What type of hook you use depends on the purpose of your essay.
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.
Imagine an admissions officer reading your application: they start with the mundane, beginning with your home address and biographical information, then moving down your application to your test scores and activities list next. What exactly have you been doing for the past four years? Are you a student leader, community game-changer, future tech mogul? And then – your .
One of my favorite essay hooks is to open with a persuasive metaphor to contextualize the topic. Metaphors can help you approach the topic from a completely different lens and wow your readers with interesting insight.Â
The several examples below are helpful when writing your essay hook.
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. Hook for essay has an important meaning and helps a writer introduce his or her main idea.
It’s not much of an exaggeration to say that this essay is the soul of your application. With 650 allotted words, you have the power to craft a captivating narrative about who you are, what you value, and most importantly – where you see yourself going. The very first sentence of your essay – commonly referred to as the ‘hook’ – is a direct invitation to the reader to walk into your world for the next few minutes. Essay hooks can also simultaneously be the hardest piece of your essay to write.
For most high school writers, composing essay hooks can take some practice. It’s hard to know what will feel appropriate for your essay, and what captures someone’s attention is so innately personal. What you find humorous or intellectual might come across to your reader as boring or overdrawn. In this blog, I’ll introduce common “hook” styles that have been successful for past students, caution against the pitfalls that many applicants fall into, and share my top strategies for practicing writing your own essay hooks.
Hooks and grabbers are frequently used in journalistic writing. The audience for this type of writing may not be familiar with the topic being discussed, so the hook/grabber helps capture readers’ interest. The hook/grabber might show how the topic connects to the experiences of everyday people.
What will you be stating in your essay about the original piece?
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. There are different and hooks exist. High school and college students along with creative writers use them to grab their readers' attention.
Any other suggestions for a hook, or in general for the essay?
Starting your essay with a contradiction or surprising juxtaposition immediately catches any reader’s intrigue. These essay hooks work well because they’re unusual, but not hyper dramatized: both of the hooks above read as genuine. There’s also an implicit sense of here: who catches themselves baking pies when they receive upsetting news? These hooks position the speaker as quirky, likable, and ready to offer some insight about what their unique life experiences have taught them. Simply put, this is a great way to grab your reader’s attention.
How do I write a hook for an essay?
However, these types of hooks can also be more difficult to write. Unless you have a clear (or funny) story to tell from the beginning, they can be harder to write naturally. Try reflecting on the story you plan to tell: what about your identity, circumstances, or surroundings provides an insightful and unexpected angle into what you want to say? Jot down a few ideas and try several approaches before settling on your final opening line.
What is a good hook for an essay?
This type of writing may not require a hook/grabber. The audience for academic writing is people already knowledgeable about the subject matter, such as your instructor or classmates. A hook or grabber aimed at a general audience may appear distracting or unprofessional, since the reader already knows a lot about the subject. If you use a hook/grabber for academic writing, it should be something that would interest an expert: an intriguing question or an illuminating example from your research.
How do I write a hook for an argumentative essay?
If you use a hook/grabber in your introduction, you will still need to include the other elements of an introduction. As a general rule, the hook/grabber should comprise less than half of the introduction, leaving plenty of room to explain the essay’s main ideas and thesis statement. The hook/grabber should always have a direct connection to the thesis of the essay.