good hooks for essays on books

73 Essay Hook Examples

An essay hook is the first one or two sentences of your essay that are used to grab the reader’s attention and draw them into your discussion.

It is called a hook because it “grabs” the reader and doesn’t let them go! It should have something in there that makes the reader feel curious and intrigued, compelling them to continue reading.

Techniques for Good Essay Hooks

Here are a few techniques that you can use to write a good essay hook:

• Use a Quotation : Sometimes, a relevant quotation from a well-known author or expert can help establish the context or theme of your essay. Next time you’re conducting research for an essay, keep an eye out for a really compelling quote that you could use as your hook for that essay.
• Start with a Statement that is Surprising or Unusual: A surprising or unusually statement will draw a reader in, making them want to know more about that topic. It’s good if the statement contradicts common knowledge or reveals an insight about your topic that isn’t immediately obvious. These can be particularly good for argumentative essays where you’re putting forward a controversial or compelling argument as your thesis statement .
• Tell a Brief Anecdote : A short, interesting story related to your topic can personaize the story, making it more than just a dry essay, and turning it into a compelling narrative that’s worth reading.
• Use Statistics or Facts: Interesting, surprising, or shocking facts or statistics work similarly to surprising statements: they make us want to know more about a topic. Statistics and facts in your introductions are particularly useful for analytical, expository , and argumentative essays.
• Start with a Question: Questions that make the reader think deeply about an issue, or pose a question that the reader themselves has considered, can be really effecitve. But remember, questions tend to be better for informal and personal essays, and are generally not allowed in formal argumentative essays. If you’re not sure if you’re allowed to use questions in your essays, check with your teacher first.

Below, I’ll present some examples of hooks that you could use as inspiration when writing your own essay hook.

Essay Hook Examples

These examples might help stimulate your thinking. However, keep in mind that your essay hook needs to be unique to your essay, so use these as inspiration but write your own essay hook that’s perfect for your own essay.

1. For an Essay About Yourself

An essay about yourself can be personal, use “I” statements, and include memories or thoughts that are deeply personal to you.

• Question: “Have you ever met someone who could turn even the most mundane events into a thrilling adventure? Let me introduce myself.”
• Anecdote: “The smell of freshly baked cookies always takes me back to the day when I accidentally started a baking business at the age of nine.”
• Intriguing Statement: “I’ve always believed that you haven’t truly lived until you’ve read a book upside down, danced in the rain, or taught a parrot to say ‘I love pizza.'”
• Quotation: “As Mark Twain once said, ‘The secret of getting ahead is getting started.’ That’s a philosophy I’ve embraced in every aspect of my life.”
• Humorous Statement: “I’m a self-proclaimed ‘professional chocolate tester’ – a title that’s not only delicious but also requires extreme dedication.”
• Start with your Mission Statement : “My life motto is simple but powerful: be the person who decided to go for it.
• Fact or Statistic: “According to a study, people who speak more than one language tend to be better at multitasking . As a polyglot, I certainly live up to that statistic.”
• Comparison or Metaphor: “If my life were a book, it would be a blend of an adventurous novel, a suspense thriller, and a pinch of romantic comedy.”
• Personal Revelation: “Ever since I was a child, I’ve had an uncanny ability to communicate with animals. It’s an unusual skill, but one that has shaped my life in many ways.”
• Narrative: “The day everything changed for me was an ordinary Tuesday. Little did I know, a single conversation would lead me to discover my true passion.”

2. For a Reflective Essay

A reflective essay often explores personal experiences, feelings, and thoughts. So, your hooks for reflective essays can usually be more personal, intriguing, and engaging than other types of essays. Here are some examples for inspiration:

• Question: “Have you ever felt as though a single moment could change your entire life? This essay is going to explore that moment for me.”
• Anecdote: “I was standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon, looking at the vast emptiness, and for the first time, I truly understood the word ‘perspective’.”
• Bold Statement: “There is a part of me that is still trapped in that room, on that rainy afternoon, holding the letter that would change everything.”
• Personal Revelation: “The first time I truly felt a sense of belonging wasn’t in a crowded room full of friends, but in the quiet solitude of a forest.”
• Intriguing Statement: “In my life, silence has been a teacher more profound than any words could ever be.”
• Quotation: “Einstein once said, ‘The only source of knowledge is experience.’ Now, looking back, I realize how profound that statement truly is.”
• Comparison or Metaphor: “If my life is a tapestry, then that summer was the vibrant thread that changed the entire pattern.”
• Narrative: “As the train pulled out of the station, I realized I wasn’t just leaving my hometown, I was leaving my old self behind.”
• Philosophical Statement: “In the theater of life, we are both the actor and the audience, playing our part and watching ourselves simultaneously.”
• Emotive Statement: “There is a sort of sweet sorrow in remembering, a joy tinged with a hint of sadness, like the last notes of a beautiful song.”

For an Argumentative Essay

Essay hooks for argumentative essays are often the hardest. This type of essay tends to require the most formal type of academic writing, meaning your hook shouldn’t use first person, and should be more based on fact and objectivity, often at the expense of creativity. Here are some examples.

• Quotation: “Thomas Jefferson once said, ‘Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government.’ If Jefferson were alive today, he would likely feel that this meed for a well-informed citizenry is falling well short of where he would aspire.”
• Provocative Statement: “Despite what romantic films may portray, love at first sight is merely a myth perpetuated by society. This essay will prosecute the argument that love at first sight is a myth.”
• Statistical Fact: “According to the World Health Organization, depression is the leading psychological disability worldwide. Yet, mental health is still stigmatized and often overlooked. This essay will argue that depression should be seen as a health issue, and stigmatization of depression causes serious harm to society.”
• Comparison: “Much like an unchecked infection, climate change, if left ignored, can spread far beyond what it is today, causing long-term economic and social problems that may even threaten the longevity of humanity itself.”
• Contradiction : “While we live in an era of unprecedented technological advancements, millions around the world are still denied basic internet access.”
• Bold Declaration: “Animal testing is not only ethically unacceptable, but it also undermines the progress of medical research.”
• Challenging Belief: “Despite popular belief, the automation of jobs is not a threat but an opportunity for society to evolve.”
• Quotation: “George Orwell wrote in ‘1984’, ‘Big Brother is Watching You.’ In our modern society, with the advancement of technology, this is becoming more of a reality than fiction.”
• Intriguing Statement: “Despite countless diet fads and fitness trends, obesity rates continue to rise. This argumentative essay will argue that this is because medical practitioners’ approaches to health and weight loss are fundamentally flawed.”
• Statistical Fact: “Research reveals that over 90% of the world’s plastic waste is not recycled. This alarming figure calls for a drastic change in social attitudes towards consumption and waste management.”
• Challenging Assumption: “Society often assumes that progress and growth are intrinsically good, but this is not always the case in the realm of economic development.”
• Contradiction: “Western society upholds the value of freedom, yet every day, members of society cede personal liberties in the name of convenience and security.”
• Analogy: “Like an overplayed song, when a news story is repeated too often, it loses its impact. In the era of digital media, society is becoming desensitized to critical issues.”
• Relevant Anecdote: “In a village in India, the arrival of a single computer transformed the lives of the residents. This small anecdote underscores the importance of digital inclusion in today’s world.”
• Call to Rethink: “In a world where success is often equated with financial wealth, it is time for society to reconsidered what truly constitutes a successful life.”

For a Compare and Contrast Essay

A compare and contrast essay examines two issues, looking at both the similarities and differences between them. A good hook for a compare and contrast essay will immediately signal to the reader the subjects that are being compared and why they’re being compared. Here are sine ideas for hooks for a compare and contrast essay:

• Quotation: “As Charles Dickens wrote in his novel ‘A Tale of Two Cities’, ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times’. This could equally apply to the contrasting dynamics of urban and rural living.”
• Provocative Statement: “Despite popular belief, cats and dogs have more in common than society tends to think.”
• Comparison: “Comparing being an only child to growing up with siblings is like contrasting a solo performance with an orchestral symphony.”
• Contradiction: “While many view classic literature and contemporary fiction as worlds apart, they are more akin to two sides of the same coin.”
• Bold Declaration: “Android and iPhone may compete in the same market, but their philosophies could not be more different.”
• Statistical Fact: “Statistics show that children who grow up reading books tend to perform better academically than those who do not. But, the jury is out on how reading traditional books compares to reading e-books on screens.”
• Quotation: “As Robert Louis Stevenson once wrote, ‘Sooner or later, we all sit down to a banquet of consequences.’ This statement can be used to frame a comparison between short-term and long-term thinking.”
• Provocative Statement: “Democracy and dictatorship are often seen as polar opposites, but are they are not as different as they seem.”
• Comparison: “Climate change and plastic pollution are two major environmental issues, yet they demand different approaches and solutions.”
• Contradiction: “While traditional classrooms and online learning are seen as separate modes of education, they can often blend into a cohesive learning experience.”
• Bold Declaration: “Though both based on merit, the structures of capitalism and socialism lead to vastly different societal outcomes.”
• Imagery: “The painting styles of Van Gogh and Monet can be contrasted as a stormy sea versus a tranquil pond.”
• Historical Reference: “The philosophies of the Cold War-era – capitalism and communism – provide a lens to contrast economic systems.”
• Literary Comparison: “The dystopian societies portrayed in George Orwell’s ‘1984’ and Aldous Huxley’s ‘Brave New World’ serve as contrasting visions of the future.”
• Philosophical Question: “Individualism and collectivism shape societies in distinct ways, but neither one can truly exist without the other.”

See Here for my Guide on Writing a Compare and Contrast Essay

For a Psychology Essay

Writing an engaging hook for a psychology essay involves sparking the reader’s interest in the human mind, behavior, or the specific psychology topic you’re discussing. Here are some stimulating hooks for a psychology essay:

• Rhetorical Question: “How much control do we truly have over our own actions?”
• Quotation: “Sigmund Freud once said, ‘Unexpressed emotions will never die. They are buried alive and will come forth later in uglier ways.’ This essay will explore whether this is universally true.”
• Provocative Statement: “Contrary to popular belief, ‘venting out’ anger might actually be fueling the fire of fury.”
• Comparison: “Just as an iceberg reveals only a fraction of its bulk above water, conscious minds may only be a small piece of who humans truly are.”
• Contradiction: “While it may seem counterintuitive, studies show that individuals who are more intelligent are also more likely to suffer from mental health issues.”
• Bold Declaration: “Despite advances in technology, understanding the human brain remains one of the final frontiers in science.”
• Statistical Fact: “According to a study by the American Psychological Association, nearly one in five adults in the U.S. lives with a mental illness. Yet, mental health continues to be a topic shrouded in stigma.”

For a Sociology Essay

Writing an engaging hook for a sociology essay involves sparking the reader’s interest in social behaviors, cultural phenomena, or the specific sociology topic you’re discussing. Here are ideas for hooks for a sociology essay:

• Quotation: “As Karl Marx once noted, ‘Social progress can be measured exactly by the social position of the fair sex.’ Sadly, society has not made much progress in gender equality.”
• Provocative Statement: “Social media, initially created to connect people, is ironically leading society into an era of unprecedented isolation.”
• Comparison: “Comparing society to a theater, where each individual plays a role, it is possible to start to see patterns and scripts embedded in daily interactions.”
• Contradiction: “While people often believe that technology is bringing society closer together, evidence suggests that it’s actually driving a wedge between people, creating ‘digital divides’.”
• Bold Declaration: “Human societies are constructed on deeply ingrained systems of inequality, often invisible to those benefiting from them.”
• Statistical Fact: “A recent study found that women still earn only 81 cents for every dollar earned by men. This stark wage gap raises questions about equality in the workforce.”

