5 Tips For Hook Writing

A hook is an indispensable part of a perfect essay writing that captures the attention of the reader and compels him/her to go through the whole essay. The first one or two sentences of the essay constitute the hook and must be written to bring out the desired effect. It serves as the determinant of whether the reader will go through the whole essay or he/she will find it boring and stop reading after the first few sentences. The content of the essay may be good, but without an interesting hook, you are likely to lose your reader before conveying the message the essay was meant to put across.

Therefore, a hook should always be set in the introductory part of the essay and framed in a way it elicits curiosity to read the rest of the essay. A hook buried deep in the essay would be ineffective, and the reader can easily lose interest in reading the article before even seeing the hook. However, hooks differ from one essay type to another, though the format and style of writing it are basically the same. In the short article, we are going to discuss the types of hooks and how to write a good hook.

Here below are some types of hooks you can use for your essay:

1. Literary quote/ quotes from famous people

Using famous literary quotes by famous public figures makes a good hook. Such hooks are important, especially if writing about a particular person, phenomenon or story. Literary quotes cement the author’s reputation and credibility to write quality work without plagiarism. Quotes from famous people make an intriguing hook that helps to support the argument of your essay by including a famous quote by an authoritative public figure. If famous quotes by public figures used effectively, the essay takes an interesting position in history that has to be supported or challenged by the essay. The quote must also be relevant to the story with a simple meaning. A literary quote hook must be used with a proper attribution and acknowledgment to show the author’s vast knowledge in the subject area.

2. Anecdote

An anecdote hook can be effective, especially in the personal creative essay. Anecdotes trigger a lively mood from the reader by invoking a certain incident that has relevance and intriguing aspect into the story. As the anecdote brings in humor, it sets the mood for the rest of the essay which does not necessarily need to be funny. The hook captures the attention of the reader and motivates him/her to read through the whole essay. Though anecdote hooks are effective, they cannot be employed in every essay since they require a first-person perspective at times and some essays discourage the use of first person language in the essay. However, it grabs the reader’s attention and elicits interest in reading through the essay. Careful use of anecdotes is necessary as it may fail to trigger the expected reaction from the reader and that makes the essay more boring.

3. Pose a question

A rhetoric question makes a good essay hooks. Rhetorical questions do not need to be answered right away, but the rest of the essay tries to answer the question posted earlier in the hook. Rhetorical questions set the reader in critical thinking and make them develop an interest in going through the rest of the essay to understand the perspective of the author on the topic. Rhetorical question hook is effective, though they must be framed to bring the desired effect. It is important to avoid outright ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer when writing rhetoric hooks. As the reader attempts to give his/her perspective on the question posed, he/she continues to uncover the perspective of the reader on the same topic. However, when using a question as a hook, avoid the ambiguity of what the is meaning of the question. If the reader interprets the question wrongly, the hook can kill the reader’s interest in reading the rest of the story.

4. Quoting statistics

Statistics can be a sure way to grab the attention of the readers. Relevant and compelling statistics not only do they capture the attention of the reader, but also, they cement the author as factual, knowledgeable and authoritative. Listing proven facts in the paper create interest that can be carried through the essay. Facts speak for themselves, and the reader can go through the rest of the essay finding relevance and more detail of the statistics used by the author in the essay. Statistics must be wrapped in the right manner to arouse the reader\’s interest. Being able to establish a smooth connection between the statistics and the rest of the essay is a key to ensure the reader remains drawn to the flow of the essay. However, too many statistics in an essay can be boring and dull the hook.

5. Reveal a Common Misconception

The target audience has many beliefs, opinions, and ideas that might not be necessarily right or you do not agree with as the author. Revealing a common misconception, the reader might have about a certain topic, idea or phenomenon gets the reader instantly hooked into going through the rest of the essay. The reader goes through the rest of the essay to find evidence for the conception and ascertain if it is valid enough to make him/her switch positions on the topic. Challenging a common conception insinuates to the reader that they are going to learn something new and encourage them to read through the rest of the essay. The hook should feature the common conception harbored by the audience, and then the flip side the author wants to argue against. However, the hook has to be relevant to the topic, and accurate factual information has to back up the conception to keep the reader interested in reading the whole essay.

Concisely, hooks can take many forms, some of which are not discussed in this essay. However, they are all meant to serve the same purpose and, therefore, found in distinctive parts of the essay. Sometimes you can write down examples of essay hooks for your essay and choose the best for your essay. They do not necessarily need to be long though their purpose should resonate throughout the essay. The hook takes a leading role to set the reader to go through the whole essay. In this article, some common essay hooks have been discussed in length. The appropriate use of each essay hook has been described in detail featuring necessary tips for using it. Hooks for essay writing have a profound effect and act as a guiding element and a reference point throughout the essay. Writers must be meticulous to ensure they come up with the best essay hook to succeed in capturing and maintaining the attention of the author.