| When writing an essay, it�s always best to begin with a hook, something that grabs your readers� attention and holds it. Here are some of the most common hooks: Set the scene: For example, you may begin an essay on teen pregnancy like this: �She stumbles onto the bus, trying to balance her schoolbag and her baby. As she counts out her meager change, she tries to ignore the whispering of the other school kids.� Ask a question: For an essay on police profiling: �Do you look like a killer?� Use dialogue: For an essay on violence in video games: �So James, why do you like to play Grand Theft Auto so much?� Four year old James looks up with wide, baby blue eyes and says, �cause I get to kill people!� Use a definition: For an essay on the Modernism movement in art: �Modernism was a movement that began in the early 19th century and relied mainly on experimental techniques.� Use exaggeration: For an essay on youth crime: �Crime among our youth is absolutely out of control!� Use a famous quote: This is an easy one. Try the Bartlett quotes page of the Bartleby website. (Scroll down to "All Quotations" and type in the topic of your essay, and just see what comes up. You might find the perfect thing to begin your paper.) Use a shocking statistic: For an essay on mental health: �85% of individuals diagnosed with substance abuse have suffered some sort traumatic sexual abuse.� Here�s your chance to be creative. Show your readers that you can really write and that you can get them interested in what you have to say. It�ll definitely make a difference! |