For a College Application Essay

A college essay is a personal statement where you can showcase who you are beyond your grades and resume. It’s your chance to tell your unique story. Here are ten potential hooks for a college essay:

• Anecdote: “At the age of seven, with a wooden spoon as my baton, I confidently conducted an orchestra of pots and pans in my grandmother’s kitchen.”
• Provocative Statement: “I believe that life is like a game of chess. The king might be the most important piece, but it’s the pawns that can change the entire course of the game.”
• Personal Revelation: “It wasn’t until I was lost in a foreign city, armed with nothing but a map in a language I didn’t understand, that I truly discovered my love for adventure.”
• Intriguing Question: “Have you ever wondered how it feels to be part of two completely different cultures, yet wholly belong to neither?”
• Bold Declaration: “Breaking a bone can be a painful experience. Breaking stereotypes, however, is an entirely different kind of challenge.”
• Unusual Fact: “I can recite the periodic table backwards while juggling three tennis balls. It’s a strange talent, but it’s a perfect metaphor for how I tackle challenges.”
• Quotation: “As Albert Einstein once said, ‘Imagination is more important than knowledge.’ This quote has defined my approach to learning.”
• Narrative: “It was a cold winter’s day when I first discovered the magic of turning a blank page into a world full of characters, stories, and ideas.”
• Metaphor: “Like a caterpillar transforming into a butterfly, my high school years have been a period of profound metamorphosis.”
• Humorous Statement: “Being the youngest of five siblings, I quickly learned that the best way to be heard was to become the family’s unofficial lawyer.”

Conclusion: The Qualities of a Good Essay Hook

As I wrap up this article, I want to share a few last tips on qualities that a good essay hook should have. Keep these tips in mind when writing your essay hook and using the above essay hook examples:

First, relevance . A good hook should be directly relevant to the topic or theme of your essay. The hook should provide a preview of what’s to come without giving too much away.

Second, Intrigue. A great hook should make the reader want to continue reading. It should create a question in the reader’s mind or present a fascinating idea that they want to know more about.

Third, uniqueness. An effective hook should be original and unique. It should stand out from the many other essays that the reader might be going through.

Fourth, clarity. Even though a hook should be captivating and original, it should also be clear and easy to understand. Avoid complex sentences and jargon that might confuse the reader.

Fifth, genre conventions. Too often, my students try to be so creative in their essay hooks that they forget genre conventions . The more formal an essay, the harder it is to write the hook. My general approach is to focus on statistics and facts, and avoid rhetorical questions , with more formal essay hooks.

Keep in mind that you should run your essay hook by your teacher by showing them your first draft before you submit your essay for grading. This will help you to make sure it follows genre conventions and is well-written.

Chris Drew (PhD)

Dr. Chris Drew is the founder of the Helpful Professor. He holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. [Image Descriptor: Photo of Chris]

• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 5 Top Tips for Succeeding at University
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 50 Durable Goods Examples
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 100 Consumer Goods Examples
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 30 Globalization Pros and Cons

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Last updated on Nov 09, 2023

Book Hook: 48 Examples of Irresistible Elevator Pitches

Formulas and advice aside, one of the best ways to learn how to craft a book hook is to immerse yourself in great ones. In this post, we've gathered examples of pitches for books (and book adaptations) from various platforms, including Amazon, Publishers Marketplace, and Netflix.

As you read each hook, take note of your gut reaction. Do you instinctively think: “Tell me more.” The greater your curiosity, the stronger the hook.

Let’s dive in and catch on to some book hooks. 

1. The Road To Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett

“An elderly man plans to drive across the country to declare his love for his high-school sweetheart when he unexpectedly becomes the guardian of two recently orphaned children and an orange tabby cat who may or may not be able to predict death.” (Publishers Marketplace) 

2. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey

“In the Fall of 1963, a Korean War veteran and criminal pleads insanity and is admitted to a mental institution, where he rallies up the scared patients against the tyrannical nurse.” (IMDb)

3. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

“After spending years in California, Amir returns to his homeland in Afghanistan to help his old friend Hassan, whose son is in trouble.” (IMDb)

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Literary fiction

4. playground by richard powers.

“[Playground follows] four lives—a marine biologist, an artist, a school teacher, and an AI pioneer—that intersect on an island in French Polynesia when it is chosen as a base for seasteading, humanity's next great adventure.”  (Publishers Marketplace) 

5. Fresh, Green Life by Sebastian Castillo

“A study of interiority unfolding over the course of a single, snowy night when the author's namesake protagonist breaks a year of silent self-improvement to attend a reunion.” (Publishers Marketplace) 

6. The Twitcher by Josh Selfe 

“Colin is the nation's 7th greatest competitive birder (by his own estimation) and has dedicated his life to his pursuit. When a virus hits the UK, and birdwatching is outlawed, Colin descends into paranoia and madness: what is a twitcher who cannot twitch?” (Reedsy Live)

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Historical Fiction

7. the other boleyn girl by philippa gregory .

“Two sisters, Anne and Mary, are driven to advance their family's power by courting the affections of the King of England and a ruthless rivalry develops between them.” (Prime Video)

8. Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier

“In the waning days of the American Civil War, a wounded soldier embarks on a perilous journey back home to Cold Mountain, North Carolina to reunite with his sweetheart.” (IMDb)

9. Bridgerton: The Duke and I by Julia Quinn

“By all accounts, Simon Basset is on the verge of proposing to his best friend's sister—the lovely and almost-on-the-shelf—Daphne Bridgerton. But the two of them know the truth—it's all an elaborate ruse to keep Simon free from marriage-minded society mothers. And as for Daphne, surely she will attract some worthy suitors now that it seems a duke has declared her desirable.” (Amazon)

10 . The Holiday Honeymoon Switch by Marissa Stapley

“Two best friends trade one's cabin Christmas vacation for the other's Hawaiian honeymoon after she's left at the altar, and both find love they weren't expecting.” (Publishers Marketplace) 

11 . To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

“When her secret love letters somehow get mailed to each of her five crushes, Lara Jean finds her quiet high school existence turned upside down.” (Netflix)

12. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

“Two teenage cancer patients begin a life-affirming journey to visit a reclusive author in Amsterdam.” (IMDb)

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13. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab

“France, 1714: in a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever―and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets.” (Amazon)

14. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis

“Four kids travel through a wardrobe to the land of Narnia and learn of their destiny to free it with the guidance of a mystical lion.” (IMDb)

15. Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

“When an unconfident young woman is cursed with an old body by a spiteful witch, her only chance of breaking the spell lies with a self-indulgent yet insecure young wizard and his companions in his legged, walking castle.” (IMDb)

16. The Third Rule of Time Travel by Philip D. Fracassi

“A scientist discovers a way for human consciousness to travel through time and relive moments of their life, but after one fateful experiment she returns to find her reality altered to a horrifying extent.” (Publishers Marketplace) 

17. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

“When the creator of a virtual reality universe called the OASIS dies, he leaves his immense fortune to the first person to find a digital Easter egg he has hidden somewhere in the OASIS, sparking a contest that grips the entire world.” (Prime Video)

18. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

“In a utopia whose perfection hinges upon control of monogamy and privacy, members of the collective begin to question the rules, putting their regimented society on a collision course with forbidden love and revolution.” (IMDb)

19. Over The Edge by Kathleen Bryant

“A failed reporter-turned-jeep tour guide finds a dead body in a backcountry canyon and must overcome PTSD-related memory loss to find the killer before he finds her.” (Publishers Marketplace) 

20. Death In The Downline by Maria Abrams

“A struggling millennial gets sucked into a multi-level marketing scheme by her BFF. When a distributor dies under mysterious circumstances, she must uncover the dark secret at the heart of the organization and save her best friend before it's too late.” (Publishers Marketplace) 

21. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

“A murder inside the Louvre, and clues in Da Vinci paintings, lead to the discovery of a religious mystery protected by a secret society for two thousand years, which could shake the foundations of Christianity.” (IMDb)

22. The Shining by Stephen King

“A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where a sinister presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from both past and future.” (IMDb)

23. The Bad Seed by William March

"Rhoda Penmark seems like your average, sweet eight-year-old girl. After her rival at school dies in mysterious circumstances at the school picnic, her mother starts to suspect that Rhoda was responsible." (IMDb)

24. The Colour Out of Space by H. P. Lovecraft

“After a meteorite lands in the front yard of their farm, Nathan Gardner and his family find themselves battling a mutant extraterrestrial organism that infects their minds and bodies, transforming their quiet rural life into a technicolor nightmare.” (Google)

25. Exit Black by Joe Pitkin

“Eight ultra-wealthy guests are taken hostage during the grand opening of the first hotel in space. The resident biophysicist on the space station must save them when the guests are pitted against each other and expelled into space one-by-one when they don't comply with the terrorists' demands.” (Publishers Marketplace) 

26. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

“With his wife's disappearance having become the focus of an intense media circus, a man sees the spotlight turned on him when it's suspected that he may not be innocent.” (IMDb)

27. The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum

“A man with amnesia faces life on the run from shadowy enemies as he fights to piece together his identity — and his mysterious connection to the CIA.” (Netflix)

Young Adult

28. the maze runner by james dashner.

“Thomas is deposited in a community of boys after his memory is erased, soon learning they're all trapped in a maze that will require him to join forces with fellow "runners" for a shot at escape.” (IMDb)

29. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

“Katniss volunteers to replace her sister in a tournament that ends only when one participant remains [alive]. Pitted against contestants who have trained for this all their life, she has little to rely on.” (Google)

30. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

“When Bella Swan moves to a small town in the Pacific Northwest, she falls in love with Edward Cullen, a mysterious classmate who reveals himself to be a 108-year-old vampire.” (IMDb)

31. Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

“Yearning for escape and adventure, a young boy runs away from home and sails to an island filled with creatures that take him in as their king.” (IMDb)

32. Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes

“A mouse named Wemberly, who worries about everything, finds that she has a whole list of things to worry about when she faces the first day of school.” (Google)

33. The Cat in The Hat by Dr. Seuss

“When Sally and her brother are left alone on a rainy day, they think they are in for a dull time 一 but then the Cat in the Hat steps onto the mat, bringing with him madness and mayhem.” (Amazon)

34. Life of Pi by Yann Martel

“After a cataclysmic shipwreck, young Pi Patel finds himself stranded on a lifeboat with only one other survivor 一 a ferocious Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. Bound by the need to survive, the two are cast on an epic journey.” (Prime Video)

35. Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne

“On a quest to find out what happened to his missing brother, a scientist, his nephew and their mountain guide discover a fantastic and dangerous lost world in the center of the earth.” (IMDb)

36. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

“Seconds before Earth is destroyed to make way for a new hyperspace express route, mild-mannered Arthur Dent is whisked into space by his best friend, an alien posing as an out-of-work actor.” (Prime Video)

37. Wild by Cheryl Strayed

“A troubled young woman seeks to find herself and overcome her past by hiking the grueling Pacific Crest Trail.” (Prime Video)

38. The Pursuit of Happyness by Chris Gardner 

“A newly single father determined to lift himself and his son out of poverty works his way up from the bottom at a stock brokerage firm.” (Netflix)

39. Kon-Tiki by Thor Heyerdahl

“With five loyal friends in tow, explorer Thor Heyerdahl sails a fragile balsa wood raft along an ancient path some 4300 miles across the Pacific to prove his theory on Polynesian ancestry.” (Netflix)

Autobiography/biography

40. a long way home by saroo brierley.

“A five-year-old Indian boy is adopted by an Australian couple after getting lost hundreds of kilometers from home. 25 years later, he sets out to find his lost family.” (IMDb)

41. American Sniper by Chris Kyle, Jim DeFelice, and Scott McEwen

“Navy S.E.A.L. sniper Chris Kyle's pinpoint accuracy saves countless lives on the battlefield and turns him into a legend. Back home with his family after four tours of duty, however, Chris finds that it is the war he can't leave behind.” (IMDb)

42. A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar

“At the age of thirty-one, John Nash, a mathematical genius, suffered a devastating breakdown and was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Yet after decades of leading a ghost-like existence, he was to re-emerge to win a Nobel Prize and world acclaim.” (Amazon)

43. Say Hello To Strangers by Gillian Sandstrom

“Why connecting with the people you know least makes us more creative, less lonely, and less cynical.” (Publishers Marketplace) 

44. Beat The Bots! by Jane Cleland

“A writer's guide to leaning into their humanity and creativity to survive and thrive in the age of AI.” (Publishers Marketplace) 

45. Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari

“One hundred thousand years ago, at least six different species of humans inhabited Earth. Yet today there is only one—homo sapiens. What happened to the others? And what may happen to us?” (Amazon)

Book Proposal Template

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46. The Shack by William P. Young

“After the disappearance of his youngest child, Mack Phillips is severely depressed. His life takes an unlikely turn when he receives a mysterious letter asking him to visit a cabin.” (Google)

47. Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers

“Sold into prostitution as a child, Angel knows nothing but betrayal. Can her heart ever be mended?” (IMDb)

48. The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel

“A seasoned journalist chases down the biggest story in history一is there credible evidence that Jesus of Nazareth really is the son of god?” (Amazon)

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These examples should be enough to get you inspired. To truly master the craft, take out a pen and paper and try to deconstruct each hook in terms of character, conflict, stakes, as well as other elements like character arc and story details. 

