1.提出需要议论的议题；

　　2.摆出正反两方面的观点；

　　3.表明作者持何种态度；

　　4.论证自己观点的正确性从而使读者接受自己的观点；

　　5.小结。

　　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，啰啰唆唆；

　　2.正反两方面的观点一般都要摆出，有时也有只强调一种观点的，那么这就等于将上述第二点和第三点合在一起了；

　　3.作者的观点必须鲜明，不能模棱两可；

　　4.论证自己的观点是议论文的最关键的部分。论证手段与英语说明文中的一些写作手法相同，常用的有罗列法、举例法、因果法、比较法等等。

　　5.对于较长的英语议论文还可以在文章结尾时对全文要点作一小结。

　　下面这篇学生作文是较为典型的一篇英语议论文：

　　Should Examination Be Abolished（取消）？

　　The examination system has come to be the main theme（主题）of modern education. One should take an examination andsucceed in passing it before he could be admitted，promoted or graduated. As it plays so important a role in the realm of education（教育的领域）it is under much criticism（评论）as to its validity（有效性）. People who are in favour of it try to develop this system more； those who are against it believe that such a system should be abolished. Should examination be abolished？ In my opinion it should be.

　　Many people think that an examination is the only means to test knowledge，but，in fact，that is not true. A few questions given in an examination could by no means cover the whole field of the subject. Thus those who are able to answer them may be the poorest of the students and yet happen to know just a few points about that subject.

　　I'd like to say that，because of the existence of the examination system，students pay so much attention to gaining high marks，that they often forget the chief purpose of education. The so-called clever students devote（贡献）themselves to the study of textbooks only. They，of course，know nothing but the skeleton（梗概）of knowledge. The end and aim of education，however，is to enable students to learn how to live. To do this，students must get themselves to do all kinds of training，physicalas well as mental. The present examination system has discouraged students from making such an attempt.

　　Moreover，since the students try so hard to put their lessons into memory in as short a time as possible，psychologically（心理上来看），they soon forget the whole subject as soon as the examination is over. Surely this is one of the greatest wastes ever made in the history of civilization.

　　Lastly，in order to get high marks，there is a great temptation（诱惑）for students to cheat（作弊）in an examination. Indeed，such a practice becomes the means to the end. They cheat their teachers，their parents and also themselves. Such a tendency would impair（损害）our moral standards（道德标准）.

　　Therefore，I am of the opinion，in conclusion，that the examination system should be abolished.