Essay Hooks: How to Write Papers like a Pro

Creating texts is a complicated task for any person, but it is not really a talent – it is more of skill. If a person who is aware of nothing about writing, practices and reads the helpful articles how to improve their technics, writes a bit each day and carefully proofreads their text, they will 100% become a good writer soon. However, this skill requires a lot of work, patience, and sometimes the need to use the help of online essay editor as many times as needed, and now to find someone who can write my college essay for me is never been easier.

We have prepared an article for the writers who already have some skills, but need to learn how not only to make texts that are readable but that also truly attract the readers’ attention. This article is going to introduce you to the so-called “essay hooks” that will make your essay more intriguing and piquant. You might have never heard of this term that is why we are going to explain to you how your essay hook has to look like and what it is.

Read also: Do you have someone to write my paper for me

What is an Essay Hook? 

Just like in boxing, the hook is a punch that knocks down the opponent, in writing, it is the sentence whose effect is so fast that the reader is so captured, they find themselves lost in the world of 500 words essay format and phrases. The hook sentences are the ones that attract your attention by offering some clinging information that intrigues you and you wish to read a bit more to find out what that sentence was supposed to mean. In the result, you end up reading the whole article, and the aim of a writer is achieved. You might wish to be aware of how to write a hook – there are several rules that will help you in mastering this skill. Do you wish to find out more? Then keep on reading!

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How to Write a Good Hook for Essays

So, now that you know what essay hooks are, you will want to know how you can start to write one for yourself. Well, you have come to the right place! We have created some steps that you can take to understand how to write a hook for an essay. Of course, these steps will also ensure that you write a good one that is going to grab the attention of your reader and make sure that they continue to read on to the main body of your paper.

Find Some Inspiration

The best way that you can understand how important essay hooks are are by reading them in action. You can read some papers online that will introduce their topic and, in their introduction, they will demonstrate an essay hook. Of course, you do not want to copy anyone’s hook ideas, but it is a good way to understand how you can frame your hook. So, perhaps you can read another subject to make sure that it does not influence your work in any way.

Identify Your Audience

It does not matter for which resource you are creating an article it always has an audience. Whether it is for the school, your own blog, or the random website, there have to be particular features that unite the people who are going to examine your essay. Knowing well your readers will aid you to invent how to attract their attention and surprise them. If your audience is an intelligent type, you might wish to use the literary quote as the hook sentence. If your readers are mostly kids and young people, the simple anecdote will be a perfect match. Just imagine your readers in your mind and start writing for them – the creation of the text will be easier because you are aware of whom you are addressing.

Identify a Purpose of Your Writing

You will be aware of how to write a hook for an essay if you fully understand the purpose of your writing. Do you wish to make your reader be afraid? Then the hook sentence has to be some fact that will terrify your audience. Do you want to put your reader in a playful mood? Then provide an anecdote for the hook sentence. You need to realize why you are creating this article and how you wish your narratees to feel about it. You have to be aware of what you wish your readers to take away from your article – cheer up, question the facts, or become frightened. This will help you to formulate the hook sentences much better. When you know the reason why you are creating the essay, your flow of words and sentences will be even. Maybe there are some scientific principles which could make your essay better. 

Think of the Format to Use

Of course, there is no one formula for how to make a hook. This means that you can use anything from a personal story or quotation to a statistic or big number. It will be your decision what one will fit the format of your essay. You should select one that you think will blend in and make sense.

Research Your Hook Ideas

One of the main steps involved in how to write a hook for an essay is to do your research. You want to find information to include in first couple of sentences that is going to capture the attention of anyone that is reading your essay and really make them intrigued to keep reading and learn more. Try to find reliable sources for your essay hooks, which includes textbooks, academic journals, newspapers and interviews. After all, you do not want to start out with something that you contradict later on!

Relate to Your Work

While this may seem like an obvious step, a lot of papers do not make their hook about their essay. In other words, they are using statistics or other quotes that have nothing to do with the subject matter you are writing about. This will only confuse your reader and it will not align with the rest of your work. So, make sure that any of your hook ideas relate clearly to your essay and lead on to your findings.

Create the Hooks

Here, you are very welcome to turn in your imagination, and having in mind who your audience is and why you are creating your article, you can create the powerful hook sentences. You have to start your essay with the hook sentence already because if the audience reads the first couple of sentences from the article, and they are not attracted, they will not give your text another chance by reading it till the end. They will simply switch to another article. You need to divide your essay into several paragraphs and start each paragraph with the hook sentence. Your reader will thus be motivated to read the text until the end.

Essay Hook Types to Use

Do you understand now what the hook sentences are and how to make them? Very well. The next thing we want to try to explain to you is what types of hooks exist. Of course, it is pretty difficult to define the types because as long as your imagination works, the hooks will keep on appearing making your writing technics better. But let us be honest – the types still exist, and we will show you the most basic ones so that you are aware of what we mean based on the elementary examples. Are you still interested? Then do not close the article and keep on reading!

Literary Quotes

There is something about the literary quotes that makes the audience read it until the end (if it is not five lines, of course). It has a magical effect because as soon as you find that the name of the author is famous, you want to find out what they thought about one thing or another. Writing an essay hook like this is pretty easy – you take the topic, search for the quote that seems attractive to you, and add to your article. The following paragraph needs to explain what the quote says and be a natural continuation of it. But don't forget to write a bibliography, if you use someones' thoughts in your essay.

