When your English language professor requires to write an essay, how do you begin your writing? Do you use any good hooks in the introductory paragraphs to grab readers’ attention? Probably, you have discovered a secret, unique hook which helps your paper stand out from other works and make a tutor read it from cover to cover. Different types of essay hooks exist. High school and college students along with creative writers use them to grab their readers’ attention.
Table of Contents
WHAT’S A HOOK & HOW TO MAKE IT WORK FOR YOU?
Before you learn how to write a good hook, you must learn what it is. A hook is an interesting and catchy sentence from the introduction of your high school or college essay which motivates people to read your work, although it is long. Although it is a small element, a perfect hook is both informative and engaging. It has an important meaning and helps a writer introduce his or her main idea.
HOOK IDEAS – TIPS ON FINDING INSPIRATION.
We decided to analyze some examples of essay openings to provide you with an idea of how effective hooks look like. You can use any of them. We would like to discuss a number of important ideas you should keep in mind before you write a hook.
A common mistake is that students give a great starter… and forget that it’s a part of a paper. Consider that! Don’t jump to discussing your paper topic without demonstrating a clear bonding between opening lines and the rest of the paper. Words are powerful; if they aren’t related to your work, they can’t support your argument.
Tone and style of your work mean everything. If you are working on a research paper in physics to offer it to a scientific journal, it is better not to start with a personal childhood story. The hook should be strong and appropriate. If you are writing for a magazine which is less official, the childhood story will sound natural. Evaluate the situation!
Consider your target audience; you shouldn’t write an essay for professionals in biology using teenage language. They understand the text, but they are unlikely to get the purpose of your writing.
These strategies to developing good hooks are the key because every author’s main purpose is to make readers understand his or her opinion and enjoy the reading.
HOW TO TRANSFORM A FACT INTO A HOOK?
Mind where good hooks come from; it can be anything a reader finds interesting, exciting, or inspiring. You might want to type a curious fact on the topic which is unknown to most of people. Find different facts from various sources such as:
- Textbooks and books
- Newspapers
- Magazines
- Academic and scientific journals
- Websites
- Official published reports
- Documentaries and films
- Interviews
Remember that the more recent and credible source you use, the more trustworthy your essay’s hook sounds.
To help you better understand how hook sentences function in writing, we are going to discuss several nice articles written by professional writers and journalists. We look at intros of our examples and describe the kind of hooks found in each one.
If you need a piece of advice on how to write an effective introduction for your dissertation, find all necessary information here.
USE A FACT TO MAKE AN AUDIENCE READ THE ENTIRE ESSAY
The good example of high knowledge is the quote taken as a hook from the credible online resources that publish up-to-date information on the most critical and discussed topics within society. People find it intriguing the following fact.
“Over 36% of mobile subscribers use iPhones or iPads to read email, and 34% of subscribers use mobile devices to read emails.”(Informz)
Such statistics help prospective business people to launch their own mobile solutions in the upcoming year. Not all teachers and professors support the usage of internet/digital resources. You must specify whether such way to introduce your hook and the opening paragraph is OK. You move to the discussion on why mobile applications are perspective products/business ideas.
“There are two distinct traditions in the literature regarding the proper analysis of predicate noun and adjective constructions…”
(John Bowers, The Syntax of Predication)
In the given example, we have an official, scientific paper which cannot be humorous or start with a creative trope. This intro is straightforward. And it contains a nice hook – a conflict. ‘Two distinct traditions’ means that we will see how the author either supports one of them or introduces the third solution to the existing problem. Presenting conflicting ideas is a good way to start.
USE AN ANECDOTE OR A JOKE TO WIN A READER
ESL/EFL classroom offers many anecdotes on various subjects to help students cover any topic with a share of humor. Examples of essay hooks below catch an eye of the reader by making him laugh.
“A family of mice was surprised by a big cat; father Mouse jumped and said, “Bow-wow!” The cat ran away. “What was that Father?” asked Baby Mouse. “Well, son, that’s why it’s important to learn a second language.”
