Choose A Hook For Perfect Essay
“It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”
― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Perhaps, success of any essay you write directly depends on which start you take. It’s not about your ability to write or something else, it is more about what you choose to start out your project and make it the best for the potential readers. That is why the so called essay hooks are extremely important in literary practice and are widely used by both professional writers or essayists to college students.
- Traditionally, an essay hook is the first one or two sentences, its preliminary aspect, which will serve to seize a reader’s interest and let him choose whether he or she wishes to read this essay more or not.
There is a great variety of such hooks that are disposed not only in essay writing practice: quotes, rhetorical questions, Freudian slip, cases or interesting facts, simile or metaphor and so on. You can use the hooks in any literary piece you do, from novels to college term papers and so on. Each and every writer, screenwriter, copywriter and storyteller undoubtedly has his very own tricks of how to grab reader’s attention.
Unlike hooks used by specialists in the sphere of literature or screenwriting, college essay hooks may not be as easy to find as it seems, especially if you are not quite sure of what you are going to write about. That is why before you find a magic word to start from consider the following:
- Think over the general appeal of your essay, genre, type, structure, etc. in order to better pick the hooks for this very paper.
The value of the first impression is undeniable, that is why you should pick the hooks carefully as it is gonna be the start, introduction of the whole project and its first appeal. Students use variety of resources both literature and internet to succeed with essay hook search.
Widely Applied Hooks
- Quotes
Such hook for essay might be perfect once you talk about some particular author or his story, literary phenomena, books, etc. Regardless of whether your essay is not fictional in general, a literary quote is likely to make it sound more “vivid” or “fresh”.
For example:
“It’s always easier to say good-bye when you know it’s just a prelude to hello.”
The Last Little Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson
“We are our choices.”
― Jean-Paul Sartre
- Anecdotes
Make use of such unusual hooks. Even if you start writing with a bit of humorous hook, it does not necessarily mean your essay will end up in absurd after all. In fact, humor is a great power of persuasion. Some humor may help you grab readers’ attention immediately and awake interest to the topic easily.
For example:
A woman is explaining the kind of man she wants at a dating service:
“He has to be polite, he has to have various interests, he has to know how to have a good conversation, he has to know whats going on around the world, and he has to never interrupt me.”
“You dont need a man, madam, you need a TV!”
- Questions
Rhetorical questions are ideal hooks for all paper types. There is nothing that can attract people better than controversial questions that acts like a brain storm. Besides, a good rhetorical question do not lead to the simple answers yes or not, but makes people deeply analyze the issue.
For example:
Have you ever wondered,what the meaning of life is? Who cares?
“The actors played the roles well. Didn’t they?”, etc.
- Scenes
Traditionally, people adore visualizing. A scene hook will assist them with drawing a distinct picture in their minds at once or trigger the leap of imagination. You can easily describe an incident or mention some particular features of a person or a character alternatively, to introduce to the readers, etc.
For example:
“Deciding to go to Hampton Roads Academy, a prestigious private school, was among my hardest decisions.”
- Facts
In reality, such a hook may surprise and even catch at a loss the reader. When you use types of hooks, giving the interesting facts about something to describe or discuss, you grab the attention of your audience at once with unexpectedness or the naked truth.
For example:
“Turtles are able to breathe with their butts.”
- Statistics
I fact, it is not the worse hook in the world, especially if your paper is of a specific topic. By providing the rough mathematical data you will make the readers believe you are competent in the chosen area and persuade them better.
For example:
“Plague was one of the most devastating pandemics in the history of humanity, causing the deaths of about 75 to 200 million people and peaking in 1346-53in Europe.”