12 Start with a Hook
Kristin D Shelby
Essay hooks ideas
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- A literary quote
Such a hook for essay may be perfect when you write about some particular author, story, literary phenomenon, book, etc. Even if your essay is not fictional in nature, a literary quote will make it sound more “alive” and “fresh”.
Examples:
“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” These words of Nick Carraway perfectly describe…”
“Not all those who wander are lost.” And yes, indeed, every person is so…”
“When we love, we always strive to become better than we are. When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.” Agree or not, but these words from The Alchemist determine…”
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- Quotes of famous people
A person whom everybody knows may be more authoritative and influential than others; that is why writing a quote from his/her speech can be a really good essay hook.
Examples:
“John Wooden once said, ‘Never mistake activity for achievement.’”
“Learn to laugh” is something my kindergarten teacher told me after Ralph Thorsen spilled paint on my daffodil picture.
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- Anecdote
Do not be afraid of spoiling your essay with such an unusual hook. Even if you start writing with some humorous hook, it does not mean your essay will become a funny absurd at once. Some humor can help you grab readers’ attention and awake their interest to the topic.
Examples:
“As my cousin and I pedaled our new bikes to the beach, 6 years old, suntanned and young, we met an old, shaggy-haired man weaving unsteadily on a battered old bike.”
“When I was a young boy, my father worked at a coal mine. For 27 years, he made it his occupation to scrape and claw and grunt his way into the bowels of the earth, searching for fuel. On April 19, 2004, the bowels of the earth clawed back.”
But remember, that in most cases it is not allowed to use the first person in essays, that is why check everything twice before using “I” in your paper.
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- Question
Questions are perfect hooks for essays by all means. Nothing can attract people’s interest better than a question because they will definitely continue reading your essay to find the answer. But try to ask questions that do not lead to such simple answers as “Yes” or “No”; they should lead to some thinking, different attitudes, opposite points of view, alternative variants, etc.
Examples:
“What would you do if you could play God for a day? That’s exactly what the leaders of the tiny island nation of Guam tried to answer.”
“Have you ever wondered, whether Anna Karenina still loved Alexei if she hadn’t decided to commit a suicide?”
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- A scene
People like to visualize everything, and that is why your scene hook will help them draw a clear picture in minds at once. You can describe some incident, or mention some particular features of a person or a character to let readers picture the scene.
Examples:
“The day of his birth began with Hurricane Charlie pounding at our door in Charleston, South Carolina.”
“Deciding to attend Hampton Roads Academy, a private school, was one of my most difficult decisions.”
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- Some fact or definition
Such types of hooks for essays serve to surprise your reader. Give the interesting fact about something you are going to describe and discuss in your essay’s body, and you will grab the attention of your audience at once.
Examples:
“Spain, though hardly a literary juggernaut, translates more books in one year than the entire Arab world has in the past one thousand years.”
“Amiable is the best way to describe Elizabeth’s personality: she was friendly and caring.”
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- Statistics
It’s not the worst essay hooks idea as well. By giving some proven facts at the very beginning of you paper, you will interest your readers and make them want to read more details about the fact provided.
Examples:
“The average iceberg weighs over 100,000 metric tons.”
“70% of all jobs found today were got through different networking strategies”