Isn’t it a good idea to start your paper on the importance of learning a second language? Mind that each country has its specific humor and forbidden jokes – choose hook sentences wisely!
HOW CAN OPENING QUESTIONS HOOK A READER?
You may play with facts and statistics to combine them into the question. You may use rhetorical question – it is an effective way to start your writing and give a picture of what you’ll be talking about. Make sure to provide an answer throughout your text or at the end.
“Have you ever thought of how many people die of pneumonia every day in the United States?”
HOW TO WRITE BRILLIANT RESEARCH PAPER HOOKS?
Just like in essay writing, research paper hook formulas can be different. There are no rules on how to formulate an attention grabber. Considering a semi-scientific nature of research papers, it is not recommended to use an anecdote, dramatic scene, or a metaphor as a hook for the piece. Such an approach doesn’t make sense. It is more effective to employ a relevant fact, a piece of statistics, or a question as an attention-grabbing element for a research paper you write to leave a reader interested in reading an essay.
Hook winning formulas for a research essay:
- A relevant fact written in an interesting manner
- A piece of statistics an author finds interesting
- A relevant question that provokes thinking on a topic
- Key information a reader will need to know to understand the topic of a research essay
- Recall of what a research paper is about.
HOW SHOULD TOP PERSUASIVE ESSAY HOOK SOUND?
Use a hook within a persuasive essay to give a chance to your reader to accept your point of view from the beginning of reading. At this point, you can employ any piece of information to serve the main purpose of your writing. You are to prove a thesis statement of yours. A good hook on the opening page of your writing will make a person read your essay from cover to cover. The best idea is to involve a hook sentence, which can be
- Joke or anecdote;
- Fact;
- Piece of statistics;
- Rhetorical question;
- Metaphor;
- Simile.
All the above can serve the purpose. You can start your writing with a thesis statement; it is to guide a reader to the main point.
WHAT GOOD HOOKS FOR COMPARE AND CONTRAST ESSAY INSPIRE?
A hook for a compare and contrast essay can vary. You can find one or two best features of the two discussed objects and write them as the opening sentence of your piece, creating interest for a reader. Alternatively, you can intrigue the reader with a question, quotation, or a scene. In case you want to use a key feature as a hooking element in an essay, it is recommended repeating the same within the body of your writing. To write a good hook in an essay requires particular skills, but practicing will help you find the best solution for certain cases.
HOW TO WRITE A HOOK OF THE MIXED TYPE?
Here we go with the mixed example:
“As children’s culture arose in the 1740s, the juvenile market was suddenly awash in age-appropriate clothing, toys, and reading material…”
(Megan A. Norcia, Puzzling Empire: Early Puzzles and Dissected Maps as Imperial Heuristics)
This beginning is a good example of how a fact can be used in an intro. Readers tend to pay attention to those works which provide them with new information. And starting with a date and an interesting fact is a brilliant hooking idea.
“Why some people choke and others panic.”
(Malcolm Gladwell, The Art of Failure)
We love this intro. Short, clear, and powerful. Although there is no question mark at the end, the intro above belongs to the category of ‘posing a question.’ We mean that the author opened the essay with a statement which promises the answer if we keep reading. We know the article is on the failure and the ways people react to it. The rhetorical question-like intro is hooking because the majority of readers will want to know why some people choke and other people stress.
A fact or question works well with the analysis paper. Find out how to write an analysis essay which deserves A+.
USE A LITERARY QUOTE TO EXPRESS YOURSELF
Another effective essay hook might be an original philosophical or social phrase to grab the attention. Think of any sentence or paragraph which can force your readers to analyse contents. Try to help arise necessary questions and social problems by your speech:
If the style of writing allows you to be creative, look for an unusual, original way to express the main theme of your paper with the help of such good hooks for essays. Here, Joan Didion starts with her own poem which ‘tunes’ readers and let them know in advance what the whole text is about.
