Messenger
Did you ever wonder what makes you want to read certain texts and skip the others? The first and the most obvious answer that pops up in everyone’s mind is the title.
However, if you scrape a little bit deeper, and go beyond obvious answers, then the interesting part shows up in the first lines of every text – a thing intriguingly simple, yet powerful that accounts for all the difference.
This is what writers call the “hook”, or the undisputed king of attention, and this is exactly what the current illustrative guide is all about!
What is a Hook in an Essay
By hook in an essay, we de facto mean a technique used to draw our reader’s attention. It can be represented by an interesting sentence, a phrase, a question, a quote, or sometimes all of these things together. The main idea, the goal of a hook, is to grab the reader’s attention and to make them stay with our essay till the end.
The place of a hook in a text is well-defined – it is located at the very beginning of an essay, in the very first lines of an introductory part. It makes the most sense to be there and not anywhere else, since an introductory part is what people read first.
The power of the hook is hard to overestimate. One may need to carefully choose between dozens of simply GOOD introductory sentences to select the one that is really GREAT, which will make their essay win the readers’ curiosity and sympathy.
What Are Some Good Hooks for Essays
Technically speaking, a bare, or exposed hook isn’t worth much. You can say “I want to draw your attention to the following” as many times as you want, or call your readers to “Stay with me till the end of this essay”, but none of this is likely to bring the desired outcome.
Just like in fishing, where this metaphor has originated from, you need to hide the hook, i.e., avoid any dull and straightforward expressions, such as those mentioned above, by introducing something tasty instead – what fishermen call the bait.
Below are some of the best-working hook ideas (baits), which you can apply in your essay:
- Revolutionary idea, something eye-opening, mind-blowing, etc.;
- Shocking statistic, fact;
- Fascinating scenario;
- Startling truth;
- Powerful quote;
- Symbolic imagery;
- Provoking, interesting question;
- Intriguing, bold statement, assumption, etc.;
- Joke, anecdote, or a short entertaining story.
How to Write a Hook for Different Kinds of Writing
Different kinds of writing require different types of hooks. For instance, fiction writing will most benefit from using (as opening sentences) a cool story, an interesting description, or an original anecdote. Whereas, a non-fiction piece of writing would shine with a provoking question, a cool fact, or a shocking statistic in the introductory part.
For the same token, informative and descriptive writing best goes with short hooks, such as the ones about statistics, facts, or data, while persuasive writing demands a higher degree of eloquence and creativity to draw the readers’ attention.
Similarly, when it comes to essay writing, different types of essays require the knowledge and application of different types of hooks.
How to Write a Hook for a College Essay
Writing good college essay hooks requires practice and dedication. Since an essay as an academic writing genre is often characterized by concise introductions and carefully calculated word counts, a typical hook should also be brief and simple.
It may be represented by a single word or a short phrase put in the opening paragraph. However, it’s important to avoid the likely repetitions from one’s previous works, and overlapping with other students’ texts.
To write a good hook for a college essay, one has to come up with an original idea first. This may take a significant amount of time; though the result will be well worth the invested effort and energy.
Example of a Hook for a College Essay
How to Write a Hook for an Argumentative Essay
An argumentative essay is the art of supporting the writer’s point of view with arguments. So, on the one hand, there is the main claim (thesis statement), and on the other hand, there is this argumentative part made up of facts, evidence, and reasoning to back up and support the main claim.
Therefore, a hook for an argumentative essay has to address the main claim. For instance, if you are going to prove that the Earth is round (technically an oblate spheroid), your hook may contain a joke about a notorious Disc Theory, which states that the Earth resembles a giant Frisbee.
Example of a Hook for an Argumentative Essay
How to Write a Hook for a Persuasive Essay
In a persuasive essay, one has to show how effective they are in conveying a point. The latter can be represented by an idea, an assumption, or a hypothesis, even a known truth may require significant eloquence and intelligence until it is accepted by others.
A good hook for a persuasive essay has to be targeted at the specific audience that the author intends to influence. The hook has to speak the same language as that of the audience and be relatively simple to understand.
The most common techniques include quotations, statistics (facts), and appeals to emotions. However, one should avoid using jokes and humor as a hook to a persuasive essay.
Example of a Hook for a Persuasive Essay
How to Write a Hook for a Literary Analysis Essay
When writing a literary analysis essay, we need to demonstrate that not only we have read a given literary piece, but that we have also understood it thoroughly.
Besides a deep analysis, we must also present our original point of view (a thesis statement), which will pick on a specific aspect within or beyond the literary piece, be it a character, an event, or an artistic significance of the literature piece in general.
Therefore, the hook must reflect on the given thesis statement, highlight its importance, and sometimes even exaggerate its meaning. Techniques like direct quotation, narrative presentation of an idea, or symbolic imagery are all commonly used as a hook to a literary analysis essay.
Example of a Hook in a Literary Analysis Essay
How to Write a Hook for an Informative Essay
The goal of an informative essay is to educate the reader on a given topic. Unlike the previous essay types, this one is the artistically driest, hence the style and content of the hook should correspond – be informative and concise.
You can start your essay with a startling fact, a powerful quote, or a rhetorical question. The idea is to introduce your reader to the topic and the specific statement that you are about to formulate a few sentences ahead.
One famous hook-building technique in an informative essay is describing a fascinating scenario. You can start by saying “Imaging standing next to…”, or “Think of the world where everyone is…”.
Example of a Hook in an Informative Essay
How to write a good hook for an essay
The key to a good hook is planning and preparation. Yes, sometimes one can spontaneously come up with a great hook, however in the event of a tight deadline and the presence of other important tasks at hand, you’d always be better off with an initial planning.
Start with getting to know your target audience. Based on who they are and what their interests are, you can design and tailor a targeted, bespoke hook.
Also, mind your essay type and its purpose. Are you going to inform, entertain, persuade, or describe? In knowing how to create a good hook, the correct answers to these fundamental questions are very important.
With the above information at hand, you can sketch a few targeted hook ideas and evaluate their pros and cons. It is always worth spending extra time crafting your hook, and even revising your initial hook once the entire essay text is ready.
To Sum Up
The next time you stumble over a blank sheet of paper not knowing what words to put first, recall this article and its tips and extensive examples. Knowing how to write a hook to your essay will transform your writing routine into a comfortable and fruitful experience. What’s more important – it will make your essays much more attractive to your readers, who will fully reward your efforts with positive feedback and high grades!
