How to Write A Hook to Grab Your Reader’s Attention?

  • Eduhelphub,
  • Sep 03, 2020

Research has shown that a reader decides the value of a piece of writing within the first 20 seconds of reading it. Anybody who has ever written any form of essay or documentable write-up will beg to establish the very fact that enticing the audience and keeping them gripped is one of the most difficult parameters to fulfil. Let us journey into the depths of devising an intricate and effective opening attention-catcher, commonly known as the hook, and try to discover its various detailed attributes.

Whose Idea Was It to Write A Hook?

Broadly speaking, it is an inherent quality of a good creator to bind an audience by the virtues of his creation, thus writing a good hook is a part of the creative process. In simpler words, there has always been a need of an eye-catcher, a head-turner, something that would keep the audience thinking.
Although the use of a hook in its true call-to-action form was used by Aristotle in his Greek plays, it has found greater meaning and shape in the modern world. An average person experiences multitudes of avenues that divert their dwindling attention span easily. Thus, the need for a more structured and embossed part of presentation irrespective of the type of essay you are writing. This gave rise to the modern-day hook of that is implicated solely towards selling your stuff

Why Is It Significant to Write A Hook in Text?

The hook creates the first and last impression
 
Writing a hook serves the purpose of defining the tone of your essay. The readers will be aware of the approach and how the author wishes to unfold his arguments mostly through the introduction, especially the opening.
This creates the very first and lasting impression of the particular piece of work, thus it needs to be crafted carefully as the weight of the whole writing rests on this pivotal part.

Writing a hook serves as an enticing element

If a hook of an essay is carefully crafted, it works wonders in attracting the reader’s attention. They metaphorically get hooked to the content through this literary tool. Thus, on successfully producing an effective hook to your essay, you can ensure increased attention span from the readers and naturally more readers over all.

The trick is to captivate by a hook

This very piece of writing begins with a hook that perhaps is effective enough since you are already halfway through the whole thing. But the fact that some might miss it, mistake it for a common starting sentence, makes it all the more effective! The laudable quality of a great hook is its ability to camouflage itself and blend in with the normal, but still act as an understated trigger!

“An essay hook almost works like a tagline or a catchphrase in the world of marketing and advertising. Both act on similarly sentiments and both work on familiar principles.”

How to Organise to Write A Hook?

As we have previously learnt in how to write an essay, organisation and arrangement of the elements play a significant role in completion of an effective essay.
The essay format should ideally be categorized into three parts namely the introduction the conclusion and the middle part known as the body of the essay.
Furthermore the introduction part of the essay can be e stratified into three distinct sections.
The starting of the introduction should contain an attention catching line called a hook which can be e a trivia effect or a humorous quote, or all of them combined which works as a tool of grabbing the reader’s interest.

This hook should be followed by a few lines describing the topic of the essay and providing basic background information for the readers

The ending of the essay introduction should contain the thesis statement that indicates the core idea of the essay and beware the readers of the upcoming concepts cementing the significance off the topic in the introduction of an essay.

A well-structured introduction should follow the Hook > background description > thesis statement template in order to effectively impact the readers.

How to Write A Hook and Make It (The Audience) Stick?

In the journey of exploring the crevices of techniques writing a hook, we have already learnt what the origins of a hook is, where it stems from, it’s basic attributes and impact.
Now let’s delve into the peripherals of writing a hook and techniques of effectively implementing it.

Two stark categories can be assumed, which when combined, holds the making of an effective essay hook; the type of hook and the approach of implementing a hook. Although independent of each other, both of these aspects have to be cohesive in order to effectively devise a hook.

Examples and Types of Essay Hooks

Prominent techniques and themes have been highlighted such as:

Using statistics to write a hook
The use of numbers predominantly makes a matter more perceivable and quantifiable, thus making it more read-worthy. The use of statistics and analytics as an essay hook is an effective measures.

Examples of how to write a hook using statistics:
“By 2030, 48% of the living Gorilla population in cold, snowy Northern Russia will plummet to a dwindling population of just 242”

Using a word of advice as an essay hook
 Using a word of advice, or a simile as an essay hook is one of the more prominent ways of devising an opening to your essay these similes are usually e age old proverbs which reflect a positive connotation inside the readers’ minds and helps in building intrigue.

Example of how to write it took using an advise
If you are writing an expository essay dealing about the merits of perseverance, you may start your essay with ” do not count your chickens before the eggs hatch, has been told and repeated several times throughout our lives but one would only appreciate the true significance of a saying once it has already happened to them in person….”