Refining your pitch might be a tricky process, but it’ll help you gain a clearer understanding of what your novel is really about so you can feel more confident both when writing it and presenting your work to others. 

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Good Hooks for Essays: 14 Hook Ideas with Examples

Now here’s the clue.

If you want to wow your teacher, polish the introduction. Add something interesting, funny, shocking, or intriguing. Good essay hooks help you build an emotional connection right from the start. Think of an essay hook as bait for your readers.

Our expert team has prepared numerous examples of hooks for essays. You’ll find hook examples for an argumentative essay, personal story, history essay, and other types of papers.

For 100% clarity, we provided examples using each hook tactic. And a short part about how to write a good hook.

• 💎 What Exactly Is a Hook & How to Write a Good One
• 📜 Examples of Classical Essay Hooks
• 💡 Try Some Informative Essay Hooks
• 🦄 Here are the Most Uncommon Essay Hooks

✅ Good Hooks for Essays: Bonus Tips

• 🔗 References for More Information

We highly recommend reading all the methods and examples, so you don’t have any questions.

💎 How to Write a Hook That Will Work for Your Essay?

The hook of your essay usually appears in the very first sentence.

The average length of an essay hook should be 3-7 sentences, depending on the topic.

But first, let’s quickly go through the key questions.

What Is an Essay Hook?

An essay hook (or narrative hook) is a literary technique that writers use to keep their readers engaged. It shows that the content below is worth reading.

The hook can have different lengths. Some writers make it last for several pages. Though, it better be a short paragraph or even a sentence.

Why Do You Need a Good Essay Hook?

Writing the right hook is essential for a few reasons:

• It heats up your readers’ interest. If you did it right, they read the whole piece.
• It shows off your skills . A right hook presents you as an expert in your field.
• It attracts target audience. Only the readers you want will keep reading.
• It keeps the tension on the right level. Use an intriguing question, and a reader dies to find out the answer.
• It makes a good introduction. Starting your essay off a boring fact is simply not a good idea.

How to Write a Good Hook: Ideas and Examples

Next, we will discuss these hook types in more detail. We’ll also provide essay hook examples of less common yet intriguing types: dialogue, story, contradiction, comparison, definition, metaphor, puzzle, announcement, and background information hooks.

💬 The Famous Quote Hook

Use a famous quote as a hook for your essay on history, literature, or even social sciences. It will present you as an established writer. It shows how knowledgeable you are and motivates the readers to engage in the text.

⬇️ Check out examples below ⬇️

Quote Hook Example: Political Science

Hilary Clinton once said that "there cannot be true democracy unless women's voices are heard." Which creates a discussion about how perfect democracy should look like. If it is a form of government that considers all opinions, why are women silenced so often even nowadays? The truth is that we need to ensure completely equal opportunities for women in politics before we talk about establishing the correct version of democracy. And even the most developed and progressive countries are still struggling to get to that level of equality. It can be achieved by various methods, even though they might only work in certain countries.

Social Sciences

"Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country." These words of wisdom from John Kennedy reflect the perspective we need to teach the younger generations. For some reason, it has become popular to blame the government for any problem arising in society. Is it their fault that we don't think about waste and keep trashing our home? Social responsibility is a real thing. The well-being of our countries starts with the actions of every separate individual. It is not entirely right to wait until the government fixes all the issues for us. The best strategy is to start thinking about what we can do as a community to make our home even a better place.

And excellent sources of quotes for you:

• Brainyquote.com – you can search quotes by topic or by author.
• Goodreads.com is not only a great collection of e-books but also quotes.
• Quoteland.com has plenty of brilliant words for all imaginable situations.
• Quotationspage.com – more than 30,000 quotations for unique essay hooks.

❓Rhetorical Question Essay Hooks

It doesn’t have to be rhetorical – any type of question addressed to your audience will do its job. Such a universal kind of hook can spike the interest of your readers immediately.

Some useful patterns of rhetorical questions:

• What could be more important than…?
• What if there was only one… (chance/day/hour)?
• Who wouldn’t like to… (be a cat/turn visitors into clients)?
• Why bother about… (inequality/imperfect education system)?
• Which is more important: … (making money or realizing potential)?

And more in examples:

Example of a Question Hook on Education

Wouldn't free access to education for everyone be wonderful? The answer would most likely be positive. However, it is not as simple as it seems. As much as the governments try to achieve this goal, there are still many uneducated people. On the bright side, in the era of technology, learning has never been so easy. Of course, some young adults just prefer the shortcut option of taking a student loan. Other ways are much more challenging and require a lot of responsibility and patience. Finding free educational resources online and gaining experience with the help of video tutorials might sound unprofessional. Still, you will be surprised how many experts hired in different fields only received this type of education.

Question Hook Example: Health

Is there anything that can help you lose weight fast? You have probably heard of this magical keto diet that is getting more and more popular worldwide. People claim that it helps them shred those excess pounds in unbelievably short terms. But how healthy is it, and does it suit anyone? The truth is that no diet is universal, and thanks to our differences, some weight-loss methods can even be harmful. Keto diet, for example, leads your body into the state of ketosis. What happens is that you don't receive carbohydrates, and in this state, fat is used as the primary source of energy instead them. However, it carries potential threats.

😂 Anecdotal Essay Hooks

This type would usually be more suitable for literary pieces or personal stories. So, don’t use it for formal topics, such as business and economics. Note that this hook type can be much longer than one sentence. It usually appears as the whole first paragraph itself.

It wouldn't be Kate if she didn't do something weird, so she took a stranger for her best friend this time. There is nothing wrong with it; mistakes like that happen all the time. However, during only five minutes that Kate spent with the stranger, she blabbed too much. Thinking that she sat down at the table that her friend took, Kate was so busy starting on her phone that she didn't notice that it wasn't her friend at all. Sure enough, the naive girl started talking about every little detail of her last night that she spent with her date. It was too much for the ears of an old lady. Kate realized she took the wrong table only when it was too late.

Literature (personal story)

Do not ever underestimate the power of raccoons! Those little furry animals that may look overly cute are too smart and evil. It only takes one box of pizza left outside your house by the delivery person for the disaster to begin. When they smell that delicious pizza, no doors can stop them. They will join the forces to find a hole in your house to squeeze into. Even if it's a window crack four feet above the ground, they know how to get to it. Using their fellow raccoons as the ladder, they get inside the house. They sneak into the kitchen and steal your pizza in front of your eyes and your scared-to-death dog. Not the best first day in the new home, is it? 

📈 Fact or Statistic Hook

Looking deeper into your essay topic, you might find some numbers that are quite amusing or shocking. They can serve as perfect hooks for economics- and business-oriented writings. Also, it is better if they are less known.

Business/social sciences

The UAE workforce is culturally diverse since around 20% of employees (usually called expatriates) come from different countries. Ex-pats tend to take managerial positions, which makes communication within companies quite tricky. The training focused on raising cultural awareness is getting more common, but such educational strategies as games (or gamification) are still rarely applied in the UAE companies. Yet, gamification was a useful tool in other places, making it an attractive UAE team building method. It can significantly help integrate ex-pats and create a more culturally aware environment.

The full version of this paper is here: Gamification and Cross-Cultural Communication in Dubai

Statistic Hook Example in Economics

The United Arab Emirate's debt has been rising drastically in past years, from about US$17 billion in 2003, which is almost 19 percent of GDP, to US$184 billion in 2009. Only a small proportion of the debt can be tracked directly to the public sector. A report by UBS bank shows that most of the debt comes from the corporate sector. Most of the companies that hold the main section of the debt are financial institutions. The public sector partly owns them. Banks in the UAE have been accumulating their debt amounts in the years mentioned above and could now account for 75 percent of the total foreign debt. The discussion is about the reasons why the UAE debt has been rising at an alarming rate.

Check the whole essay Debts in the United Arab Emirates .

Some good sources for statistics

• Finance.yahoo.com is perfect for business papers.
• Usa.gov/statistics is an easy-to-use governmental engine for searching data and stats.
• Unstats.un.org provides a massive collection of statistics published by UN organizations
• Oecd-ilibrary.org is the online library of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), featuring its books, papers, and statistics and is a gateway to the OECD’s analysis and data.

🤯 Shocking Facts are Very Good Hooks for Essays

Very similar to a statistical hook, a fact can serve as a perfect engaging introduction. Search your field for some shocking phenomenon and gently insert it in the beginning.

Don’t forget to include a reliable source reinforcing your words!

Fact Hook Example in Economics

Nowadays, much attention is paid to the problem of shark finning around the world. Millions of sharks are killed annually for their fins, and many of them are dropped back to the ocean finless, where they die because of suffocation. In many countries, the idea of shark finning remains illegal and unethical, but the possibility of earning huge money cannot be ignored (Dell'Apa et al. 151). Regarding available technologies, market economies, trade relations, and cheap employment, it does not take much time to organize special trips for shark hunting. The Trade of shark fins is alive and well developed in countries like the United States and China. However, the number of people who are eager to try shark fin soup has considerably decreased during the last several years because of the popularity of anti-shark fin soup campaigns and laws supported worldwide (Mosbergen). The situation continues to change in China.

Read the full paper about China Southern Airlines being against shark finning .

Daniel Stacey and Ross Kelly observed that long lines and a new gray market trend for bigger screen phones marked Apple's new iPhones debut. As expected, new phone models drew Apple fans outside retail stores (Stacey and Kelly). Global critics, however, noted that this year's lines were generally longer relative to previous periods mainly because of the developing gray market for Apple products. The new Apple's iPhones have larger screens than the previous models. Also, they boast of improved battery life, faster processors, and an enhanced camera. Tim Cook called them "mother of all upgrades" (Stacey and Kelly).

For the whole text, go to Apple’s New iPhones Start Selling in Stores” by Stacey and Kelly

Sources to look for reliable facts:

• Buzzfeed.com – news, videos, quizzes.
• Cracked.com – a website full of funny stuff, like articles, videos, pictures, etc.
• Webmd.com – an incredible collection of medical facts you will love.
• Livescience.com – discoveries hitting on a broad range of fields.
• National Geographic – needs no introduction.
• Mental Floss answers life’s big questions, a compilation of fascinating facts and incredible stories.

🗣️ Dialogue as a Catchy Hook for Essays

Dialogue is another type of hooks that goes perfectly with pieces of literature and stories. It can even make your short essay stand out if you include it at the beginning. But don’t forget that it only concerns specific topics such as literature and history.

Here it is:

Dialogue Hook Example in Literature

– Why did you do it? – I don't know anymore… That's why I'm leaving for a little bit right now. I need time to think.

With these words, Anna stepped back into the train car and waved goodbye to Trevor. She couldn’t even find the right words to explain why she ran away on her wedding day. It wasn’t that she didn’t love Trevor, but there was this deep, natural, and unexplored feeling that told her it wasn’t time yet. But the only thing Anna realized was that the city made her sick. That day, she took off her wedding dress, bought a ticket on the next flight leaving that afternoon, and hopped on the train taking her to the airport. She couldn’t even remember the country’s name she was going to so blurry everything was from her tears.

Dialogue Hook for History Essay

– If we still had inquisition, we could probably set him on fire. – Some dark magic, indeed, my friend! It would have probably been a real dialogue if we knew who was the first automobile inventor for sure. People were undoubtedly shocked to see the cars moving by themselves without horses. However, since they started appearing around the globe around the same time, it is almost impossible to identify who was the original creator of the idea and the first automobile itself. The credit was usually given to Karl Benz from Germany, who created a gasoline car in 1885-1886. But there are also much earlier records of a gentleman named Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot, who built the first vehicle powered by steam in France in 1769.

