In rhetoric, a “hook” refers to the catchy first line of any written or orally delivered piece. Because it’s not strictly limited to writing, this includes spoken pieces like speeches, movies, plays, and even songs.
Here’s an example for an essay on the importance of mothers reading to their children:
Hooks aren’t just for essays: they’re also important to marketing, and can make or break your campaign.
Global warming is causing problems in every country around the world today. That’s why we need to look seriously into the issue by finding ways to be more ecologically responsible.
What Is a Hook?
A question at the very start of your piece challenges your readers to start thinking about the topic. It can be a simple yes or no question, but it can also be a more complicated question that will require them to think deeper.
Which type of hook is your favorite? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Children’s minds are like their bodies: just as children’s bodies need healthy food to thrive and grow, their minds also need nutritious food, in the form of rich ideas in books, to grow strong and healthy.
What is a hook when how to write a literary essay? A hook in an essay is exactly what makes your audience engaged – it catches their attention and makes them read your paper to the end. How can one sentence be so important? Below you can find the answer!
If you are writing, for example, a narrative paper, then giving advice to your readers at the beginning of your text can be a good idea. Below is an example:
“I believe in nothing, everything is sacredAlthough this task is not the biggest or most complicated assignment a student can get in college or school, it does not mean that you can just make a perfect text without some planning. Writing an outline is always important as it allows you to see how to structure your text better and also define what it is missing or what has to be removed.
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If you have a specific goal and a clear purpose, this will allow you to define a perfect approach in the text that your readers will love. Define whether it should have a formal or informal tone. Decide what feelings you are striving to awaken in your readers. This will help you decide what some good hook sentences you may use to reach a specific goal.
This tip can help you make a perfect hook in an essay with a formal tone that does not tolerate jokes or other inappropriate informal statements. It can be the right move. Here is an example:
It is a good approach to attract attention and set a serious tone by making your readers think about some important issue or question. Here is an example:
Example: “It has been said that something as small as the flutter of a butterfly’s wings can ultimately cause a typhoon halfway around the world.” – Chaos Theory.
Example: The day of my birth began with Hurricane Gilbert Joan in Nicaragua.
A thesis is something you are obliged to develop throughout your paper. Once you have a unique idea, you are free to introduce it at the very beginning of your essay. When a thesis is used at the beginning, it promises a reader to tell about something special.
Have you ever opened a book and after reading a couple of sentences realized you have no wish to continue? No one wants to read boring writing, right? And it may happen that once you start reading something, you are captured from the very first letter and are simply curious to find out what is next. It means that the very first sentence grabbed your attention.
2. A thesis hook sentence
So how did the author manage to “hook” you? The author just created an interesting and eye-catching first sentence that will not leave anyone indifferent. And if you want your essay to grab your professor’s attention the same way, let’s find out how to write a hook for an essay.
An excellent hook is crucial for the success of your paper. It requires you to do some research and show your excellent writing skills. And if you are not sure you have enough of them or that you are not able to devote enough time to your essay, you’d better entrust that responsible task to professionals. They will not only create an outstanding essay hook for you but will make the whole paper interesting and exciting. Your readers surely will not be left indifferent when the paper is written by the experts. So we recommend not procrastinating but thinking of the success of your essay beforehand.
If you write on the problem of divorces in your country and the reasons for them, that statistics will help your reader to understand the problem from the very beginning and start thinking about what causes people to divorce or separate from the very first sentence. This information is the most critical and discussed in society. After providing the fact, you can start discussing why the problem is crucial for modern society and what people can do to improve the situation.
Example: My decision to attend the Cranbrook Academy of Art was one of the most difficult ones.
- Surprise the readers and grow their interest
Every essay writings have its own peculiar writing style, like
The Simile or Metaphor hook makes your writing more engaging as it makes the readers think in a different way. Here when you compare anything to something indifferent, your reader wonders what do you mean by this and why you have made such comparisons.
Statistics and facts never fail in impressing the readers as it provides actual information on the topic. If in the introduction of the essay, you include facts and evidence that are reliable and accurate, then readers might find it interesting and go through the rest part of your essay. But while creating this hook, it is always recommended to use only credible sources and evaluate the information twice before providing it. Also, ensure that whatever information you are providing, it must be related to the topic.
1. Declaration or Strong Statement Hook
Always select those quotations where the words included are powerful, memorable, and striking enough to create an impact upon the readers. Like, if you are writing about an educational topic, then you can quote Nelson Mandela-
Writing an essay is quite a challenging task, as you need to grab the attention of the readers so that they read it till the end. But if you lack writing skills or fail to maintain consistency throughout the essay, then the readers might feel boring as they will not be able to enjoy the flow of your thoughts in the essay.So, if you want to create a strong impression on your readers, then you need to include some engaging pieces of writing or a hook in the introduction of your essay. This will make your audience feel excited when they read your essay.
A strong statement is one of the most effective techniques used by the writers as it reflects the importance of the essay/paper. It is somehow connected to the thesis statement and makes an assertive claim about the essay topic. Here the agreement or disagreement of the readers with your statement doesn’t matter, but you need to support your statement. Using strong statement hooks again makes the readers curious.
If you want to learn how to write the best essay hook you possibly can, here are some rules you need to follow:
It is important to understand that a hook is not an alternative to an introduction. It does not replace it, but rather enhances it. Actually, it is simply an optional way to start the introductory part of your essay. An introduction with a hook would have the following structure:
Obviously, a book review is the best occasion in which you can use a literary quote as a hook. Though its use is not limited only to that and depends mostly of the quotes meaning and style. Despite that, it can be one of the easiest types to find and use. We suggest being really careful with them. Remember, literary quotes will not be appropriate for expository or persuasive essays.
You may start with these phrases if you want to show how often things are different from how we are used to seeing them. This approach is typically appropriate for an explanation or reflection essay.
Literary Quotes
The secret to this trick relates to the principles of how the human brain works. Your brain starts to process a question once you have heard it, even if nobody asks you to answer it—and even if it is a rhetorical question. Your readers will start to think about your question, despite the fact that they have their own answers, or they will become curious about your point of view. Another more important point – such questions should be unusual, and maybe even unexpected. You can even ask something usual from a different point of view. Don’t ask ordinary or dull questions.
Have you ever found yourself just coming to the end of reading an article or post, having not planned to, but you wound up anyway — followed by the natural curiosity of how it absorbed you? That’s it! You were hooked! Your attention was captured by that first sentence and it made you so curious that you read the whole text.
Now, let’s move directly to hook types that exist, and their features:
