How to Write a Hook for an Essay?

Writing interesting texts always increase your chances of success whether you write an academic assignment, post on social media, or your mature writing sample. Hooks can always help to make your writing works more interesting. Luckily, there are many types of hooks you may simply use to make your paper better.

But, let’s start with its definition.

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An essay hook is a sentence or phrase designated specifically to interest your readers and grasp their attention. It was proved by the scientist that all of us subconsciously devote approximately 20 seconds of our time to decide whether we will pay more precise attention to any specific piece of writing or not.

A good hook induces you to continue your reading. If you try to remember some remarkable pieces of writing, you definitely see good hooks there. 

Where Can You Find Your Hook?

The first place where you can find is your imagination. You can always think about any appropriate hook when you look through one of the following resources:

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• Books;
• Magazines;
• Newspapers;
• Journals;
• Websites;
• Reports of state bodies;
• Interviews;
• Articles;
• Films and documentaries.

In any case, it is always better to use only credible and primary sources. This way, you increase chances for gaining the trust of your readers. Also, prefer the latest sources for your hooks where this is better. 

Things it is better to consider

When you think about your essay and hooks for it, it is always better to keep a couple of important things in mind:

• Your hook should reflect the chosen topic to the maximum extent possible. If you write about any serious matter, like legal, not all hooks will be appropriate. So, pay attention to the type and context of your writing.
• Think about the main questions that should underlay your hook. It is not necessary to indicate this question directly. But your readers should grasp it without any extra effort. This question will help you to catch their attention and induce them to continue reading. 
• During your writing, try to evaluate your hook and text from the third-person perspective. Be more or less impartial about your content. Answer fairly whether it is interesting or not.
• Think about the connections between your hook, thesis statement, and other important points of view you express in your essay. All these things should be interrelated to make your readers interested not only in the introduction of your essay but also in the overall content. 

Tips for Writing Your Hooks

Developing a good hook can be very challenging. But here are some good tips for you:

• Develop your clear vision of what kind of a literary work you are going to write.
• Identify the purpose of your writing.
• Outline your future essay first. You should know for sure where is the right place to include a hook and what kind of hook do you need. When you have your outline, you have the ready context for your hook.
• Be aware of your audience. Form a clear understanding of what kind of people will read your article, their preferences, and tastes. This way, you will manage to find the most appropriate and workable hook. 
• Pick the right tone for your essay. 
• Use transition words to pass from one point of view to the other.
• Avoid using any kind of jargon or slang. 
• Look at some great examples of essays with good hooks to inspire yourself.

Types of Hooks

Quotes

One of the easiest ways to include a hook to your story is to cite the other person. Make sure you pick a phrase that is relevant to your content. Also, you should cite this source appropriately and indicate information about the author of this quote. 

Statistical facts

You may present some astonishing statistics to draw your readers’ attention to certain important points. It is even better not only to present this data but also to show how it can be related to their lives. 

When you look for the appropriate statistics, make sure you select only reliable sources, like official reports, information from the state authorities, international organizations, etc.

Interesting facts

It is also good to indicate some interesting facts unfamiliar to your readers. This information should be scientifically verified, or at least it should be based on your experiences. 

For example:

Did you know that Leonardo da Vinci managed to write with his one hand and to paint with the other simultaneously?

Did you know that a number of lifeforms on our skin are higher that a number of people on our planet?

Definitions

This hook is used mostly in scientific papers. Make sure you indicate any kind of appropriate definition and check its meaning in relevant professional dictionaries. Shorten your definition so you could present its essence to the readers and not to overload your paper with excessive words. Scientific definitions can be very complicated sometimes.

Strong statements

Include into your essay some statement that has value and present some new knowledge for your readers.

Examples:

In 10 years, artificial intelligence will replace all human workers at the factories. 

During the subsequent 50 years, we will likely have space travel as we have a flight nowadays. 

Contradictory statements

You may indicate statements that contradict each other. This way, you create the room for considerations and discussions.

Examples:

In some cases, you need to be really cruel to remain good.

You are limited by your situation but need to go beyond it. 

Anecdotes

If appropriate, you may also include some anecdotes to your essay. They should be funny. But, ensure they are not offensive in any way or does not have any controversial nature. 

The perfect option for this case is to include some light jokes. Pay attention to the style of O.Henry. He is a master of making good hooks and interesting stories. 

Dilemmas

For this hook, you think about any two options that are both not desirable for some reasons 

Example:

What will you do if you find out that your good friend has committed an offense to your other friend?

Your story

If you have any relevant story, it is better to include such in your text. Personal experience is always more interesting to readers. The most important point here is to describe it briefly, without any excessive details. Indicate only those details that can potentially help you to interest your future readers. 

Questions

Questions are other good hooks for your essay. They leave enough room for consideration and exploring some valuable things for your readers. If you ask any questions, you can reach two goals at the same time. First of all, you engage a reader in a thinking process. If you form this question properly, your reader will likely engage him/her in this story. The second point is that you intrigue your reader and induce him/her to continue reading and reach the answer at the end of your essay. As you may guess, it is wise to place this answer closer to the end of your story and put some remarks in your text to keep your readers interested. 

Context

If any of the abovementioned types are not appropriate for your case, then you should think about making a context for your writing. Think thoroughly about how to describe it briefly and in a manner that can interest your readers. For instance, you may reach this by placing distinctive elements to the ordinary description. If you need to describe some room, you draw your reader’s attention to some unusual element there and describe it further. 

Metaphors

This is another good hook. Sometimes definitions, anecdotes, or other types of hooks can be inappropriate. In this case, you may consider metaphors to express some meaning and expand it further during your writing.

Example:

Her eyes were like an ocean, so broad and had a little secret.

Last Words

Hooks are some kind of spices for your essay. Feel free to add such to make your writing more interesting and engaging. Their main purpose is to catch and hold your future readers’ attention through the entire process of reading. 

When you develop your hooks, try to think like your future readers and emphasize any points that may interest them. Try to be balanced when including your hook and not overload your text. It should be interesting but not be like fireworks. 

Wish you many interesting hooks and engaged readers.