🔮 A Story Looks Like an Extremely Good Essay Hook

A universal essay hook is a story. You can use this trick pretty much anywhere. The main challenge is to be as authentic as possible, try to tell something fresh and engaging. The more specific and narrow the story, the more chances for a successful introduction.

Story Hook Example for an Essay on Business

Dell started fast and strong. The original company was founded in 1984 when the founder was only a 19-year-old student at the University of Texas. Four years after the inception of the company, Michael Dell became the Entrepreneur of the Year. Eight years after he started the company from his dorm room's comfort, Dell was chosen as the Man of the Year by PC Magazine. […] The company was acknowledged as the world's leading direct marketer of personal computers. At the same time, Dell was known as one of the top five PC vendors on the planet (Hunger 9). […] However, the company's journey encountered a major hurdle down the road. Even after recovering from an economic recession in 2010, the company continued to experience declining sales.

Continue reading Dell Technologies Mission, Vision, and Values .

🦚 Contradictory Statement – Queen of Good Hooks

Everybody loves to start an argument by contradicting some facts. Therefore, you simply need to add a controversial statement at the beginning of your essay. People of all ages and beliefs will not be able to stop reading it!

Challenging your readers works well for social sciences, business, and psychology topics.

Examples of contradictory statements essay hooks:

If you think being a manager is a calm and relatively easy task, try surviving on five cups of coffee, a sandwich, and two packs of cigarettes a day. You would rather believe that managers only walk around the office and give their staff orders, wouldn't you? Unfortunately, the reality is much harsher than such rainbowy dreams. The use of the internet in academic contexts is on the rise, and its role in learning is hotly debated. For many teachers who did not grow up with this technology, its effects seem alarming and potentially harmful. A whole set of personal qualities and professional skills must keep up with the successful strategic planning, assessment, and development. All the tasks the managers need to attend to are nerve-wracking and sometimes almost impossible to do. The stress from the demanding managerial position is often overlooked or underestimated.

Social sciences

Video games have been ruining our kids' lives and leading to an increase in crime. Since the gaming industry's development in recent years, the fear of its adverse effects on the younger generations' brains has become a significant concern. There is such a wide variety of games, ranging from educational to violent shooters and horrors. Almost immediately, caring parents jumped on the latter category, claiming that its impact is too significant and children become more aggressive and uncontrollable. Some supporters of this theory went even further. They decided to link real-life crimes to the effects of violent video games on child and adult behavior. However, as we will see later in this article, there is no or little scientific evidence supporting those ideas.

🔁 Vivid Comparison Essay Hook

Introducing your topic with an engaging, vivid comparison is a universal strategy. It is suitable for any kind of writing. The main idea is to grab your readers’ attention by showing them your unique perspective on the topic. Try to make the comparison amusing and exciting.

Comparison Essay Hook Options:

• Comparison with daily chores (e.g., Proofreading your essays is like cleaning your teeth.)
• Comparison with something everyone hates (e.g., Learning grammar is like going to the dentist.)
• Comparison with something everyone loves (e.g., John was happy like a child eating a free vanilla ice cream.)
• Comparison of modern and old-school phenomena (e.g., Modern email has much in common with pigeon post.)
• Funny comparison (e.g., Justin Bieber is the Michael Jackson of his time)

Check out examples:

Environment

For many people, flying feels like a dream come true. More and more people take their first-ever flight thanks to the rapidly developing aviation technologies. Aircraft and airports are advancing, and air traveling is getting cheaper. However, except for transporting eager travel addicted and business people, planes are used in other ways. It appears that the whole economies across the world depend on the effectiveness and efficiency of airlines. Import and export demand this kind of transportation to work at all times. Aviation development seems like a great thing. However, just like any other technological breakthrough, it comes with a price. Environmental issues did not wait too long to show up.

Social sciences/psychology

Leaving home for the first time as a freshman can only be compared to the level of stress you had in childhood when your mother left you in the line at the checkout for too long. Indeed, becoming a student and moving out of the parent's house comes with a great deal of stress. All the unknown that lies ahead makes youngsters too anxious. Then, the difficulties of financial planning and increased academic pressure come as additional sources of worries. However, it does not have to be such a negative experience. Particular techniques can help students overcome their stress related to the separation from their parents.

📄 Definitions = Easy & Good Hooks for Essays

Another versatile essay hook option is introducing a qualitative definition. Try to make it capacious, and don’t fall into verbal jungles. This narrative hook is perfect for short scientific papers where there is only one focus subject.

Business Ethics

White-collar crime refers to the peaceful offense committed with the intention of gaining unlawful monetary benefits. There are several white-collar crimes that can be executed. They include extortion, insider trading, money laundering, racketeering, securities fraud, and tax evasion. Enron Company was an American based energy company. It was the largest supplier of natural gas in America in the early 1990s. The company had a stunning performance in the 1990s. Despite the excellent performance, stakeholders of the company were concerned about the complexity of the financial statements. The company's management used the complex nature of the financial statements and the accounting standards' weaknesses to manipulate the financial records. The white-collar crime was characterized by inflating the asset values, overstating the reported cash flow, and failure to disclose the financial records' liabilities. This paper carries out an analysis of the Enron scandal as an example of white-collar crime as discussed in the video, The Smartest Guys in the Room.

Go to see the full text here: Enron Company’s Business Ethics .

Motivation is the act of influencing someone to take any action to achieve a particular goal (Montana& Chanov, 2008). Employees' motivation depends on the job's nature, the company's organizational culture, and personal characteristics. In this case study, various theories influence and show how employees can be motivated in the workplace.

Continue reading this paper about Motivation Role in Management .

📚 Metaphor Hook for Essays

Naturally, using a metaphor as a hook for your essay comes with some limitations. You should only use this type in literature and sometimes in psychology. However, it serves as a great attention grabber if it’s engaging enough.

Let’s see how you can use a metaphor:

When life gives you dirt, don't try to squeeze the juice out of it. It's better to leave it alone and let it dry out a bit. Kate decided to follow this philosophy since nothing else seemed to work. After the painful divorce process, last week's ridiculous work assignments and managing two kids alone almost drove her crazy. No polite discussions, arguing, or bribing helped take care of seemingly a million tasks these little women had to deal with. Even letting out the anger just like her phycologist recommended did not help much. Instead, Kate referred to the last remedy. She put all the issues aside with the hope that it would get better later.

The recipe is relatively easy – take a cup of self-respect, two cups of unconditional love, half a cup of good health, a pinch of new positive experiences, and mix it all for a perfect state of happiness! We all wish it would be possible, right? However, the mystery of this state of being happy is still unsolved. The concept and its perception considerably change depending on time and values. Happiness is so complicated that there is even no universal definition of it. Besides, humans are social creatures, so associating your level of success with others is not unusual. Therefore, being happy means achieving a certain level of several aspects.

🧩 Puzzle? Yes! Amazing Hook for Your Essay

Doesn’t a good riddle grab your attention? Sometimes you just want to find out the answer. The other times, you want to figure out how it is related to the topic. Such a hook would be great for writings on psychology and even economics or business.

Here are the examples:

How many Google office employees you need to destroy a box of fresh donuts? Google is indeed famous for some of the most accommodating and unique working places around the whole world. However, the success of the company does not only appear from treats for employees. It seems that the organizational culture has many effects on business decisions and overall performance. All the staff working in Google share the same visions and values, helping them cooperate and lead the company to success. However, there is one aspect to consider. The organizational culture needs to be adapted to the ever-changing business environment.

Who survives on dirt-like substance, is never joyful, and only returns to the cave to sleep? It sounds horrible, but the correct answer is human. Nowadays, the demands for any kind of workers are rising, which brings tremendous effects on people. As the number of duties increases, it is getting harder for employees not to chug on coffee and come back home in time for a family dinner. The work-life balance is disturbed, leading to anxiety, relationship issues, and even health problems. Social life appears to be as important as making money. Therefore, the correct distribution of time between personal life and work duties is necessary for happiness.

📢 Announcement Is Also a Good Essay Hook Option

Announcements could be suitable for literary pieces and historical essays.

Such a hook doesn’t have to be too long. It should be significant enough to persuade your readers to stick to your writing. Make sure it aligns with your topic as well.

Ways to use announcements as essay hooks:

It was a revolution! The Beatle's first song came out in 1962, and almost immediately, hordes of fans pledged their loyalty to this new band. Nearly all youngsters became obsessed with their music. No one can deny that the Beatles are still considered the creators of some of the best songs in history. However, the arrival of the British band influences culture as well. Many photos depict girls going crazy on live concerts and guys shaping their haircuts after the Beatles' members. The revolution that the band brought left an impact, evidence that we can still trace in modern British culture and music.

I will never go to Starbucks again! Oh, no, mind me. I love their coffee. At some point in my life, I even thought I had an addiction and had to ask my friends to watch my consumption of Pumpkin Spice Latte. Then, the wind of change turned everything upside down. On my usual Starbucks morning run, I noticed a homeless man holding a paper cup begging for money. At first, I didn't pay much attention since it's a usual occurrence in our area. However, one day, I recognized my old neighbor in him. The only cash I had on me, I usually spent on my cup of coffee, but I decided it was not much of a sacrifice. From that moment, I only showed up on that street to shove a few bucks into that poor guy's cup. One day, to my surprise, he talked to me.

ℹ️ Background Information Essay Hook

Last but not least, give background information on your subject to make a good intro. Such an essay hook is effortless and suitable for practically any paper. Try to find the most unobvious angle to the background information. At the same time, keep it short and substantive.

Here are the ways to use background information essay hooks:

Air Arabia is among the leading low-cost carriers in the global airline industry. The airline is mainly based at the Sharjah International Airport in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) (Air Arabia, 2012). The airline came into inception in 2003 after His Highness Dr. Sheik Mohammed Al Qassimi, the Ruler of Sharjah, issued an Emiri Decree. Later, Air Arabia was transformed into a limited liability company. For nearly a decade, Air Arabia has witnessed tremendous growth, resulting in increased fleet size and improved sales revenues. At the same time, Air Arabia has created a renowned brand that offers reliable and safe services (Dubai Media Incorporated, 2012). Air Arabia identifies itself as a low-cost carrier by providing low fares in the industry. Some of the key strengths of the airline include punctuality and safety. This aims to ensure that the airline serves its customers most efficiently by observing its safety requirements and adhering to the landing and takeoff schedules (De Kluyver, 2010).

Read the full text here: Air Arabia Company Analysis.

Walmart was founded by Sam Walton in the Arkansas United States in 1962 as a grocery store. The company, which operates a chain of over 8,000 stores in fifteen countries, is estimated to employ over two million employees from diverse backgrounds. Wal-Mart was incorporated in 1969 and started trading in the New York Stock Exchange in 1972. […] Although the company can leave its consumers with a saving due to its low-price policy, it has faced some sharp criticisms over how it treats its employees and other stakeholders. Wal-Mart boasts of its ability to save its customers' money, an average of $950 per year. This, however, has been criticized as harming the community. Also, the feminists' activists have focused on Walmart's misconduct in offering low prices. (Fraedrich, Ferrell & Ferrell 440)

Now we won’t keep you for long. Let’s just go through simple points of essay hook writing.

Someone may think that you have to write your hook first. It comes first in the paper, right?

In reality, though, you can wait until your entire essay is nearly finished. Then go back and rewrite the very first paragraph. This way, you can have a fresh look at what you’ve written in the beginning.

Here’s a simple plan you can follow.

• First, write a basic version of your thesis statement.
• Then, provide supporting evidence for your thesis in every body paragraph.
• After that, reword your thesis statement and write your concluding paragraph.
• Finally, search for an attention-grabbing fact, statistic, or anything from the list above to serve as an engaging essay hook.

Add this essay hook to the beginning of your introduction. Make sure that your ideas still flow naturally into your thesis statement.

⚠️ Pro tip: choose various hooks and play around, adding each hook to your introduction paragraph. Like this, you can determine which one makes the most impressive beginning to your paper.

Some of your choices may sound interesting but may not lead to your essay’s main point. Don’t panic! Paper writing always involves trial and error. Just keep trying your essay hook ideas until one fits perfectly.

That’s it 😊

Good luck with your work!

