Introduction to Persuasive Essay Writing:
Hook Statements
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You may invent personal anecdotes, startling statements, vivid
description, and/or interesting questions as hooks.
DO NOT MISATTRIBUTE QUOTES TO WRONGFUL SOURCES.
Example currently on the internet of misattributed quote:
Marilyn Monroe once said, “To all those girls who think they're fat
for not being size zero, it is not you is ugly; it is society."
–Newsflash: There was no such thing as a size zero during Monroe’s era!
DO NOT INVENT STATISTICS OR FABRICATE FACTS.
Example from a student’s paper of fabricated statistic:
“Schools should not spend money on field trips since field trips are
unsafe. According to TIME Magazine, 9 out of 10 students get injured
when they go on a field trip.”
Blatant lies spotted by the reader weaken your argument and make
you sound like a fool.
, Sample Hook Statements:
1. Opening that provides general background information Give
readers the background information they will need in order to understand
the body of your paper. You might need to define important terms, identify
people and places, or provide a brief history.
a. Hook: Although friction between Native Americans and settlers existed from
the moment the first Europeans arrived in North America, the “Trail of Tears”
incident of 1830 marked the lowest point in America’s relationship with its
native population. Transition/Lead-in: In defiance of an 1832 Supreme Court
ruling declaring the Indian Removal Act of 1830 unconstitutional, Federal and
Georgian authorities proceeded to force the exodus of fifteen thousand
members of the Cherokee Nation from their homes in Georgia to Oklahoma,
hundreds of miles to the west. Because of their suffering, the Cherokee people
called the path they were forced to follow to Oklahoma “The Trail of Tears.”
Thesis: The authorities who forced Native Americans to flee their homes were
responsible for stripping Native Americans of their land, depriving them of their
freedom, and forcing them to adapt and create a new culture.
2. Opening with an unusual detail This is something that people would
likely not know and makes them want to read on to find out why.
a. The pentagon has twice as many bathrooms as are necessary (Source to follow
here).
3. Opening with a strong statement
a. Schindler's List graphically portrays the horrific acts of German concentration
camps in World War two.
4. Opening with a quotation
a. My mother always said, “The ultimate responsibility always lies within you, and
the opportunities are the ones you create.”
b. John F. Kennedy once said, “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask
what you can do for your country.” (If the quote is widely known, you do not
have to include the source.)
c. Quotation: Hillary Rodham Clinton once said that “There cannot be true
democracy unless women's voices are heard” (Source to follow here).
Hook Statements
Ag o
odintroducto
r yparagr
aphi sbetween4-10sentence
sinl e
ngth,
begi
nswithaho oks t
rat
egy(i.
e.be gi
nwi t
haquo te
,a nunusual
fa
ct/
sta
tis
tic,at
ho ughtf
ulorrel
ev antquest
ion,backgro
undi nfor
mation,
orapersonalst
ory),andendswithac l
earthesi
sst
a t
ement.
Notonlyshouldyourhookse
rvetoimmedi
ate
lygrabthereade
r’s
i
nter
est,butitshoul
dbeana t
urall
ead-
int
oyourthesi
s,anda
meaningf
ulo ppor
tunit
yfort
hereadert
orel
atet
ot het
opicofyour
es
say.
Makesuret
oincl
udesomet
rans
iti
onals
ent
enc
esbe
twe
ent
hehookand
t
hethe
sisst
ate
ment.
You may invent personal anecdotes, startling statements, vivid
description, and/or interesting questions as hooks.
DO NOT MISATTRIBUTE QUOTES TO WRONGFUL SOURCES.
Example currently on the internet of misattributed quote:
Marilyn Monroe once said, “To all those girls who think they're fat
for not being size zero, it is not you is ugly; it is society."
–Newsflash: There was no such thing as a size zero during Monroe’s era!
DO NOT INVENT STATISTICS OR FABRICATE FACTS.
Example from a student’s paper of fabricated statistic:
“Schools should not spend money on field trips since field trips are
unsafe. According to TIME Magazine, 9 out of 10 students get injured
when they go on a field trip.”
Blatant lies spotted by the reader weaken your argument and make
you sound like a fool.
, Sample Hook Statements:
1. Opening that provides general background information Give
readers the background information they will need in order to understand
the body of your paper. You might need to define important terms, identify
people and places, or provide a brief history.
a. Hook: Although friction between Native Americans and settlers existed from
the moment the first Europeans arrived in North America, the “Trail of Tears”
incident of 1830 marked the lowest point in America’s relationship with its
native population. Transition/Lead-in: In defiance of an 1832 Supreme Court
ruling declaring the Indian Removal Act of 1830 unconstitutional, Federal and
Georgian authorities proceeded to force the exodus of fifteen thousand
members of the Cherokee Nation from their homes in Georgia to Oklahoma,
hundreds of miles to the west. Because of their suffering, the Cherokee people
called the path they were forced to follow to Oklahoma “The Trail of Tears.”
Thesis: The authorities who forced Native Americans to flee their homes were
responsible for stripping Native Americans of their land, depriving them of their
freedom, and forcing them to adapt and create a new culture.
2. Opening with an unusual detail This is something that people would
likely not know and makes them want to read on to find out why.
a. The pentagon has twice as many bathrooms as are necessary (Source to follow
here).
3. Opening with a strong statement
a. Schindler's List graphically portrays the horrific acts of German concentration
camps in World War two.
4. Opening with a quotation
a. My mother always said, “The ultimate responsibility always lies within you, and
the opportunities are the ones you create.”
b. John F. Kennedy once said, “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask
what you can do for your country.” (If the quote is widely known, you do not
have to include the source.)
c. Quotation: Hillary Rodham Clinton once said that “There cannot be true
democracy unless women's voices are heard” (Source to follow here).
