Have you ever had trouble writing a hook? I know most of the students are familiar with the hook part because they have studied essay writing in their course. I was in primary school when we were taught essay writing but those were simple essays.

After coming to high school, I got to know that essay writing isn’t as simple as I had thought. The main problem that students face is writing a catchy hook. People who have reading habits can write creatively.

Now, what about those who do not like to read? That’s my biggest concern because I was at that place once.

Do you know anything about essay hooks?

The name is self-explanatory as it’s the first two sentences of the introduction. Its purpose is to engage the reader so that the reader gets intrigued and stays “hooked” until the end. If it's catchy, it means that you are successful in keeping readers engaged.

I used to get so frustrated because I had a hard time writing the hooks of an essay. I would always ask: “how do I start it?” My sister used to write my essay because I always did a mediocre job. Now that is not the case anymore. Thanks to all the tutoring, I finally learned this skill.

One rule of academic writing is that the hook is limited to one or two sentences, not more than that.

I know it’s an uphill task to write an informative and catchy hook but worry not because I am here to help you. Here are some tips and tricks for you.

Keep reading until the end.

Know your audience.

Being a writer, it’s your job to figure who you are writing for? You have to think from the reader’s perspective what can be of their interest? College essays are usually those types of essays where you have to make an effort to keep your readers captive and also, to get good grades, make them stand out.

Think of a famous saying, an anecdote or whatever you think of the subject. You have to keep in mind that your essay must stand out.

Objective Behind your Essay.

Another important thing is that your hook must stay aligned with the overall format of the essay. It does not look good if you integrate the irrelevant hook within your essay. You have to know what type of essays you are writing.

For a narrative essay, an anecdote would be fine. For personal statements, it is advisable to write something catchy so that the judge who is reading your essay instantly says, “yup, I want to know more”.

So, the hook has great use in personal statements as well.

It does not have to be something complicated, a simple two sentences intriguing the audience serve the same purpose.

“The day I met Beyonce, my life completely changed”.

A reader would stay at the mention of Beyonce and they will read further because now they are curious and expect something exciting in the essay.

I wish I knew these tips, before, that I am sharing with you as it would have made things a lot easier for me. I always have to ask an essay writer to write essays for me. I would have scored “As” on my own rather than relying on other essay writers.

Still not guilty!!!

Work on an outline.

This is a crucial tip and is appreciated enough. Writing an outline organizes your ideas and allows you to think beyond. It also helps with the structure and tone and style of the essay. I get it that the hook is an important part of the essay but just write an outline and then come back to writing the hook.

Connection with Thesis.

Hook has to be connected with the thesis as the reader has to know that your thoughts are tied together and you are not just presenting un-scattered throughout your essay. Always remember that connection matters.

You don’t wanna jump from one idea to another. Stay focused on one idea in one paragraph. Also, to make sense of the entire essay, the hook has to have some sort of connection to the thesis and the entire essay.

Types of Hooks

Now that you are done with how to write a hook and other rules, it’s time to learn the type of hooks that are used in essays.

Famous saying,
interesting statistics,
anecdotes,
use of metaphors,
rhetorical questions,
setting description,
joke
challenge misconception

These types of hooks are used for different types of essays. Describing a powerful setting, sharing a personal anecdote, telling a joke, using metaphors, sharing statistics, and using quotes make an essay stand out.

When I was not good at essay writing, I used to mix them up because you have to use these types with the given essay format. I would write four liner hooks. Once, I took help from a essay writing service because I didn’t know better. The service was good and I was able to score an A.

Don’t worry guys, I don’t do that anymore.

Trust me guys, these are some important tips and tricks and I am sure you will learn a great deal. You are wondering that for two sentences, one has to put this much effort. Well, for a good essay, this effort is worth it.

Remember, the first impression is the last impression. So, make sure you make a good impression. Practice and get better at it rather than running away from it.

Useful Resources:

Basic Tips for Writing a Quality Research Paper

Learn to Make a Perfect Outline for Your Personal Essay

Grab Readers Attention Through an Amazing Essay Hook