🔗 References

• Hook – Examples and Definition of Hook
• How to Engage the Reader in the Opening Paragraph – BBC
• Hooks and Attention Grabbers; George Brown College Writing Centre
• Hook Examples and Definition; Literary Devices
• What Is a Narrative Hook? Video
• How to: Writing Hooks or Attention-Getting Openings-YouTube

Research Paper Analysis: How to Analyze a Research Article + Example

Film analysis: example, format, and outline + topics & prompts.

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Public Speaking Tips & Speech Topics

50+ Hook Examples: The Opening Lines That Make Your Essay Successful

Jim Peterson has over 20 years experience on speech writing. He wrote over 300 free speech topic ideas and how-to guides for any kind of public speaking and speech writing assignments at My Speech Class.

Writing a good paper starts with brainstorming a brilliant hook, which keeps your audience engaged with the text. There are many ways to formulate hooks, which will help your writing sound more original and compelling. Looking at some essay hook examples and tips on writing them is the first step to creating one of your own!

In this article:

What is a Hook?

Tips for creating a great hook, question hook examples, strong statement examples, fact/statistic hook examples, metaphor/simile hook examples, anecdotal hook examples.

A “hook” is a sentence that grabs the reader’s attention and keeps them interested in the outcome of your academic text or research paper. The hook is found in the first sentence or two in the opening paragraph in an academic text and serves both as an introduction and an attention grabber.

In literature, such sentences are often found in novels. A great personal favorite of mine is Christmas Carol’s first sentence: “Marley was dead: to begin with. ” This invites tons of interesting questions and piques your curiosity, making you want to read along.

We come across hook examples in our day-to-day lives, scrolling through YouTube video titles and website links. Clickbait can be considered the hook of the modern world, and there are tons of techniques to learn from it.

However, this article will focus on essay hooks for academic papers specifically. In the section below, we’ll be discussing tips on writing hook sentences and engaging your reader’s interest through a single opening sentence.

There are different types of hook sentences in an essay introduction. We’ll take a look at each type, and a few tips, so later on, you can start formulating your own essay hooks based on these few examples.

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• Question Hook: If you’re writing an art essay, philosophy paper, or business coursework, choosing a compelling and interesting question will leave the readers pondering throughout your text. The reader will automatically try to look for the answer within your research paper.
• Strong Statement: The opening lines can be controversial, a bold claim – the best hooks for argumentative essays are. This method can shock your audience, and they’ll be curious to learn how you defend your argument.
• Fact/Statistic Hook: These hook examples are used for scientific and academic assignments, allowing you to use a lesser-known fact or statistic which will grab the reader’s attention.
• Metaphor/Simile Hook: You can set up a scene by telling a short story for your readers to imagine before getting to your essay’s core. This metaphor hook can be highly compelling and relatable to your audience.
• Anecdotal Hook: The trickiest essay hook used to diffuse the tension surrounding a heavy topic. This tricky opening line should be carefully thought out and guaranteed to make the reader laugh and only used in the right circumstances.

If you’re using the fact/statistic hook, always make sure you quote a credible source. The same goes for the interesting facts hook type. Include those sources in the body of your essay.

It also helps to think of a hook you came across recently that made an impression on you. Was it a controversial blog post? A captivating personal story? A thesis statement that made you ponder?

Once you finish reading our article, it’s helpful to test your hook and introductory paragraph out to an audience. Have another student, tutor, or parent read it. See if it’s doing its purpose – is the reader engaged? What did they understand from your hook? Is the essay topic clear?

Don’t get discouraged if you don’t get it right the first time. Writing is a long process and requires a lot of rewriting. Take a small break and give it another go.

How to Write a Great Hook + Examples

There are two crucial points to follow when you write a hook:

• Keep your sentences short – don’t overstuff your sentences or let them run longer than two rows.
• Use simple, comprehensive language – the ultimate essay can be read and understood by anyone, even people outside your academic course.

It’s time to get to the examples!

• What if I told you the world has an unlimited energy resource?
• How much screen time is too much for elementary school children?
• Is online education the best way to learn in the middle of a pandemic?
• Did you know women are twice as likely to experience clinical depression than men?
• Are your evening habits keeping you from getting a good night’s sleep?
• Do jobs that require degrees have a higher earning potential?
• How important is it for YouTubers to use search engine optimization strategies?
• Will the consumption of meat products become a luxury in the year 2050?
• Has reading become more challenging due to our short attention span?
• Have you ever wondered why traffic builds up on no-stop roads?
• Why we should feel sorry for high achievers?
• Why you don’t need to be exceptional?
• How much sugar do you think you consume?
• The effects of global warming are irreversible, so what can we do to optimize our living now?
• Should fireworks be banned due to noise pollution and its effect on animals?
• Has television died in place for streaming services?
• Is our hatred of certain foods and flavors a direct result of our genetic heritage?
• Android app development will die out in the next twenty years.
• You’ll always marry the wrong person.
• Why is ordinary life not good enough anymore?
• Why are romantics ruining love?
• “The wicked tend to win” Machiavelli
• The hardest person in the world to break up with.
• Some imaginary friends can cultivate independence in a child.
• Did you know that space smells like seared steak?
• The human body houses 10 times more bacteria than it does cells.
• The longest war in the world is between the Netherlands and Sicily and here’s what happened.
• “A country that demands moral perfection in its foreign policy will achieve neither perfection nor security” H. Kissinger
• Cat purring can be beneficial to your health.
• There is a scientific explanation behind boredom.
• The average drunk driver drives under the influence more than 80 times before they get arrested for the first time.
• 1/3 of adults still sleep with a comfort toy in bed.
• The average American generates nearly 4.5 pounds of trash each day.
• The global rate for keeping good hygiene after using the toilet is 20%.
• Americans read for pleasure for less than 10 minutes every day.
• The average American eats around 13 pounds of ice cream each year.
• More than 1/2 million people experience homelessness each night.
• Approximately 90% of people who experience a cardiac arrest outside of hospitals die.
• Farmers and ranchers make up less than 2% of Americans.
• Approximately half of Americans will experience a mental illness during their lifetime.
• My cousin Joanna went to a party with red lipstick all over her teeth. I couldn’t help myself to tell her.
• I dressed up as a werewolf last Halloween. That’s when everything started.
• As a child my grandfather gave my grandma her favorite flower- a rose on every holiday. Does this kind of love still exist?
• Last year my parents dragged me to Paris six times. I had the most dreadful time – I just couldn’t understand how such a historic city can be so dirty, or why.
• The cause and effect example – when talking about the importance of safety, tell a story with an important moral.
• Imagine sitting by the fire with the love of your life…
• I have a four-year old baby – my publishing business I started in 2018.
• The picture of… brought back memories of…
• It’s difficult to talk about… because…
• If you were a famous person, would you…
• When I was 6, I was given a pet hamster for Christmas. Needless to say, little Zach is gone now, but I wonder how long he could have lived if I had been given it at 12?
• One reason I decided to switch to a healthy diet is… well it’s cheaper than buying a whole new set of clothes!
• I like talking to myself. Sometimes I have these seemingly clever and long conversations. I hardly have a clue what I’m talking about.

Mastering the hook sentence is something you might end up using in your day-to-day life, especially if you go into academia, publishing, or journalism as a career choice. But that’s not it – we use hooks to communicate on social media. The title of our blog post or recent youtube video are examples of well-formulated hooks. The quicker you start practicing them the easier they’ll become to use.

If you’re having any other academic trouble, like coming up with essay topics , or you want to learn the outlines of the different essay types, we can help you with that! You’ll become an essay writing pro in no time! We’ve got some good and interesting research paper topics we’re proud of, as well as demonstration speech topics ! Hook sentence examples are just the start!

We hope this article has helped you master the art of essay writing, and you now find the reader agrees with your point of view! Let us know of any good hook examples you came up with!

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Essay Hook Examples That Grab Attention (Formula for Better Grades)

Table of contents

Meredith Sell

Have you ever read a line that caught your attention so fast, you didn’t look up until five paragraphs later? Props to whoever wrote it — they mastered the attention-grabbing hook.

Top 10 Essay Hooks

For many writers, hooks (or ledes, as they’re referred to by journalists) are both tantalizing and infuriating. Out in the wild, we spot first lines that are startling and mind-bending and stoke our curiosity. But then we sit to write our own and all we can think of is “once upon a time” or “a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away” or, worse, “imagine yourself…”

‍ ‍ The truth is: every piece of writing can’t start with an explosion or a chase scene. Especially if you’re writing an academic essay or other piece of nonfiction that needs to stick with the facts. But there are better ways to start your essay than the sleepy “A recent study observed 300 chimpanzees in 50 habitats over seven years. This is what it found.”

• ‍ How do you write a hook that grabs your reader’s attention right away?
• Is there a way to make sure the hook fits the piece you’re writing?
• ‍ How do you use AI to produce better hooks?

These are just a couple questions we’ll answer in this article. 

But first, let’s talk about what you need to know before attempting to write that opening sentence.

Try our FREE essay hook generator > Try our FREE essay hook generator >

What to Know About Your Essay (and Topic) Before You Write the Hook

Whether you’re writing a research paper on economics, an argumentative essay for your college composition class, or a personal essay for that blog you’ve been plotting, there are a few things you need to nail down before you settle on a first line.

1. Gain In-Depth Knowledge of Your topic

Name one thing under the sun. You could write an essay about it.

Before you actually write your essay, though, you need to know your topic — not just in name, but in-depth. You don't have to be a subject matter expert , but you do have to research.

Your research will help you narrow your focus, build an argument, and uncover the facts to shape the flow of thought throughout your piece. What you learn in the research stage should determine how you structure your essay — and should guide your choice of hook.

‍ Did you uncover a shocking fact? A compelling anecdote? An interesting quote? Any of those things could be your hook.

‍ Take action: When you’ve finished your research, go through your notes and think through your essay. Mark or make a list of anything you learned that’s compelling enough to be a good lead. Then, filter that list through your essay genre.

2. Type of essay

In academic settings, there are generally three kinds of essays:

• Argumentative: Making the case for a certain stance or route of action.
• Expository: Explaining the who, what, when, where, why, and how of some phenomenon.
• Narrative: Telling a true story as a way to explore different ideas.

‍ The type of essay you’re writing is key to choosing the best hook for your piece. 

A serious argumentative essay probably shouldn’t start with a joke. And a shocking statistic may not be the best way to set the stage for a narrative story.

‍ Take action: Go through your list of potential hooks and cross out anything that doesn’t fit the type of essay you’re writing, whether it's a persuasive , argumentative or any other essay.

3. Audience and tone

To make sure your essay is properly engaged and understood, you need to keep your audience in mind and choose a tone that fits both your subject and your audience.

For an argumentative essay, you’re trying to convince someone who doesn’t agree with you that what you’re claiming is right or, at least, reasonable. You don’t want to turn them off with snarky or offensive language — but you do want to be authoritative. Your hook should match that tone and support your effort.

A narrative essay is likely to welcome more lyrical language, so starting with a colorful description or an anecdote might make more sense than, say, a bold claim or surprising fact. Whatever tone you choose for your narrative essay — comical or gentle or bold — should be used for your hook.

‍ Expository essays can use all sorts of tones and be written to a variety of audiences, so think carefully about the tone that best fits your subject matter. An essay explaining how the human body shuts down when overdosed will likely require a different tone than one on the lives of circus masters in the late 1800s. 

‍ Take action: Look at your list. Can you write these potential hooks in a tone that suits your subject and audience?

Are you writing a 10-page paper or a three-page reflection? Or is this your senior thesis, pushing 100 pages?

‍ If you’re writing a shorter paper, you’ll want to keep your hook quick and snappy. Don’t wax eloquent over three paragraphs about your childhood baseball league if your research paper on Little League is only four pages long.

At the same time, a long work — like a senior thesis or a term paper — could be enhanced by a longer hook. Just make sure your hook relates to and supports the core point of your essay. You don’t want to waste space describing a scene that ultimately has nothing to do with the rest of your piece.

‍ Take action: If you write out the items on your list, how long will they be? A sentence or paragraph? Perfect. Two to five paragraphs? Unless your essay is on the longer side, you may want to save that information for later in the piece.

‍ Now that you know the basic facts about what you’re writing, let’s look at some approaches you could use to catch those readers — and reel them in.

