1. Hooks
Getting your reader to say
“Wow!” “Cool!” or “I need to
read more about that!”

2. What is a hook?
• The attention grabbing first part of every paper
• Usually the first sentence or first several
sentences of your paper’s introduction
• Hooks come in all different shapes and sizes, but
there are several common formats for a hook.

3. The Quotation
• Start your paper out with a quote when you think
something was said just so or when you’ve found
a statement that seems to really grab.
• EX: “All the adversity I’ve had in my life, all my
troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me…
You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick
in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for
you” (Disney par. 3).

4. The Leading Question
• Begin your paper with a question when you want
to provoke your reader to think or respond.
Questions force your reader to interact with you
and get them interested. Questions should not be
easy to answer or out of nowhere. If the reader
isn’t left thinking, they may just pass on your
paper.
• EX: Where can one find the most magical place on
earth?

5. The Anecdote
• A little story you might tell when you’re trying to get to a
bigger point. Using an anecdote to begin your paper makes
the reader connect to your topic.
• If you find you have an old topic, or it is just something
others may not readily relate to, an anecdote can help the
reader to see the topic and paper as relevant or worth
reading.
• Some topics lend themselves more readily to anecdote than
others. Also, they get a little long.

6. Anecdote Example
• EX: It is Christmas morning, and the warm smell of cinnamon and
hot chocolate is flooding the house. Susie and her brother, Joe, just
finished ripping the paper off of their last present as their parents
look through the lens of the video camera. They know they are
about to witness pure excitement at its finest. Susie picks up the
box she and Joe just unwrapped and runs her finger over the
mouse head image on the top. Joe quickly snatches the box from
her and violently opens it. He raises his brow as he realizes there is
only a small piece of paper inside. He lifts the paper out of the box
and reads aloud, “Pack your bags, kids, cause we’re going to
DISNEY WORLD!” Instantly, pure elation fills the room. The kids
look at their parents in disbelief, but they receive the nod of
approval which is all the reassurance they need. Both kids jump up
and down screaming in excitement.

7. The Fun Fact
• Some people like to begin their essays with a fun
fact or two. These are facts which, like the
questions, will cause your reader to pause and
think about the topic at hand. They will hopefully
grab your reader’s attention and make them want
to know more.
• EX: Currently, the Walt Disney Company is worth
over $50 billion (Johnson par. 27).

8. The Analogy
• An analogy is a comparison between things. You’ve
seen them before: dog is a cat as plan is to boat. In
essay writing, though, the analogy hook is one in
which you compare your topic, something that may
not be familiar to the reader, to something that is
much more familiar for them.
• EX: Claiming that Walt Disney achieved his success
without years of hard work is like saying it is easy to
climb Mount Everest. Newsflash, it’s not!