很多同學在寫作時往往不善于對單詞進行變化，很少有意識地將同一個意思用不同的方式表達出來，這會使文章顯得單調乏味。如果不是為了修辭需要（比如排比和強調），我們應該盡量減少寫作中的重復用詞。具體來講，我們可以通過以下這幾種方法實現(xiàn)用詞多樣化：

（1）同義詞替換

這是最簡單的一種替換方法，當句子或段落中一個詞出現(xiàn)太多次時，我們可以用單詞的同義詞來替換。舉兩個《經(jīng)濟學人》的例子：

Just as drones can make up for poor roads, the theory goes, mobile phones can overcome a lack of well-functioning banks, portable solar panels can stand in for missing power stations and free learning apps can substitute for patchy education.

為了表達“彌補，替換”這一意思，作者用了make up for / stand in for / substitute for 這三個同義表達，這能夠讓句子更加變化多樣。此外，a lack of / missing / patchy 都能表達“缺失，不完善”的意思。

As they vie for the next billion consumers to come online, Alibaba is taking on Amazon, Google is matched against Baidu and Tencent can prove its mettle against Facebook.

對于“與……競爭”這一意思，作者在一句話里面用了take on / be matched against / prove its mettle against 這幾種不同說法，實現(xiàn)了用詞多樣。

我們可以通過查同義詞典來尋找同義詞替換（詞典介紹可見市面上有哪些優(yōu)秀的同義詞辨析詞典？），也可以使用同義詞網(wǎng)站，比如https://www.  

網(wǎng)站上可以查到很多替換說法，比如搜索'complain'，可以找到同義表達fret / sound off / take exception to 

需要注意的一點是，我們不能在同義詞典中找到一個詞就生硬搬進來，因為有可能會用詞不當。為了保險起見，我們可以在詞典中反查這些替換表達，學習其例句用法，確保單詞使用符合語境

（2）詞性變換

寫作中可以利用英語中同一個意思可能有名詞、形容詞和副詞等形式來增加單詞變化。舉個例子：

Online shopping is becoming more and more popular among young people. The main reason why it is so popular is better and wider access to the Internet.

這里出現(xiàn)了兩個popular，我們可以用popularity來對其中一個進行替換：

Online shopping is growing in popularity among young people. The main reason why it is so popular is better and wider access to the Internet.

或者：

Online shopping is becoming more and more popular among young people. The main reason why it enjoys great popularity is better and wider access to the Internet.

（3）使用上義詞和下義詞

所謂的上義詞是指對事物的概括性、抽象性說明，而下義詞是事物的具體表現(xiàn)形式或更為具體的說明。舉個例子，fish, horse, snake, cat這些單詞的上義詞是animal，而animal的下義詞則是fish, horse, snake, cat這些具體的例子。在寫作中我們可以靈活使用上下義詞進行替換。

舉個例子，在寫關于人口老齡化的作文中，要表達“老年人”這個概念，除了可以說elderly people/older people/senior citizens，還可以使用“老年人”的下義詞retired people/retirees/pensioners/the over 60s/people over 60 等等。

又比如在關于年輕人的話題中，我們可以用students/teenagers/adolescents 這些下義詞來代替young people，在描述交通擁堵問題時可以用traffic problems這一上義詞來代替traffic congestion/traffic jams，在描述手機時可以用上義詞digital devices/gadgets來代替mobile phones這一具體概念。

（4）代詞

使用代詞不僅能使句子之間的連接更加緊密，還可以減少用詞的重復度。舉個例子：

Young children can be negatively affected by too much time spent on the computer every day. This is partly because sitting in front of a screen for too long can be damaging to both their eyes and physical posture, regardless of what they are using the computer for.

這里使用their來代替young children's, 使用they來代替young children

我們還可以使用代詞one來代替重復的單詞，比如：

Many graduates have to choose between working for a large company or a small company.

句子可以修改為：

Many graduates have to choose between working for a large company or a small one.

另外，還有幾個詞也能起到代詞的效果，比如former/latter/counterpart，舉兩個例子：

(1) Belgian officials are discussing this with French officials.

(2) Children in the city can enjoy better educational opportunities than children in rural areas.

句子可以改為：

(1) Belgian officials are discussing this with their French counterparts.

(2) Children in the city can enjoy better educational opportunities than their rural counterparts.

又比如：

Of these two options, the former is less expensive, while the latter is less risky.

（4）省略

省略可以減少不必要的用詞，使句子結構更加緊湊。句子中可以省略的部分包括名詞、動詞和形容詞等。例如培根關于讀書的名言：

Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested; that is, some books are to be read only in parts; others to be read, but not curiously; and some few are to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention.

這里是省略了be動詞，還原后是：

Some books are to be tasted, others (are) to be swallowed, and some few (are) to be chewed and digested; that is, some books are to be read only in parts; others (are) to be read, but not curiously; and some few are to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention.

在比較句中省略手法也被大量使用，例如：

Some argue that modern children grow up to be more independent and mature than in the past.

句子省略了children，相當于：

Some argue that modern children grow up to be more independent and mature than (children) in the past.

（5）句式合并

有時候我們也可以通過合并短句來避免單詞重復，舉個例子：

Early in World War II, British workers broke a world record for building a bomber from scratch. This programme traces six of the workers. One of the workers was only 14 years old.

句子可以合并為：

Early in World War II, British workers broke a world record for building a bomber from scratch. This programme traces six of the workers, one of whom was only 14 years old.

在寫作中我們可以綜合以上幾種方法減少重復用詞，除此之外，多讀外刊和原版書，積累地道英文中的多樣化表達也是提高寫作技巧的重要方法。