5 Enticing Essay Hooks (and How to Avoid Common Mistakes)

1. shocking fact or statistic.

Your research turned up a trove of information — some of it’s boring, some of it’s downright mind-blowing. Here’s a tip: If you lead with anything, lead with the mind-blowing stuff.

‍ Your job as the writer is to either make the mundane interesting or point out what’s not mundane at all. That starts with your first sentence.

For example, let’s say you’re writing about the color of the sky. You don’t want to start with “the sky is blue”. But you could start by explaining how the sky got its color.

For example:

‍ Making the mundane interesting: Sunlight is clear and colorless — until it strikes earth’s atmosphere. Then, scattered by air molecules, it colors our sky blue.

‍ Not mundane at all: In 2020, wildfires up and down North America’s West Coast sent so much smoke into the atmosphere that, in California, the sky turned orange.

Whether you’re sharing a fact or statistic, make sure it’s shocking or unexpected. And state it as directly as possible. 

Produce a shocking statistic with AI

Go to Wordtune, add your headline, and click on 'Expand on' and type "statistics". You can scroll through different AI-suggested stats that relate to your subject at hand.

Get Wordtune for free > Get Wordtune for free >

2. Bold claim hook

Especially fitting for argumentative essays, this approach goes from zero to 60 in two seconds (or less, depending how fast your audience reads). The idea is to get to the point ASAP. Make your claim — and then dive into your argument to back it up.

Will your claim ruffle feathers? Hopefully. If your “bold claim” makes people shrug, you haven’t succeeded either in writing it or in choosing a claim that’s actually bold. 

‍ Avoid the mistake of making a claim that people already accept as fact.

Just like “the sky is blue” won’t work as a shocking fact, it won’t work as a bold claim. We know the sky’s blue. Tell us something we don’t know. Or better: tell us something we’ve never heard before and may even find hard to believe. (As long as you can back it up.)

What could work for our sky color example?

• Denver has the blue-est sky of anywhere I’ve lived.
• Climate change is making sunsets more colorful than ever.

Generate a bold claim suggestion using AI

Go to Wordtune again, and write a statement that has general consensus. Then, choose the 'Counterargument' suggestion. This is a great way to formulate a bold claim with no effort at all.

3. Story/Anecdote hook

In an anecdote hook, you use a story to establish a connection between the topic and the reader to gain their attention. The story must be direct and concise, and relate to the main topic quite directly.

If your research turned up a wild example from a study that perfectly fits what you’re writing about, leading with that anecdote might be the best way to open your essay. Or maybe you have a personal story that relates to the topic — or permission from a friend to include their story.

The anecdotal hook is a favorite for magazine journalists and, let’s be honest, most of the writers in the room. It’s an excuse for us to play with words and work in more storytelling. As a bonus, well-told stories also have a knack for sucking in readers. Humans are storytellers . It’s like our radar is always pinging for another wild tale to first hear and then share.

But be careful you’re not wooed by a story that doesn’t fit the essay you’re writing. And if it does fit, keep it brief. The details you include need to be relevant to the essay, not just satisfying the inner gossip’s need for more juice.

A favorite writing tip that applies here: enter the scene as late as possible, leave as early as possible.

Consider these two examples:

‍ Long and rambling: When I moved to Colorado in 2015, I’d never been here before and I didn’t know what to expect. I came from Illinois, where I thought the skies were big and the landscape was boring. I wasn’t expecting the Colorado sky to be bigger. And I certainly wasn’t expecting it to be more blue.

‍ Direct and concise: The first thing I noticed when I moved to Colorado was the sky: it seemed bigger and more blue than the sky anywhere else I’d lived.

Either of these hooks could work fine if we were just writing a personal essay about a move to a new place, but if we’re specifically writing about the sky, the second example is better. It sticks to the point — the sky and the color of the sky — and doesn’t get bogged down in irrelevant details about where the person moved from, whether they’d been to Colorado before, or what they were expecting.

Improve your story using AI

Not all of us are natural storytellers. By using AI you can expand a short-written story, or simply phrase it better.

4. Question Hook

Do you remember the beginning of this blog? No need to scroll back up, because I just used the same hook style again: the question.

Starting your piece with a question is a great way to spark curiosity in your reader and set up what your piece is about. But there are plenty of ways to do this poorly.

Avoid any variation of “have you ever thought of…” or “have you ever wondered…” Questions like these try to put thoughts into readers’ minds that they may or may not have ever considered, and can be a major turnoff.

Instead, you’ll want to come up with a unique question that approaches your topic from a fresh angle. This means honing in on what was especially interesting or surprising from your research — and maybe even doing some brainstorming of different questions to find the most fascinating one.

What questions could you ask about the color of the sky? So glad you asked.

• Why did the sky turn orange in the middle of the day?
• If light is clear, why does the sky look blue?
• What do earth’s atmosphere and rainbow-casting suncatchers have in common?

5. Description Hook

Another favorite of the literary writers in the room, description is a prime choice for explanatory or narrative essays. But it takes some focus and intention to do well. 

Like with story hooks, you want to keep descriptive hooks concise. Whatever you’re describing — historical figure, disease, sporting event, London in the 1600s — should be clearly relevant to the central purpose of your essay. Your description should either illustrate the point you’re making or serve as an introduction to your topic.

Mistakes to avoid:

• Relying on passive voice
• Choosing bland words
• Describing a scene that’s common to the reader 

As with all hooks, your description needs to be specific and unexpected .

So what would make a good descriptive hook for an essay on the sky? 

Describing a sunset is too cliche, so cross that one off the list. Describing the sky as it is on a normal day wouldn’t be shocking or unexpected. To reach something unique, you’d have to either zoom in on the air molecules (like we did in our shocking fact example) or take a totally different approach:

Only an artist, the kind that memorized the colors in the crayon box as a kid and uses words like cerulean and violet , could name the difference between the blue of Colorado’s sky and the blue of Indiana’s sky. But she saw the difference, first in photos and then in person. That richer Colorful Colorado blue reflected in her eyes. Not baby blue or sapphire or azure — or even sky blue. Blue bird, perhaps? That’s what Coloradans called it. We’re closer to the sky, they say, that’s why it’s blue-er here. Believe it or not, they’re right.

Create a description hook with AI

By now, you know the process. You write the main topic of your essay, and click 'Explain'. You can also try the 'Emphasize' suggestion, which rather that adding an explanation, reiterates the message more deeply.

3 Approaches to Avoid When Writing Hooks

Every type of hook can be done poorly, but avoid these at all costs. These hooks are tired and overdone. They may help you start your first draft, but please — for the sake of your readers — do not submit an essay with any of these leads.

1. Quotations

Abraham Lincoln probably didn’t even say that quote the internet attributed to him, but even if he did, people probably already know it. It’s not shocking or unique or unexpected. Leave it out.

2. Definitions

The New Oxford American Dictionary defines hook as “a thing designed to catch people’s attention.” 

This approach doesn’t catch anyone’s attention — unless you’re defining a particularly unusual word. But even if you are defining an unusual word, there’s probably a more interesting way to start your essay than relying on someone else’s definition.

3. “Imagine this”

Here’s a hint: Cut “imagine this” and keep the rest. The hook will either work (and be an enticing description) or be painfully boring. Either way, you’ll at least avoid the most cliched approach to starting any piece of writing.

Our Go-To Trick for Writing Catchy Hooks

If you want a surefire way to write compelling openings , do this:

Go through your notes and either outline your essay or write the whole thing. This way, you’ll know the central thread (or throughline) that runs throughout your piece. 

Once your essay or outline is complete, go back through and identify a particularly compelling fact, claim, or example that relates to that central thread.

‍ Write up that fact, claim, or example as the hook for your essay using any of the methods we’ve covered. Then revise or write your essay so the hook leads smoothly into the rest of the piece and you don’t repeat that information elsewhere.

Does your hook spark curiosity in you? Did that fact surprise you in the research stage? Chances are, your readers will have the same reaction. And that’s exactly what you want.

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How to Write a Hook: Top 5 Tips for Writers

Hannah Yang

How do you make people feel excited to read your work?

Well, for starters, you can write a great hook.

The “hook” refers to the first sentence, or first few sentences, of an essay, article, or story. That’s because these first few lines need to hook readers in, the same way fishermen use bait to hook fish in.

If you’re trying to figure out how to write a hook, you’ve come to the right place. Read on to learn how to write a fantastic hook and to see some examples of successful ones.

What Is a Hook in Writing?

Top 5 tips for writing good hooks, great examples of hooks, is writing a hook in an essay different from a story hook, conclusion on how to write a hook.

We use the term “hook” to talk about the very beginning of a written work—specifically the part designed to grab readers’ attention. The hook can be as short as a single sentence or as long as a full paragraph.

Writing hooks is a necessary skill for all types of writing—narrative essays, research papers, fiction writing, and more.

What Makes a Good Hook Important?

Good hooks make your reader feel excited to keep reading.

If you’re writing a book, you need a great hook so people decide to actually buy your work, instead of putting it back on the shelf.

If you’re writing a blog post or article, you need a great hook so people read to the end, instead of scrolling or flipping to a different article instead.

And if you’re writing an essay for school, you need a good hook so you can practice the skill of writing well.

What Are the Different Types of Hooks?

There’s more than one way to write a great hook.

Here are six types of hooks that will grab your reader’s attention.

• Question hook : a question that provokes the reader’s curiosity and makes them keep reading to find out the answer
• Statement hook : a strong declaration related to your topic that makes the reader keep reading to see you defend this statement
• Statistic hook : an interesting fact or statistic that makes you sound knowledgeable, so your reader trusts your expertise
• Quote hook : a memorable quote, often by a famous person, that the reader will find interesting
• Description hook : a vivid description that immerses your reader into a specific scene
• Anecdotal hook : a personal story that relates to your topic and makes the reader feel personally connected to the story

Here are our top tips for writing a strong opening hook.

Tip 1: Surprise the Reader

Readers crave the unexpected. If you start your piece in a surprising way, they’ll be more likely to keep reading.

You can even say something controversial. Readers will want to keep reading to see how you prove your own statement.

Tip 2: Raise a Question

When starting an essay or a story, you should try to create a question that the reader wants answered.

This doesn’t have to be a literal question that ends with a question mark—instead, it can simply be an unusual statement or a weird situation. Make sure it’s something your target audience will find interesting.

Tip 3: Keep Your Promises

If you open your essay with an interesting hook, you need to be mindful of what you’re promising to the reader. If you don’t keep that promise throughout the piece, your reader will feel tricked.

For example, you’d probably be unhappy if you read a story that started with, “The monster was coming for me” and then, later in the first chapter, said, “Then I woke up and realized it was just a nightmare.”

The first sentence is a strong opening hook, but it promises a dramatic scene, which doesn’t get fulfilled, because the hook turns out not to be real.

An equivalent in an essay would be writing a controversial statement and then failing to prove why that statement is true, or asking an interesting question and then failing to answer it later.

Tip 4: Keep It Relevant

Some writers try so hard to choose an interesting hook that they end up using something irrelevant to their essay. Readers will get confused if you open with a random quote or statistic that only tangentially connects to your thesis.

If you’re choosing between a fascinating hook that doesn’t have much to do with your topic, or a decent hook that’s directly related to your thesis statement, you should go with the latter.

Tip 5: Don’t Stop at the Hook

Some writers focus so much on nailing the opening hook that they forget to make the rest of the essay equally strong.

Your reader could still stop reading on the second page, or the third, or the tenth. Make sure you use strong and engaging writing throughout the piece.

One way to learn how to write hooks is to look at examples.

Here are examples of six hooks you could use to start a persuasive essay about artificial intelligence, plus three hooks you could use to start a sci-fi story.

Example 1: Question Hook

• Will artificial intelligence someday become smarter than humans?

Example 2: Statement Hook

• Artificial intelligence could become smarter than humans by 2050.

Example 3: Statistic Hook

• As of 2022, the global AI industry is worth over $130 billion.

Example 4: Quote Hook

• The scientist Stephen Hawking once said, “The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race.”

Example 5: Description Hook

• The Alexa AI blinks from the kitchen table, emitting a comforting blue light.

Example 6: Anecdotal Hook

• Like many people of my generation, I used an AI for the first time when I was twelve years old.

