be different from in spite of
differ from…in that be dissimilar to
比较法和对照法比较常用。用比较法描述事物之间的相同之处，避免不必要的重复，使所描述的现象更通俗易懂；用对照法描述事物之间有所区别，突出主题的特征。我们在写作文的时候要注意二者的结合使用。 4. 因果法
因果是指两个事物之间的关系。原因造成某种结果，结果由某种原因发展而来。用因果关系展开段落和用列举法展开段落相似，只不过列举的是原因或结果。因果发展法可以有效地说明两个事物和两种现象之间的关系。用因果法展开段落时，所列举的原因或结果必须依照重要性的原则，按升序或降序排列。
用因果法展开段落有两种形式。第一种是：一个结果由一种或几种原因产生。如： Recently, people’s ideas about how to spend their holidays have changed a great deal. It seems that people are becoming more and more active, and they want to explore the entertainment offered by the outside world. There are several reasons why people changed their minds about holidays. With the growth of economy, people possess more money enough for them to find enjoyment in holidays. And now people work more intensively and have less time to relax. Accordingly, on holiday, an increasing number of people are eager to get close to nature, like camping in the suburbs, climbing mountains, and swimming in the sea to enjoy themselves.
此段落用一果多因的方法展开论述的。段落的开头指出，人们对节假日的观点正在发生巨大变化；接下来作者分析了产生这种现象的两个主要原因。
因果法展开段落的另一种形式是：一个原因产生一种或几种结果。如：
China’s reforms, started more than ten years ago, have brought China a lot of benefits and have changed Chinese people’s life a great deal. A lively atmosphere has prevailed in all walks of fields throughout the country. The national economy has been thriving and national defense has ever been consolidated. In science and technology, quite a lot of achievements have been made. Certainly, the progress made in all fields has led to the rising of living standard for Chinese people. For example, many electronic consuming products which were not available for most Chinese people have become very popular to thousands of Chinese families, improving people’s life. Chinese people can enjoy life more than ever before.
因果法常用的衔接词（组）：
because (of) so owning to thus
is caused by on the ground of as a result of result from therefore hence
because of the fact that consequently is a consequence of for this reason 5. 定义法
用简洁的语言确切地说明某一事物的本质特征或一个概念的内涵和外延，称为定义。定义法常用于解释字面意思模糊的词语，而这些词语往往是涉及文章中心意思的关键词。下定义可以用近义词来解释，或用一个句子来解释；有时可能还需要通过描述、举例、比较等多种手段来进一步说明。用定义的方法对文章中出现的重要词汇、术语、事物或现象加以解释，能消除读者可能产生的误解，并有助于下面其它段落的展开。定义法是写说明文常用的方法，因为说明文常常涉及到某一术语、专业性词汇或抽象概念。如：
What is honesty? Honesty means speaking the truth and being fair and upright in act. Honesty is a good virtue. He who lies and cheats is dishonest. Those who gain fortunes, not by hard labor, but by other means are dishonest.
在这一段中，第二句是关于honesty 的定义解释，第三句是补充说明。后边两句通过对比dishonesty 来进一步展开说明honesty.
另外还可以用一些格式比较灵活的方法。比如用例子，用对比，用同义词等等来下定义。 如：
1. As we all know, practice makes perfect. That is to say, if we practice something frequently, we will be able to do it perfectly.
2. Friendship is a relationship between people, being based on mutual understanding and confidence. It differs from family members. In the family we take care of each other in terms o health, diet, study and housework, this is kinship.
3. Diligence is the key to success, it means to persist in what you are doing, but it does not mean to exert ourselves all day and night without rest. The true meaning of diligence is to use time carefully for the purpose of improvements, or to work persistently without wasting time. 6. 分类法
所谓分类，即是按一定的标准，根据其不同的特征将事物进行分类。分类的过程就是分析共性和揭示差异的过程。通过分类，我们可以将大量琐碎复杂的事物按其性质、形态、原因、功能等属性分成若干类，从而一目了然地展现在读者前面。在使用分类法展开段落时，一定要注意无论对什么事物进行分类都必须有一定的标准。如：
It would be seen that there are three kinds of travel books. The first are those that give a personal, subjective account of travels which the author has actually made himself. If they are informative and have a good index, then they can be useful to you when you are planning your travels. The second are those books whose purpose is to give a purely objective description of things to be done and seen. If a well-read, cultured person has written such a book, then it is even more useful. It can be classified as a selective guide book. The third are those books which are called a guide to some place or other. If they are good, they will, in addition to their factual information, give an analysis or an interpretation. Like the first kind they can be inspiring and entertaining. But their primary function is to assist the reader who wishes to plan in the most practical way.