Mind the way you format quotes depends on different academic writing styles.
SET A SCENE.
Try to memorize an example of a brief story from famous people to capture the attention of your reader. Such essay’s hook points to the importance of the topic or question with the help of a real-life example. The best examples include recalling the story of Helen Keller. She managed to write beautiful books being blinded from her birth. You may use a story of some celebrity like Bon Jovi to stress the importance of helping disabled people by attending them in the hospitals. When you create an essay, you are not supposed to recall examples from your life. You are encouraged to share stories of people who figure as your role models. They don’t have to be famous, but their stories should serve as the perfect essay hook related to your chosen topic.
“After smiling brilliantly for nearly four decades, I find myself trying to quit. Or, at least, seeking to lower a wattage a bit.”
(Amy Cunnigham, Why Women Smile).
Reader deals with a perfect personal story. Readers want to know more about each story’s main character because they try to find new emotions and new knowledge. Do you know why she has no intention to smile anymore; is it hooking enough – we think so. Such beginnings are attention grabbing and exciting.
In case you write an essay on such trait as jealousy, you may quote a well-known book by Shakespeare, “Othello,” which is primarily focused on the problems caused by this feeling. Show how Othello is afraid of losing Desdemona, his wife, because of the color of his skin, religion, and other stereotypes.
(Act1.Scene 3).
In Act 2, Scene 1, we discover more about the topic of jealousy from the character of Iago who has an evil mind due to his friend’s Othello’s success.
A+ essay writing can be easy if you know these literary terms.
USE QUOTES FROM FAMOUS PEOPLE TO INTEREST A READER
Actually, many of the essay hook examples quoted above can be put into this category. There are phrases well-known to the entire world. Once something critical happens, famous people have their point of view; they share it with the society via mass media. It is your chance to find another effective essay hook. The example appears below:
“The problem with environmentalists, Lynn Margulis used to say, is that they think conservation has something to do with biological reality.”
(Charles C. Mann, State of the Species).
Another clever way to hook people is to use quotes from famous people. With a quote, your writing makes a certain statement and helps you establish your authority as a writer. You demonstrate your connection with the community and show interest in the field history and respect towards people who have made a large contribution to its development.
USE A METAPHOR AS ATTENTION-GRABBING ELEMENT.
You should practice using metaphors and similes as the way to start your essay with an interesting hook. Watch out – many people do not tend to get the meaning of metaphors and similes from the time they read them; it is better to add a description or explanation of what it means. You risk losing your audience instead of grabbing its attention. A good metaphor helps enrich one’s speech and make writing more powerful using words.
As written by Dan Wakefield,
“I feel as much of a stud as… I can’t come up with a metaphor. That’s how lacking in studliness I am.” A simile is a literary tool used as an essay hook. This attention grabbing element helps a lot. It shows writer’s ability to express feelings and ideas in many different, original ways instead of being straightforward all the time. To understand similes better, a student has to read a lot of plays, poems, song lyrics, and take part in everyday conversations.”
The several examples below are helpful when writing your essay hook.
- “as cute as a puppy” (contrasting something to the adorableness of a puppy)
- “as busy as a bee” (describing industrious people)
- “as snug as a bug in a rug” (meaning tucked uptight).
OTHER EFFECTIVE WAYS TO START YOUR SENTENCE
There are other ways to begin your writing such as stating a thesis and using statistics and numbers. You are the one to decide which option is the most effective. Don’t forget to take the preparatory steps and figure out which kind of hook is the most beneficial.
Although we have added some interesting sentences which you can use as a topic hook, it is still not easy to grab attention to your story from opening essay’s line. Thus, we would like you to remember there is an immediate solution to any academic writing problem within the shape of our website with services for high school, college, and university students. You can use professional writing services. When you don’t have time to type the whole paper or think of the relevant anecdote or scene to begin with, our writing services are ready to help with your learning process. Order a custom essay or research paper with the most effective hooks you’ve ever seen!
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