Example 7: Sci-Fi Story Hooks

• Samuel Gibson had friends. Sure, all his friends were AI robots that his parents had purchased for him, but they still counted as friends.
• My father’s office is full of strange machines, which none of us are allowed to touch.
• The AI revolt began on Christmas morning of the year 2068.

Both essays and stories require good hooks. After all, you’re still competing for your reader’s attention, no matter what kind of work you’re writing.

However, a story hook will look very different from an essay hook.

If you’re writing fiction, you most likely won’t use a statistic, question, or quote to hook your readers in. Instead, your best options will be a statement, a description, or an anecdote—or, or often, a sentence that combines a little bit of all three.

Just like with essays, you should try to raise a question in your reader’s head. This can be a strange character, an unusual setting, or a mysterious fact.

Here are some examples of strong hooks in novels:

“My first memory, when I was three years old, was of trying to kill my sister.”—Jodi Piccoult, My Sister’s Keeper

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”—Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

“Once upon a time, on the coldest night of midwinter, in the darkest heart of the forest, Death and Fortune came to a crossroads.”—Margaret Owen, Little Thieves

“The women gather in a YMCA basement rec room: hard linoleum floors, half-windows along one wall, view of sidewalk and brick.”—Maria Adelmann, How to Be Eaten

“I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a rainy overcast day in 1975.”—Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner

“It did not surprise Fire that the man in the forest shot her. What surprised her was that he shot her by accident.”—Kristen Cashore, Fire

There you have it—a complete guide to writing a fantastic hook.

ProWritingAid has specific settings for creative writers and students, so it can help you write your story or essay. Try it out the next time you need to write a hook.

Good luck, and happy writing!

Be confident about grammar

Check every email, essay, or story for grammar mistakes. Fix them before you press send.

Hannah Yang is a speculative fiction writer who writes about all things strange and surreal. Her work has appeared in Analog Science Fiction, Apex Magazine, The Dark, and elsewhere, and two of her stories have been finalists for the Locus Award. Her favorite hobbies include watercolor painting, playing guitar, and rock climbing. You can follow her work on hannahyang.com, or subscribe to her newsletter for publication updates.

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• Writing Tips

How to Write the Ultimate Essay Hook

4-minute read

• 6th May 2023

Never underestimate the power of an essay hook . This opening statement is meant to grab the reader’s attention and convince them to keep reading. But how do you write one that’ll pack a punch? In this article, we’ll break this down.

What Is an Essay Hook?

An essay hook is the first thing your audience will read. If it doesn’t hook them right off the bat, they might decide not to keep reading. It’s important that your opening statement is impactful while not being too wordy or presumptuous.

It’s also crucial that it clearly relates to your topic. You don’t want to mislead your readers into thinking your essay is about something it’s not. So, what kind of essay hook should you write? Here are seven ideas to choose from:

1.   Story

Everyone likes a good story. If an interesting story or anecdote relates to your essay topic, the hook is a great place to include it. For example:

The key to a good story hook is keeping it short and sweet. You’re not writing a novel in addition to an essay!

2.   Fact

Another great essay hook idea is to lay out a compelling fact or statistic. For example:

There are a few things to keep in mind when doing this. Make sure it’s relevant to your topic, accurate, and something your audience will care about. And, of course, be sure to cite your sources properly.

3.   Metaphor or Simile

If you want to get a little more creative with your essay hook, try using a metaphor or simile . A metaphor states that something is something else in a figurative sense, while a simile states that something is like something else.

Metaphors and similes are effective because they provide a visual for your readers, making them think about a concept in a different way. However, be careful not to make them too far-fetched or overly exaggerated.

4.   Question

Asking your audience a question is a great way to hook them. Not only does it make them think, but they’ll also want to keep reading because you will have sparked their curiosity. For example:

Find this useful?

Subscribe to our newsletter and get writing tips from our editors straight to your inbox.

Try to avoid using questions that start with something along the lines of “Have you ever wondered…?” Instead, try to think of a question they may never have wondered about. And be sure not to answer it right away, at least not fully. Use your essay to do that!

5.   Declaration

Making a bold statement or declaring a strong opinion can immediately catch people’s attention. For example:

Regardless of whether your reader agrees with you, they’ll probably want to keep reading to find out how you will back up your claim. Just make sure your declaration isn’t too controversial, or you might scare readers away!

6.   Common Misconception

Laying out a common misconception is another useful way to hook your reader. For example:

If your readers don’t know that a common belief is actually a misconception, they’ll likely be interested in learning more. And if they are already aware, it’s probably a topic they’re interested in, so they’ll want to read more.

7.   Description

You can put your descriptive powers into action with your essay hook. Creating interesting or compelling imagery places your reader into a scene, making the words come alive.

A description can be something beautiful and appealing or emotionally charged and provoking. Either way, descriptive writing is a powerful way to immerse your audience and keep them reading.

When writing an essay, don’t skimp on the essay hook! The opening statement has the potential to convince your audience to hear what you have to say or to let them walk away. We hope our ideas have given you some inspiration.

And once you finish writing your essay, make sure to send it to our editors. We’ll check it for grammar, spelling, word choice, references, and more. Try it out for free today with a 500-word sample !

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How to Write a Hook: Start Off Your Essay Strong with This Guide

What is a Hook for an Essay: Importance and Purpose

Which section of your essay can make your readers dip their toes into your writing? Is it the body paragraphs where all the analysis is laid out? Or maybe the introduction, where you present your thesis statement and voice your perspective on the subject? Well, if you think it is the latter, then we must agree with your decision. However, let's get more specific; if we take the introductory paragraph to pieces, which piece gets the most recognition? You must have guessed from the article's title that we're talking about a hook. But first, let's define what is a hook for an essay before we walk you through the reasons why it deserves our pat on the back.

The hook is the initial sentence in a written work. Whether you're asking how to write a hook for a song, blog post, or term paper, know that the purpose of any effective hook is to seize the reader's attention. It can be one sentence long, often for shorter pieces, or composed of several lines - usually for larger pieces. Making the reader want to keep reading is what an essay hook accomplishes for your paper, just as an intriguing introduction does for any piece.

Our main emphasis in this guide is on creating a good hook for an essay. Nonetheless, these fundamental guidelines apply to nearly every format for communicating with your audience. Whether writing a personal statement, a speech, or a presentation, making a solid first impression is crucial to spur your readers into action.

How to Write a Hook for Different Kinds of Writing

Although it is a tough skill to master, understanding how to write a hook is crucial for academic writing success. By reviewing the most prevalent kinds of essay hooks, you can discover how to effectively captivate readers from the start and generate a hook that is ideal for your article. To do so, let's head over to the following sections prepared by our dissertation writers .

How to Write a Hook for a College Essay?

By mastering how to write a hook for a college essay, you have the opportunity to stand out from the hundreds of applicants with identical academic portfolios to yours in your college essay. It should shed light on who you are, represent your true nature, and show your individuality. But first, you need an attention-grabbing start if you want the admissions committee to read more of yours than theirs. For this, you'll require a strong hook.

Set the Scene

When wondering how to write a good hook for an essay, consider setting the scene. Open in the middle of a key moment, plunge in with vivid details and conversation to keep your essay flowing and attract the reader. Make the reader feel like they are seeing a moment from your life and have just tuned in.

Open with an Example

Starting with a specific example is also a great idea if you're explaining how you acquired a particular skill or unique accomplishment. Then, similar to how you established the scenario above, you may return to this point later and discuss its significance throughout the remaining sections.

Open with an Anecdote

Using an anecdotal hook doesn't necessarily mean that your essay should also be humorous. The joke should be short and well-aimed to achieve the best results. To assist the reader in visualizing the situation and understanding what you are up against when tackling a task or overcoming a challenge, you might also use a funny irony. And if this sounds too overwhelming to compose, buy an essay on our platform and let our expert writers convey your unmatched story!

How to Write a Hook for an Argumentative Essay?

If you write a strong hook, your instructor will be compelled to read your argument in the following paragraphs. So, put your creative thinking cap on while crafting the hook, and write in a way that entices readers to continue reading the essay.

Use Statistics

Statistics serve as a useful hook because they encourage research. When used in argumentative writing, statistics can introduce readers to previously undiscovered details and data. That can greatly increase their desire to read your article from start to finish. You can also consider this advice when unsure how to write a good hook for a research paper. Especially if you're conducting a quantitative study, a statistic hook can be a solid start.

Use a Common Misconception

Another answer to your 'how to write a hook for an argumentative essay' question is to use a common misconception. What could be a better way to construct an interesting hook, which should grab readers' attention, than to incorporate a widely held misconception? A widespread false belief is one that many people hold to be true. When you create a hook with a misinterpretation, you startle your readers and immediately capture their interest.

How to Write a Hook for a Persuasive Essay?

The finest hooks for a persuasive essay capture the reader's interest while leading them to almost unconsciously support your position even before they are aware of it. You can accomplish this by employing the following hook ideas for an essay:

Ask a Rhetorical Question

By posing a query at the outset of your essay, you may engage the reader's critical thinking and whet their appetite for the solution you won't provide until later. Try to formulate a question wide enough for them to not immediately know the answer and detailed enough to avoid becoming a generic hook.

Use an Emotional Appeal

This is a fantastic approach to arouse sympathy and draw the reader into your cause. By appealing to the reader's emotions, you may establish a bond that encourages them to read more and get invested in the subject you cover.

Using these strategies, you won't have to wonder how to write a hook for a persuasive essay anymore!

How to Write a Hook for a Literary Analysis Essay?

Finding strong essay openers might be particularly challenging when writing a literary analysis. Coming up with something very remarkable on your own while writing about someone else's work is no easy feat. But we have some expert solutions below:

Use Literary Quotes

Using a literary quote sounds like the best option when unsure how to write a hook for a literary analysis essay. Nonetheless, its use is not restricted to that and is mostly determined by the style and meaning of the quotes. Still, when employing literary quotes, it's crucial to show two things at once: first, how well you understand the textual information. And second, you know how to capture the reader's interest right away.

Employ Quotes from Famous People

This is another style of hook that is frequently employed in literary analysis. But if you wonder how to write a good essay hook without sounding boring, choose a historical person with notable accomplishments and keep your readers intrigued and inspired to read more.

How to Write a Hook for an Informative Essay?

In an informative essay, your ultimate goal is to not only educate your audience but also engage and keep them interested from the very beginning. For this, consider the following:

Start with a Fact or Definition

You might begin your essay with an interesting fact or by giving a definition related to your subject. The same standard applies here for most types mentioned above: it must be intriguing, surprising, and/or alarming.

Ask Questions that Relate to Your Topic

Another solution to 'How to write a hook for an informative essay?' is to introduce your essay with a relevant question. This hook lets you pique a reader's interest in your essay and urge them to keep reading as they ponder the answer.

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Expert-Approved Tips for Writing an Essay Hook

Are you still struggling with the ideal opening sentence for your essay? Check out some advice from our essay helper on how to write a hook sentence and make your opening stand out.

• Keep your essay type in mind . Remember to keep your hook relevant. An effective hook for an argumentative or descriptive essay format will differ greatly. Therefore, the relevancy of the hook might be even more important than the content it conveys.
• Decide on the purpose of your hook . When unsure how to write a hook for an essay, try asking the following questions: What result are you hoping to get from it? Would you like your readers to be curious? Or, even better, surprised? Perhaps even somewhat caught off guard? Determine the effect you wish to accomplish before selecting a hook.
• Choose a hook at the end of the writing process. Even though it should be the first sentence of your paper, it doesn't mean you should write your hook first. Writing an essay is a long and creative process. So, if you can't think of an effective hook at the beginning, just keep writing according to your plan, and it will eventually come into your head. If you were lucky enough to concoct your hook immediately, double-check your writing to see if it still fits into the whole text and its style once you've finished writing.
• Make it short . The shorter, the better – this rule works for essay hooks. Keeping your hook to a minimum size will ensure that readers will read it at the same moment they start looking at your essay. Even before thinking if they want or don't want to read it, their attention will be captured, and their curiosity will get the best of them. So, they will continue reading the entire text to discover as much as possible.

