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So, you need to get someone to be interested in READING your college essay? Try HOOKing them!
What is a hook sentence?
o An opening sentence or sentences that grab the reader’s attention
What can a good hook sentence do for you as a writer?
o Add interest to your writing
o Establish your creativity as a writer early in the piece
o Make the reader want to keep reading
What are some of the different types of hook sentences that you can use?
1. A thought-provoking statement:
People watching the online music industry say two things about that digital marketplace: business is booming, and the business stinks.
From the NY Times Technology section in an article about the crowded marketplace of online music-selling
I didn’t launch my first business, an origami store, when I was in second grade because I craved wealth; customers paid with worthless crayon money. I launched my origami store because I loved to play and discover.
From an essay answering the “significant experience, achievement, risk” question found in College Essays that Made a Difference
2. A statement that is controversial and invites debate:
The blues are dead!
Long live….?
Never fear, the Blues Armageddon has not arrived.
From “Outdoing the Delta” Stereophile November 2003
3. A statement that provokes a sense of mystery or intrigue:
There must be something in the air.
(featured in Stereophile: in an article about a set of beautiful new Italian speakers)
I only remember crying once.
Found in College Essays that Made a Difference, from an essay answering the “event that changed your life” question
4. Word play, juxtaposition, or use of a phrase in a different context
Tax cuts are the gift that keeps on giving.
From Newsweek, Dec. 1, 2003 in an article about what tax cuts can offer you.
Each December a Christmas tree and Menorah share my family room and dreidels and Santa Clauses are juxtaposed on the coffee table.
Found in College Essays that Made a Difference, from an essay answering the “how has the place you live influenced the person you are” question
5. A provocative question:
If fairy tales are where you find them, who can find them now?
From a New Yorker book review
6. Interesting details:
Arapaho, Blackfoot, Cherokee, Dakota, Erie…Lenape, Mohican, Nez Perce… Will I ever fall asleep before I reach the Utes and the Zunis? I, too, am a member of a unique tribe. I am an insomniac.
From How to Write a Killer College Application, K.Cohen, Ph.D.
7. Dialogue:
“Did I wake you, Sleeping Beauty?” It was another wisecracking friend on the phone Saturday morning at 11:30. “Big deal, so I’m still sleeping at noon on the weekends,” I muttered under my breath. Don’t they know that the last time I got a good night’s sleep was last Tuesday? I haven’t slept five hours in a row since I was three. I am an insomniac – and proud of it!
From How to Write a Killer College Application, K.Cohen, Ph.D.
8. Quotation:
“To sleep, perchance to dream. Ay, there’s the rub.” Well, move over Hamlet, because I can’t wait to sleep. I feel more like Macbeth who “murdered” sleep than someone who’s worried about a few bad dreams. In fact, I calculate that I haven’t slept for at least ten of my seventeen years.
From How to Write a Killer College Application, K.Cohen, Ph.D.
There are many more possibilities, so don’t feel you need to emulate the provided examples. But do take a few minutes and in the space below – consider 3 different potential hooks for your own essay. How can you best draw the reader in given your topic?
POTENTIAL HOOK 1 :
Circle what type : thought-provoking statement controversial statement mysterious statement
word play provocative question interesting details dialogue quotation
POTENTIAL HOOK 2 :
Circle what type : thought-provoking statement controversial statement mysterious statement
word play provocative question interesting details dialogue quotation
POTENTIAL HOOK 3 :
Circle what type : thought-provoking statement controversial statement mysterious statement
word play provocative question interesting details dialogue quotation
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