第一句话是段落的主题句，表明旅行书可以分为三类。接下来对三种旅行书进行了详细的解释和说明。
英文段落展开的方式不是唯一的，它可以是几种方法的结合。要写出一篇好的文章，必须根据文章的文体，选择一种甚至几种合适的方法进行论叙。在多数情况下，同一段段落中会使用一种以上的方法展开段落。这样表达出来的思想会更清楚，更完整，更有说服力。记住：方法得当，事倍功半，弱者变强者，强者更强；方法不当，事半功倍，弱者更弱，强者不强。考生应该了解各种方法的精华，达到融会贯通的程度。 第三节 逻辑组织技巧
一、句子间的衔接技巧
主题句、扩展句和结尾句三者之间紧密联系，一环扣一环，如有一环脱节，文章的连贯性（coherence）和完整性（unity）则要受到置疑。具有连贯性的段落结构清晰、逻辑性强，读者容易跟上作者的思路去理解其意图，恰当地使用衔接词是保持段落连贯性的主要方法之一。具体来说：衔接词是指在文章中用来说明上下句或前后两个意思之间关系的词或词
组。
衔接词从作用上主要分为以下四类：起、承、转、合。 1） 表示“起”的词/组：用于开篇引出扩展句。
at first 最初 firstly 第一 at the very beginning 起初 first of all 首先 at present 现在，当今 presently… 现在，此刻 in the first place currently to begin with lately to start with for one thing…(for another) recently in general on the one hand…(on the other hand) generally speaking on the whole it is said that… it goes without saying… a proverb goes well… 2） 有关“承”的常用语：用来承接上文。
after/after that /afterwards after a dew days/years after a while at the same time besides by this time consequently for example for instance for this purpose from now on further more in addition in addition to… in other words in particular in the same manner/way indeed meanwhile moreover 首先，第一 目前，最近 首先，第一 最近
首先，第一 首先…（其次）… 最近 一般来说 一方面…（另一方面）…一般来说 总起来说 据说 不用说 俗话所得好
此后
几天/几年以后 过了一会 同时 此外 此时
因此；结果 例如 例如
为了这个目的 从此
而且；此外 此外
除…之外
换句话说 特别（地） 同样的 的确 于此时 而且，此外
no doubt 无疑地 obviously 明显地 of course 当然 particularly 特别地 second 第二；第二点 secondly 第二 similarly 同样地 so 所以 soon 不久 then 然后
third 第三；第三点 thirdly 第三 for another 其次 such as 正如 later 后来
what’s more 而且；此外 3）有关“转”常用的词语：用来表示不同或相反的意见。 after all 毕竟
all the same 虽然，但是 anyway 无论如何 but 但是 by this time 此时 conversely 相反地 in/contrast 对比之下 even though 即使 though/although 尽管
nonetheless 尽管如此 in fact 事实上 as a matter of fact 事实上
despite 尽管…虽然… especially… 特别地 fortunately 幸运地…
however 然而；无论如何 in other words 换句话说 in particular 特别地
in spite of 尽管…虽然 in the same way 同样地 luckily 幸运地
nevertheless 不过；虽然如此 no doubt 无疑地 on the contrary 相反地 on the other hand 另一方面 otherwise 否则 perhaps 或许
unfortunately 不幸地
unlike 不像…；和…不同 whereas… 然而… yet 然而；但是 4） 有关“合”的常用词语：用于小结上文或结束本段落的内容。 above all 最重要 accordingly 于是 at a consequence 因此 as a result 结果
as has been stated as above mentioned as I have said at last at length by and large briefly by doing so consequently eventually finally hence in brief in conclusion in short in a word in sum in summary on the whole therefore thus to speak frankly to sum up to summarize for this reason surely to conclude no doubt undoubtedly truly so obviously certainly all in all
如前所述
如上所述 如我所述 最后
最后；终于 一般来说 简单扼要地 如此 因此 最后 最后 因此 简言之 总之；最后 简言之 总之
总之，简言之 简要地说
总起来说；整个看来 因此 因此 坦白地说 总而言之 简言之 所以 无疑
总而言之 毫无疑问 无疑 的确 所以 显然
肯定；无疑 总之