Useful Advice On How To Create A Hook In An Essay

Everyone has heard of the term “hook” to describe how you want to entice your reader to continue reading an article. It is something that is necessary to grab the attention of your reader so they will continue to read your paper you worked so hard on. The hook needs to occur in the first one or two sentences of your essay. Here are some suggestions of what type of hooks you can use that will help you latch on to your audience and make them continue to read:

• A literary quote – If you are writing about an author, book, or other literary piece, a quote can make your article more believable.
• A quote from a famous person – If you cite a quote from a famous person, you work may seem more influential. If you quote from a famous speech, it can open up your essay with something powerful.
• Questions – People seem attracted to questions because it causes people to think and it peaks their interest, especially if they don’t know the answer to the question. It is better not to ask “yes” or “no” questions because they are too cut and dry. Ask questions that may stimulate the beginning of a conversation.
• Anecdote – Humor often breaks the ice in the beginning of an essay. It kind of puts the audience at ease and makes them more apt to keep reading. It doesn’t necessarily mean the rest of the article has to be humorous either.
• Some surprising fact – You will grab the attention of most readers if you give them some interesting, unique, surprising information. People love to hear unusual facts and if you have one of those in the beginning, they may read the rest just to see if there is some more.
• A scene – People love visualization and like to be placed at the scene of the “crime”, so to speak. If you can begin your study by putting your reader at the scene by some great descriptive hooks, your reader will want to know the rest of the story.
• Statistics – Audiences love facts and statistics. It creates interest in your reader and they will want to learn more and statistics give validity to your story.

Any of these hooks will help talk your reader into reading the rest of your essay. Try one or more of them and you can be assured you will have succeeded in latching onto your audience.