What Is a Hook in an Essay?

Essay writing is an unavoidable process when you are a student. By assigning multiple essay tasks, your tutors want to evaluate your critical thinking and analytical skills, as well as your writing proficiency. If you want to become a successful essay writer and get good grades for your papers, you need to know all the peculiarities of essay writing. Since there are many such peculiarities when you approach different types of essays; you need to practice your skills as much as possible. However, never neglect an opportunity to ask for help in the process – visit a writing center for advice, talk to your tutors about their expectations, or even buy custom essays when in despair. Yet, here we will explain what it takes to start your paper in a blasting way.

When you write a paper, your aim should be to make your audience read it until the end. For this, you should start it with a hook, which is the first sentence of your paper that literally grabs readers’ attention and makes people continue reading to learn what goes next. It is called a “hook” because it helps the writer catch readers’ attention in a way a fisherman catches a fish. There are several kinds of hooks, and your choice of a hook will depend on the essay type you are supposed to write. 

To grab your reader’s attention, make your first sentence maximally clear, catchy, and concise. In this case, you will spark your reader’s curiosity, making them want to read your essay until the end. Knowing how to write a hook for your essay will help you succeed in academic writing and meet the expectations of the most demanding audience. However, one thing to remember at all times is that you should try to avoid lengthy sentences. If you are unsure how to create a catchy hook for your paper, review our guide; where we list handy tips and suggestions that will help you begin your essay in an engaging way.

Start Your Essay with an Anecdotal Hook

Though the first person use is not allowed in academic essays, there are instances when you are deemed to make an exception. For example, you may need to write a personal narrative essay, which should tell about some episode in your life. To make your audience read about you, you need to make your hook very interesting. The easiest way here would be to use an anecdote that relates to the described life episode. In this case, you can make the readers feel relaxed and interested. Usually, anecdotal hooks are longer than others, but at the same time, they are more catchy and engaging. If you are not sure how to develop your anecdotal hook; you may have a look at some personal essays available on the web or ask for help from your tutor or a writing center at your college or university.

Use a Quote of a Famous Person

One of the best ways to begin your essay is to include a quote from a famous person. If the person is famous, no one will question the credibility of his or her words. At the same time, you should know that this quote should closely relate to the subject of your essay. Otherwise, it will puzzle your reader instead of having the necessary effect. What is more, your hook is not a one-off statement as it still can be restated or reworded in your essay to enrich your arguments.

Start with a Shocking Fact or Statistics

When writing an argumentative or persuasive essay, using statistics or an impressive fact will help you attract your audience. Being impressed with the actual number of people suffering from hunger; your audience will read your essay to learn about efficient solutions for the problem of poverty. When including some facts, you should always mention the original source where the information can be found. If you make up a fake fact to impress your audience, you will never get a good grade for your essay.

Create a Story That Will Interest Your Audience

Readers love interesting and engaging stories. The key to writing a good essay is creating a story that would involve your audience, making them want to read the whole piece. When writing a story hook for your essay; you can make it very long, which will increase the length of your introduction. However, don’t make it too long so that you can develop your story logically and smoothly further in the paper. 

Write a Metaphor Hook

The metaphor hook will not only engage your reader but will also make them develop their creative thinking. By including a metaphor hook in your paper, you will make a good impression on your audience. They will wonder what you are talking about and want to read the whole piece. 

Consider Writing a Description Hook

One more type of hook you may write in your essay is a description hook. By using the right wording, you will need to describe the subject of your essay in a way that will make it maximally interesting for your reader.

No matter what kind of hook you choose for your paper, it should be clear, catchy, and interesting for your reader. If you are unsure what kind of hook to create in your paper; think about the needs and interests of your target audience. You may include a story hook if you are writing a personal story to help your classmates learn more about you. In case you need to write a hook for a speech that should inform your target audience about global warming issues; start your essay with shocking facts or statistics. 

If you still can’t create a catchy hook, you can ask your professor for some examples of successful essays. By reading those examples, you will come up with more ideas and boost your writing inspiration. You can learn how to write hooks that will impress your audience.

Yet, remember that creating a good hook is just the starting point, and it is not enough to write an essay of supreme quality. Other parts do matter! Thus, do your best to write a good introduction that will acquaint your audience with your topic and interest them in reading further. Develop the main body of your paper in a way that provides good arguments and solid evidence. Finally, write an effective conclusion that recaps all your points. All in all, if you want to write an essay that stands out from others, you will need to spend some time and effort and be creative in developing it.  We hope that you will succeed in creating great hooks and essay writing in general with the help of our handy tips.