsuit.
The most familiar type of enemy within is the fraudster. The Economist Intelligence Unit, a sister organisation of The Economist, conducts a regular poll of senior executives on the subject of fraud committed by insiders. In 2013 the poll discovered that about 70% of companies had suffered from at least one instance of fraud, up from 61% in the previous survey. Fraud is often petty: a survey of British employees for YouGov in 2010 found that a quarter of staff eligible for expenses admitted to inflating claims. But fraud can also be more audacious and more harmful: think of former employees setting up rivals using stolen technology and purloined client lists.
從上面的文章中我們可以學到什麽？
4個寫作時可以用上的句式：
1....are often said to...it is equally true that...
2.Scarcely a week/month/year goes by without...
3....when it emerged that...
4.discovered that about 70% ...up from 61%...
10個詞匯和短語：
1.liability
2.fall victim to
3.have an affair
4.behead
5.fraudster
6.eligible for
7.inflate (to make a number or price higher than it should be)
8.audacious
9.set up
10.purloin
這僅僅是兩小段而已，整篇文章能學到的東西更多。妳可以有意識地將上面學到的單詞和句式應用到妳的寫作中去，比如第壹個句型"...are often said to...it is equally true that..."可以用來說明事物具有兩面性，這個句式不知道比那句蹩腳的 "there are advantages and disadvantages..." 要高到哪裏去了。
送個福利給大家吧，我用kindle看經濟學人的過程中碰到好的句型以及值得註意的詞匯短語會把它們都做上標記，到目前為止已經積累了1000多條筆記了。我打算把它們***享出來。這1000多條筆記裏既有像 "That so many people in so many different parts of the world are prepared to risk so much for this idea is testimony to its enduring appeal." 這樣讀起來鏗鏘有力的長句，也有像"Their likes and dislikes make or break products." 這樣短小精悍，用詞驚艷的短句。沒事把這些句子讀壹讀，學習其中的好詞好句，並將它們運用到寫作中去，相信妳會有很大的收獲。（筆記下載鏈接在文末）
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寫作中容易出現的另外壹個問題是：文章空洞無物，整篇文章翻來覆去都是在表達同壹個意思，而且論證不夠有力，缺乏邏輯性，這樣的文章即使辭藻再華麗也是沒有靈魂的。怎樣讓文章有內容有靈魂？看看經濟學人是怎麽做的：
經濟學人的文章除了出色的語言表達技巧之外，最大的亮點其實它能夠提出壹套解決方案。怎麽理解？舉個例子，比如美國發生了嚴重的槍擊案，其他的報刊壹般這樣報道：美國又發生槍擊案了，這次又造成了多少傷亡，兇手是什麽什麽背景，末了可能還會吐槽下槍支制度不合理，發幾張照片煽煽情。
如果換做是經濟學人的話，它除了報道基本新聞事實之外還會提出壹個解決方案：大家別忙著悲傷了，冷靜壹下，既然現在已經發生槍擊案了，為了防止悲劇再次發生，我們需要 a.修改槍支管理法律 b.個人要加強槍支安全意識 c.回收部分管制槍支 d...... 有理有據地跟妳擺事實，講道理。而我們要學習的就是經濟學人對新聞事件的解讀分析思路，關註從新聞推斷事物的邏輯過程，從而提高在寫作時發散論點的能力以及論證的力度。
The weaker sex 這篇文章就很好地體現了從發現問題到提出解決方案的過程。文章的背景是富裕國家男孩的表現正在落後於女孩。我們來看看經濟學人是怎樣分析問題提出解決方案的：
1. What can be done? Part of the solution lies in a change in cultural attitudes. 解決方案1
2. Policymakers also need to lend a hand, because foolish laws are making the problem worse. 解決方案2
3. Even more important than scrapping foolish policies is retooling the educational system, which was designed in an age when most men worked with their muscles. 解決方案3
4. More generally, schools need to become more boy-friendly. 解決方案4
四個段落總起句提出了四種解決方案，並在每壹段詳細展開，論點發散充分，論證過程也非常有力度，整個解決問題的思路非常清晰。寫作的時候多體會這種發現問題-解決問題的思路，像經濟學人壹樣去論證妳的觀點。