How To Make A Hook For An Essay: 5 Ideas And Techniques
Many academic experts and professional writers will say that there is no precise formula for composing the perfect essay. They do, however, say there are many techniques one can employ to improve the overall quality of an essay, and a lot of these techniques can be learned with practice and patience. This aligns with the belief that great writing is a life-long pursuit. This article focuses on writing great essay hooks – the opening of any piece of writing that should grab the reader’s attention. Here are five ideas and techniques for achieving this:
How to Write an Essay Hook
- Keep the purpose of the assignment in mind when choosing.
The hook you first come up with might not fit the assignment prompt. You need to consider what the purpose of the assignment is before settling on any one idea. Stay within the assignment’s requirements.
- Draft, revise, and then revise again before making a choice.
First ideas are great, but they don’t always fall in the perfection column. Draft your first opening, revise it, and revise it again before settling on any one choice. There is always room for improvement.
- Always edit and proofread as carefully as the rest of the essay.
Your edits and proofs should be done at the sentence level in the last phase of writing. This is no different than what you should be doing for the hook. Review your opening statement very carefully.
Five Types of Hooks to Consider
- An Interesting or Compelling Fact
Some statistics can blow our minds away. “The U.S. has more obese people alive today than the world has seen combined.” Makes you think. It is interesting and compelling. And best of all, it captures attention.
- A Well-Known, Meaningful Quotation
“Don’t believe everything you read on the internet” – Abraham Lincoln. This famous meme captures attention because it brings people’s reliance on the web that falsities go unnoticed.
- An Anecdote or Relevant Short Story
Do you know how to break the ice? So many pieces of writing we know started with an opening that made people laugh or made us recognize our upbringings. Anecdotes are among the most effective tools for achieving this.
- A Profound Question or Problem
“Save your kid or save the world?” Seems silly and simple, right? Using a question that creates enough of a follow through is a great tool for building academic papers that excel. Think about the questions or problems you want to bring up.
- A Joke or Relatable Funny Story
Finally, starting with a joke is a great way to immediately connect with a reader. You have to be careful about starting with humor. Comedy isn’t easy and there is an appropriate time and place for injecting a bit of fun to an assignment.
Earlier in the article we mentioned that writing is a life-long process and developing the gift of writing a great hook requires a lot of patience and practice. These techniques will help you get started and we recommend that you try each one and work on developing your ability to compose a great opening through your academic career. If you need more advice or ideas, contact our professionals for free resources or one-on-one assistance. We’re always looking forward to assist students in any way possible.