![]() They rely on the speaker’s senses, drawing from details that are visual, tactile, or auditory to draw the reader into the essay. The air becomes thick with smoke and I am soon forced out of the walls of the mud-brick house while she laughs.” (NYT)īoth of these opening paragraphs have successful essay hooks because they jump straight into the thick of it - there’s no time for slow building action here. She kneads the dough and places it on the stove, her veins throbbing with every movement: a living masterpiece painted by a life of poverty and motherhood. “My grandmother hovers over the stove flame, fanning it as she melodically hums Kikuyu spirituals. She wore rings on every finger of her right hand, but on her left she only wore her wedding ring.” (NYT) While she completed the overcast stitch, the thimble on her index finger protected her from the needle pokes. “The way the light shined on her skin as she sewed the quilt emphasized the details of every wrinkle, burn and cut. Try reflecting on the story you plan to tell: what about your identity, circumstances, or surroundings provides an insightful and unexpected angle into what you want to say? Jot down a few ideas and try several approaches before settling on your final opening line. Unless you have a clear (or funny) story to tell from the beginning, they can be harder to write naturally. However, these types of hooks can also be more difficult to write. Simply put, this is a great way to grab your reader’s attention. There’s also an implicit sense of humor here: who catches themselves baking pies when they receive upsetting news? These hooks position the speaker as quirky, likable, and ready to offer some insight about what their unique life experiences have taught them. ![]() These essay hooks work well because they’re unusual, but not hyper dramatized: both of the hooks above read as genuine. ![]() Starting your essay with a contradiction or surprising juxtaposition immediately catches any reader’s intrigue. “Not all sons of doctors raise baby ducks and chickens in their kitchen. “On the day my first novel was rejected, I was baking pies.” (Hamilton) What Types of Hooks Are There? Open With the Unexpected In this blog, I’ll introduce common “hook” styles that have been successful for past students, caution against the pitfalls that many applicants fall into, and share my top strategies for practicing writing your own essay hooks. ![]() What you find humorous or intellectual might come across to your reader as boring or overdrawn. It’s hard to know what will feel appropriate for your essay, and what captures someone’s attention is so innately personal. Essay hooks can also simultaneously be the hardest piece of your essay to write.įor most high school writers, composing essay hooks can take some practice. The very first sentence of your essay - commonly referred to as the ‘hook’ - is a direct invitation to the reader to walk into your world for the next few minutes. With 650 allotted words, you have the power to craft a captivating narrative about who you are, what you value, and most importantly - where you see yourself going. It’s not much of an exaggeration to say that this essay is the soul of your application. What exactly have you been doing for the past four years? Are you a student leader, community game-changer, future tech mogul? And then - your personal statement. Imagine an admissions officer reading your application: they start with the mundane, beginning with your home address and biographical information, then moving down your application to your test scores and activities list next. Essay Hooks: How to Grab Your Reader With Your Writing
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