You can think of an essay hook as you would a fishing hook: it's something that grabs a reader and reels him in. The hook for your essay could be any interesting sentence that captures attention and keeps the reader reading.
--Grace Fleming, "Finding a Hook for your Essay" http://homeworktips.about.com/od/essaywriting/a/hook.htm 1) The day of my birth began with Hurricane Charlie pounding at our door in Charleston, South Carolina. 2) There was nothing more isolating than being alone in a foreign country, with no cell phone, no money, and no ability to speak the language. 3) It was Christmas of 1995 when my parents taught me a valuable lesson: always expect the unexpected. Begin with an anecdote. As my cousin and I pedaled our new bikes to the beach, 6 years old, suntanned and young, we met an old, shaggy-haired man weaving unsteadily on a battered old bike. Begin with a quotation. 1) “Learn to laugh” is something my kindergarten teacher told me after Ralph Thorsen spilled paint on my daffodil picture. 2) General Patton once said, “If a man does his best, what else is there?” 3) When Hillary Clinton said, “We must stop thinking of the individual and start thinking about what is best for society,” she highlighted one of the biggest issues in American politics. Begin with a figurative device (simile, metaphor, idiom, etc.) 1) My life has been a carnival. 2) My family is like an open book. 3) When I first went to Japan, it was like a baby bird trying to fly for the first time. 4) The high rate of poverty in America is the country’s elephant in the room. Begin with a comparison to a well-known person or celebrity. I am as photogenic as Tyra Banks. Begin with placing yourself in the future. In the year 2012 I see myself as a supreme ballerina performing in Camelot at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Begin with a dilemma. Deciding to attend Hampton Roads Academy, a private school, was one of my most difficult decisions. Begin with the best advice you have ever received. “Butch, did you practice the piano?” Since I was six years old, this has been a daily reminder from my dear mother. “Be all you can be” has been my inspiration from my grandfather who is a retired Marine Corps colonel and my mentor. There was nothing more isolating than being alone in a foreign country, with no cell phone, no money, and no ability to speak the language. - It was Christmas of 1995 when my parents taught me a valuable lesson: always expect the unexpected. |
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