Anecdote

A perfect essay hook for the text aimed to entertain your reader would be a short anecdote. Even if you do not intend your paragraph to be funny, a bit of humor in its beginning will attract the audience’s attention. The only thing you have to pay attention to is whether your essay does or does not have to contain the first person narration. The majority of anecdotes are told from the first person – if it is not allowed to use “I,” just find an anecdote that is told from the third person.

Question

Here, you have to be careful because the question needs to be truly intriguing. It has to be well-constructed and clear to the reader – you have to make them want to find out the answer to it by reading the following paragraph. It is not easy to write a good essay hooks especially if it is a question. Before inventing the question, check if the answer to it is neither “Yes,” nor “No” – the best option here would be to ask the question that offers the choice. In the paragraph, you are not obliged to choose sides and indeed choose something. You only have to mention the pros and cons of both and allow your reader to decide themselves what to choose.

Fact or Definition

There is no better way to grab your reader’s attention than to provide some curious fact or the definition of the word they have never heard of. The best essay hooks examples here would be: “The US has more people with mental disorders than any other country in the world” or “Kakorrhaphiophobia is a fear of failure.” See? You were yourself interested when you read this! Using these technics will guarantee your article would be popular among your audience.

Statistics

Another hit that would make any article attractive to your reader. For some reason, when people see the numbers, they feel the need to read the sentence until the end. If your sentence is short and clear, and it provides interesting and useful statistical data about something, the audience will read it. Do you not believe us? Check yourself: “41% of the children in Africa are engaged in child labor aged between 5 and 14.” We bet you not only read the sentence until the end but also took a moment and thought how terrible this is to hear. We bet you would read the following paragraph to find out more about this horrifying statistics.

What is a hook in an essay? Now you know. Do you understand now what we meant when we said it is a difficult path to choose? Unfortunately, writing readable texts is not enough. You have to keep your audience on their toes. You have to make it want to read the text until the end. You have to make it feel sorry when the article is over. You have to make it want to read more of your articles. And here, the knowledge of how to write the hook sentences will come in handy.

Some Tips About Essay Hook Ideas

As we have already mentions there are lots of types of hooks for essays. It is all about figuring out what one will work best with your paper. We have created a few tips you can follow and how you can select the right one for your essay.

  • Start with an Interesting Fact

Everyone loves a good fact and it is the perfect way to capture the attention of your audience straight away. For example, if you are writing about the effectiveness of the UK Parliament, a fact can really set the scene. For example, ‘The UK parliament was established way back in 1215 under King John’.

  • Use Your Favourite Literary Quote

How to use a quote as a hook? When you choose your favourite literary quote for your essay, your passion about the subject shows. If you find the quote interesting and thought-provoking, the chances are so will your audience. For example, if you are writing about Anne Frank and her diary during World War II, you may choose to include the powerful quote: ‘how wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world’.

  • Tell a Fascinating Story

Essay hooks that tell a story help the ready to create an image in their head before they start reading the main body of your work. It could make them laugh and want to read on or get them thinking about the topic. For example, if you are writing about the advantages of the UK welfare state, you could start with a story about how the welfare state helped a family in their most desperate time and demonstrate to your reader the impact it has had on their lives.

  • Shock with Numbers and Statistics

Sharing the numbers will really demonstrate what your paper is about and make people want to read more. For example, if you are writing about prisons and recidivism, it would make sense to use a statistic that demonstrates how prisons are or are not working and the current recidivism rates. This will introduce your topic nicely and make good hooks for essays.

  • Reveal a Common Misconception

Think about a misconception that your reader might be thinking before they read your research. By showing how this is a misconception, it will grab their attention and make them want to find out the truth. For example, if you are writing about health and needs of dogs, you could start by debunking the fact that one human year is equivalent to seven years for a dog. This fact actually depends on the size and breed of the dog.

  • Ask a Rhetorical Question

To start your essay, you can ask your readers a rhetorical question. The point of this is to make them think and become interested in what you are writing about. For example, if you are writing about the campaigning and protesting that was done to gain women’s right to a vote, you could ask your reader; ‘wouldn’t you have done the same?’

  • Ask and Answer a Question

For a different way to open your essay, think about asking a question and then giving the answer to your reader. For example, if you are writing about what you should expect in an interview, why not start out with a common question? This could include: ‘What is your greatest weakness? While this may sound like a hard question, it is all about turning your weakness into a positive for your employer’.

  • Share a Personal Experience

Want to know how to make a good hook? Well, you can start by sharing your own personal experience. This is a great way to tell a story and show your passion for the subject you are writing about. Plus, a lot of readers prefer to hear about the perspective of a writer. If you are writing about the importance of the NHS in the UK, you could tell a story about how you relied on the medical services.

  • Quote an Expert

Let’s face it; people want to know what the experts are saying about a subject. So, you can use this for essay hooks. For example, if you are writing about climate change, why not mention what some expert think about it. Robert Devoy, who is a climate scientist said, ‘the last time the planet warmed this much, 88% of life disappeared’. This is sure to capture the attention of your audience and make them want to read on.

Need Any Help?

If you do not feel the power even to try to write an excellent essay because you are too tired and overloaded with other tasks, our essay helpers are ready to assist you. Our writing essay company has a huge number of qualified native English speakers who will be more than happy to write you a qualitative essay full of hook sentences. Your article will keep your readers on the edge of their seats until the end of the text. Believe us, we have a huge experience in the field.

What we offer you is to relax and let the professionals do their job as perfectly as you never would. Our writing experts have written hundreds of essays with the correctly inserted hook sentences that have impressed dozens of professors. Occupy yourself with the much more important thing and allow us to help you. We will provide excellent articles, speech writing help or research in a short time.

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