作文频道小编搜集了英语说明文的写作方法，希望可以帮助到大家。
1.罗列法(listing)
在文章开始时提出需要说明的东西和观点，然后常用first，second，…and finally加以罗列说明。罗列法广泛地使用于各类指导性的说明文之中，下面这篇学生作文就是用罗列法写成的：
Early Rising
Early rising (早起) is helpful in more than one way. First， it helps to keep us fit (健康)。 We all need fresh air. But air is never so fresh as early in the morning. Besides， we can do good to our health from doing morning exercise (做早操)。
Secondly， early rising helps us in our studies. We learn more quickly in the morning， and find it easier to remember what we learn in the morning.
Thirdly， early rising enables (使能够) us to plan the work of the day. We cannot work well without a good plan. Just as the plan for the year should be made in the spring， so the plan for the day should be made in the morning.
Fourthly， early rising gives us enough time to get ready for our work， such as to wash our faces and hands and eat our breakfast properly.
Late risers may find it very difficult to form the habit of early rising. They ought to make special efforts to do so. As the English proverb says，“Early to bed and early to rise， makes a man healthy， wealthy and wise.”
罗列法经常用下列句式展开段落，我们可以注意模仿学习：
There are several good reasons why we should learn a foreign language. First of all， …Secondly， …And finally， …
We should try our best to plant more trees for several good reasons First of all， …Secondly， …And finally，
必须指出的是，有时罗列法并不一定有明确的first， second…等词，但文章还是以罗列论据展开的。
2.举例法(examples)
举例法是用具体的例子来说明我们要表达的意思，常用for example， for instance， still another example is…等词语引出。下面这篇学生作文就是用举例法写成的：
Recreation
It is impossible to keep in good health unless we take enough recreation (娱乐)。 The mind， too， needs change to make it fresh and vigorous (有活力的) There is much truth in the old saying， All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.“
There are many games which boys and girls can play after their school work is done， for instance， football， tennis， and kite-flying. Other examples of recreation are boating， fishing， gardening， cycling， walking， chess-playing， and reading. Persons who sit much at their business should take a kind of recreation that will supply their muscles (肌肉) with exercise. Those who spend most of their time in the open air and do manual work (体力活) should adopt (采纳) reading or some other quiet form of recreation.
Cycling is said to be an important means of recreation， but many persons foolishly tire out themselves by cycling too much. The same may be said in regard to football. Tennis is a pleasant form of recreation. Many persons take great delight in boating. Fishing requires much patience， and there is much danger of taking cold by sitting still on a cold day too long. A good brisk (轻松) walk is one of the finest forms of exercise. For persons engaged in outdoor labor， chess-playing is another excellent form of recreation.
可以看出，举例法和罗列法有时可以结合使用：即用罗列法来列出例子，用例子充实罗列的说明。
3.比较法(comparison and contrast)
比较法是对两个对象进行比较，从而进行说明的写作手法。比较法又可细分为比较相同点(comparison)和比较不同点(contrast)两种方法，比如：
From Paragraph to Essay
Although they are different in length (长度)， the paragraph and the essay are quite similar in structure (结构)。 For example， the paragraph starts with either a topic sentence (主题句) or a topic introducer followed by a topic sentence. In the essay， the first paragraph sets up the topic focus (主题所在) Next， the sentences in the body of a paragraph develop the topic sentence. Similarly， the body of an essay consists of a number of paragraphs that discuss and support the ideas given in the introductory (引导的) paragraph. Finally， a concluding sentence (结束句) ——whether a restatement， conclusion， or observation——ends the paragraph. The essay， too， has a concluding paragraph which ends the essay logically and satisfactorily. Although there are some exceptions (例外)， most well written expository (说明文的) paragraphs and essays are similar in structure.
可以看出，在比较相同点的时候，常用到similarly，also，too，in the same case，in spite of the difference等这样的词语。
European Football and American Football
Although European football