Using definitions to write a hook –
Often a dictionary definition is used as an opening line to grab the audience’s attention. This method, although I am used and tested several times still remains one of the most archaic forms of writing a hook.

Example of writing a hook using definition
“The Cambridge dictionary defines the term ‘cognition’ as the use of conscious mental processes, which presume the faculties of the mind and it’s implementations in actuating surrounding concepts” can be used as a hook for a definition essay on the human psyche.

Using anecdotes to write a hook
 The use of anecdotes for personal experiences to write a hook is often an intelligent way of both attracting your audience’s attention and making them feel a part of the experience as well. As soon as the reader starts to to relate with the content he or she will be intrigued to keep reading.

Example of how to write a hook using an anecdote
“During my childhood in the 90s the television would endorse advertisements that would warn us about the ill effects of watching a solar eclipse through to our naked eyes, and since then it has become common knowledge that a protective shield on layering should be used while witnessing the beauteous phenomenon of an eclipse”
Would be the starting lines to an argumentative essay about misconceptions regarding significant elements of outer space.

Using a dilemma to write a hook

In literature we find a pattern of self-contradicting literary tool also known as the catch 22 situation. It presents the readers with the moral dilemma, for which any chosen path will somehow cause a native effect.
A representation of such a dilemma insights the readers into you are actively participating in the thinking process.

Example of using a dilemma to write a hook

“Suppose a poor person needs a job to sustain his education but also needs a certain basic education to be eligible for a job, what does the person do then?”
Could be a smart opening for an analytical essay based on the preliminary workings of the society

Using famous quotes to write a hook

One of the most sought-after hooks in common literature can be identified to be famous quotations for quotations by famous people. The use of quotations by people who are loved and regarded by a majority population cancer is a tool to live the readers into to investing more time and attention to your writing.

Example of how to write a hook using quotes

“‘One small step for man; one giant leap for mankind’ quoted the first man ever on the moon, Neil Armstrong, as he set his left foot down on the lunar surface, at 10:56 ET, 20th July, 1969.” could be used
As an opening hook for a cause and effect essay dealing with the rise of technology and its effects on mankind.

How to Write a Hook Using Humour?

Leading the introduction with a humorous approach might prove to be a tricky ordeal for some. Humour in itself is a subjective matter and its interpretation is considerable not set in stone. Thus, manoeuvring a joke or funny comment in order to grip the audience’s attention could be a hit or a miss.

Example of how to use humour as a hook

“Have you heard of artificial intelligence? Well I think ok it will soon makers do to its own assignments instead of helping us to do ours” could be an amicable start to a persuasive essay that argues against the rise of technology.

Using questions to write a hook

Questioning the already bewildered audience right when they are the most vulnerable as a master tactic used by writers and implemented into a hook. The reader’s upon facing a crucial question write the start of your essay will found about its possibilities and digit to it on a personal level. Empathy on a personal level is always beneficial to the readability of the content.

Example of how to write a hook using a question

” Is your life a constant battle between self-satisfaction and passion for more?”
Or
“Are you where you had imagined yourself 10 years ago?” could be flavour openings to an essay that would capture the reader’s imagination and attention alike.

The Approach Of Implementing A Hook

The second aspect of writing a hook is to select the approach towards writing the hook
The approach one undertakes in writing a hook for an essay in turn affects the readability e and the worthiness of content and depends on the structure of an essay
Some key elements that decide an approach towards an essay have been identified.

The target audience for the essay

Depending upon the target audience of the essay the hook can be structured and devised adequately. Major categories like division based on income gender geographical location political situation and other demographics influence the type of hook to be used

The Type of Essay Decides the Type of Hook

Choosing a hook becomes easy when you have a per-determined essay topic to write on. Thus, according to the requirement and types of essays the topics can be chosen and further, one can decide upon the hook.

The significance of writing the essay

An essay is written on a subject or topic when there is a need to address a lack of structured information on knowledge. Based on the need to write the essay for the need to fulfil a lack of a particular dimension, the essay hook can be chosen.
For example it would not be justified to start a hook with a joke while writing an essay on a serious issue such as cancer or racism. On the other hand it might also not be appropriate to use statistics hook to a scientific research because the body would inherently contain diverse list of statistics and facts does making the hook redundant.

Preparing an accurate outline

Through the approach of preparing a a precise and appropriate outline to your essay you can visualise each element and how one links to another and thus device an effective hook to the introduction based on the overall concept and idea that has been portrayed in the essay.

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