Now you know how to write a good hook and understand that a solid hook is the difference between someone delving further into your work or abandoning it immediately. With our hook examples for an essay, you can do more than just write a great paper. We do not doubt that you can even write a winning term paper example right away!

Try to become an even better writer with the help of our paper writing service . Give them the freedom to write superior hooks and full essays for you so you may learn from them!

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Writing Hooks: How to Catch Your Reader’s Attention

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Have you ever been so captivated by a book, article, or blog post that it felt like time was standing still? Then chances are the writer had crafted an incredibly effective writing hook. But what is this magical tool, and how can we use it to ensnare our readers’ attention? Writing hooks aren’t just about snagging readers but rather creating intrigue for them with your content from the get-go! So let’s dive in and check out some tips on crafting masterful writing hooks.

A writing hook is a captivating phrase that entices the reader immediately and keeps them hooked until the end. It’s an effective tool to draw readers in with its magnetic appeal while creating interest in what lies ahead. In other words, it adds suspense and excitement like no other!

Ready to spellbind your readers? This article will reveal the key to an irresistible writing hook: one that’s sure to captivate and allure. Get ready for a wave of curiosity!

Key Takeaways:

• A writing hook is a captivating phrase or sentence that entices the reader and keeps them engaged until the end.
• The key to a successful hook is understanding your target audience and their interests, connecting with them through personal anecdotes, and captivating them with a hook that elicits emotions, raises questions, surprises them, relates to them, or draws upon statistics.
• The five hooks are emotional, question, surprise, anecdote, and statistical.
• To craft a successful hook, the writer must tailor it to their target audience and use it to create an unbreakable bond with the reader.

Connecting with Your Audience Through Writing Hooks 

Have you ever wondered why some writing can draw in readers and keep them captivated? The key is to create an impactful introduction, or ‘hook’, that will immediately grab their attention. Crafting the perfect hook requires understanding your audience; it should be tailored specifically for those who are most likely to read and enjoy your work!

Identifying the Target Audience 

A great writing hook starts with understanding your audience – the people who you’re hoping to engage and captivate.

Who will be reading? Is it potential customers looking for a new product or service solution, or are there certain readers in mind that could benefit from what you have to offer?

Knowing exactly who is on the other side of that message can make all the difference when crafting something worth taking notice of.

Understanding Reader Interests 

Got your target audience in mind? Great – it’s time to explore their interests and start brainstorming content ideas that’ll really get them talking.

What can you create that they won’t be able to resist? Brainstorm captivating topics and hooks, then watch as eager readers dive right into your material!

Creating a Connection with the Reader 

The key to captivating readers with your writing is creating an unbreakable bond between you and them. Showing off how passionate or knowledgeable you are about the topic can do wonders and provide personal stories that people from a similar background will appreciate.

It’s impossible not to be drawn in by someone who connects their piece on such levels – so don’t forget to make those connections for increased engagement!

Captivate Your Audience with Different Types of Writing Hooks 

Every writer knows the importance of a good hook. A hook is the first sentence or two that grabs the reader’s attention and convinces them to keep reading. It’s an effective tool for drawing readers in. This section will discuss five hooks you can use to capture your reader’s attention: emotional hooks, question hooks, surprise hooks, anecdote hooks, and statistical hooks. 

Emotional Hooks 

An emotional hook aims to draw on readers’ emotions to get them invested in what they’re reading. With this type of hook, you want to evoke strong feelings such as fear, anger, sadness, or joy in order to spur the reader into action.

For example, suppose you are writing about climate change and its effects on the environment. In that case, you could start your article with a sentence like “Every day, we hurtle closer towards a future where our planet will no longer be able to support life as we know it.”

This type of statement can elicit a powerful emotional response from readers and motivate them to take action against climate change. 

Question Hooks 

Using questions is another great way to get readers hooked on your writing. Asking provocative questions can make readers think more deeply about a topic and encourage them to read further to find more information or answers.

For instance, if you were writing an article about gun control reform in America, you could start off with a question like “Why do so many politicians refuse to take meaningful steps toward reforming our nation’s gun laws?” This question encourages the reader to delve deeper into your article in search of answers. 

Surprise Hooks 

Surprise hooks are a great way to draw readers in by making them curious about what comes next. You can surprise your audience by using unexpected words or phrases that force them out of their comfort zone and compel them to keep reading.

For example, if you are writing an article about Facebook censorship policies, you could begin with something like “Facebook has often been criticized for its draconian approach towards censorship.”

This type of statement may catch some readers off guard and make them want to learn more about how Facebook regulates content on its platform.  

Anecdote Hooks 

Anecdotes are short stories that illustrate a point or teach a lesson. When used as writing hooks, they can help engage readers by making complex topics more relatable and understandable.

For instance, if you were writing an article about mental health stigma in society today, you might open with something like, “When I was younger, I had difficulty understanding why people treated my mental illness differently than any other medical condition.”

By sharing personal experiences as anecdotes, writers can help foster empathy among their audiences and give insight into difficult topics from unique perspectives. 

Statistical Hooks  

Statistical hooks draw upon facts and figures related to your topic in order to provide context for readers and make complex topics easier for them to grasp quickly.

For instance, if you are writing an article about poverty rates around the world, starting off with something like “Nearly 1 billion people live below the global poverty line,” provides useful information that allows readers to see the magnitude of this issue at hand quickly.

This hook also gives credibility since it’s backed up by hard data, which helps persuade readers to learn more.    

No matter what type of hook you choose, it should always be creative, engaging, relevant, and thought-provoking. The key is finding one that works best for your particular topic. Whether it’s an emotional hook, question hook, surprise hook, anecdote hook, or statistical hook – there’s sure one out there that will captivate your intended audience!

Writing Catchy Hooks: Strategies to Get Your Readers’ Attention 

You only have a few seconds to capture your readers’ attention. That’s why it’s important to write effective hooks that draw readers in and make them want to read more. But how do you craft an effective hook? Here, we explore strategies for brainstorming hook ideas, choosing the right hook for your piece, using sensory details in hooks, and incorporating hooks into your writing. 

Brainstorming Hook Ideas 

Before writing a hook, you must get creative and brainstorm some ideas. To do so, think about who your intended audience is and what will be meaningful or relevant to them.

Ask yourself questions such as “What questions could I ask my readers?” or “What kind of story can I tell?”. These questions will help you come up with ideas for your hook that are tailored specifically to your audience.

Additionally, consider the tone of voice that will work best for your piece—you may find humor or shock useful in certain contexts. In contrast, something more serious and thoughtful may be better suited for other writing pieces. 

Choosing the Right Hook for Your Piece 

After coming up with a list of potential ideas, it’s time to choose the one that works best for your piece.

The most effective hooks are those that lead naturally into the rest of the article or book—they should give readers an idea of what the content is about while leaving enough out for readers to be curious about what comes next.

Consider how long your hook should be; if it’s too long-winded, it will lose its power since readers tend not to stay on one page very long these days. Aim for shorter hooks (1-2 sentences) whenever possible! 

Using Sensory Details in Hooks 

Incorporating sensory details into hooks—sight, sound, smell, taste, touch—can make them even more memorable and effective since they immediately create a vivid image in readers’ minds.

For example, imagine reading this hook: “The smell of freshly baked cookies filled the kitchen like a warm embrace.” Not only does this provide a clear picture immediately, but it also sets an emotional tone that makes readers want to know more about what is happening in this kitchen!

Incorporating sensory details into hooks can help draw readers in and make them want to read more. 

Good hooks don’t just appear out of thin air; they usually require multiple revisions before they go live! With practice and dedication, you’ll soon master this art form and have compelling hooks ready every time you sit down at your desk!

How to Avoid Writing a Hook That Flops 

A good hook can make or break your writing. It’s the first thing a reader sees when they open up your piece, setting the tone for everything that follows.

Because of this, trying to make it as eye-catching as possible can be tempting—but don’t let that temptation lead you astray! In order to write an effective hook, you must avoid certain pitfalls.

Let’s take a look at three that are particularly common. 

Being Too Vague 

Start off strong with your hook, but if you’re too vague, readers won’t know what you’re talking about and will move on before they get to the good stuff.

For example, a sentence like “There are things we need to consider in life” is too vague—it doesn’t give readers enough information and leaves them wanting more.

Instead, try something like, “We all need to consider the impact our decisions have on those around us and ourselves.” This gives readers a clear idea of what your piece will be about without giving away too much. 

Being Too Boring 

No one wants their writing to be dull—so why should your hook? If you don’t capture a reader’s attention quickly, they’ll likely put down whatever you’ve written without ever reading beyond the first line or two.

To avoid this pitfall, use vivid language and unexpected metaphors or similes to draw readers in. For instance, instead of saying, “Relationships are tricky,” try something like, “Navigating relationships is like walking through a minefield: one wrong step could spell disaster.” 

Being Too Predictable 

Hooks should grab attention—but not by being predictable! It’s easy enough for readers to figure out what’s going on in general if they know what genre of writing they’re looking at (for example, if they see the words “romantic comedy,” then they’ll likely have some idea of what’s coming).

But clichés can make your work seem stale and uninspired. Don’t rely on tired tropes; instead, think outside the box and come up with something unique that will really stand out from the crowd!  

Writing with a Hook: How to Make Your Content Stand Out 

The hook is the first sentence of your article, blog, or story. The opening line grabs readers’ attention and makes them want to read more. A great hook can make all the difference between a successful piece of writing and one that falls flat. In this section, we’ll look at examples of successful hooks from literature and popular articles and compare how hooks work in different genres. 

Analyzing Successful Hooks from Literature 

In literature, a hook often serves two purposes—to introduce characters and establish the setting. Take, for example, the opening line of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel The Great Gatsby: “In my younger and more vulnerable years, my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since.”

This sentence instantly introduces us to the narrator, Nick Carraway, and gives us an idea of his character—as someone who takes his father’s advice seriously. We also get a sense of time and place—it’s likely set in America during the early 20th century. 

Examining Hooks from Popular Articles 

Hooks are just as important in articles as they are in literature. They serve as an introduction to your topic and help draw readers into your piece. Take this hook from an article about artificial intelligence (AI) : “For years, Artificial Intelligence has been firmly rooted in science fiction – but now it’s beginning to enter our daily lives.”

This hook immediately captures our attention by bringing up something familiar that most people know—science fiction—and contrasting it with something new—AI entering our daily lives. It sets up an interesting question that encourages us to keep reading to learn more about how AI impacts our lives today. 

Comparing Hooks in Different Genres 

Hooks come in many shapes and sizes depending on their purpose and genre. In non-fiction pieces such as blog posts or news articles, hooks tend to be factual or intriguing statements about the topic; for example, “The future of healthcare is here – but what does it mean for patients?”

In creative pieces such as stories or poems, hooks can be poetic descriptions or thought-provoking questions; for example, “What if love was like a game of chess? Would you still take risks when all you could lose was checkmate?” 

Whatever genre you write in, having an effective hook will help make sure your content stands out among the rest! 

Hooks in Fiction, Non-Fiction, and Script Writing

Whether you are writing fiction, non-fiction, or even a script, hooks are essential to any good piece of writing. In this section, we will explore how to use hooks in different forms of writing. 

Hooks in Fiction Writing 

Fiction writing is all about storytelling and creating believable characters and worlds. A well-crafted hook gives readers a window into the world you have created, tantalizing them and drawing them in for more.

Your hook should be short, but it should also be powerful enough to impact your readers. It could be a question that hints at something deeper or a statement that leaves your reader pondering what comes next—whatever it is, it should give your reader the compelling urge to keep reading! 

Hooks in Non-Fiction Writing 

Non-fiction writing relies heavily on facts and data, but it can still benefit from a strong hook. Your hook should introduce the article’s topic and provide just enough information to get readers interested without giving away too much information.

Think of it as an appetizer before the main course—it should whet your reader’s appetite for more! 

Hooks in Script Writing  

Script writing is all about dialogue and action scenes; therefore, it must have captivating hooks throughout each act to keep your audience engaged.

Every scene should start with some hook that introduces the plotline and hints at what will happen next—the goal here is to make sure viewers stay glued to the screen until they see how the story ends! 

A good script writer knows how to craft hooks that leave viewers wanting more without revealing too much information too soon.  

Whether you are writing fiction, non-fiction, or scripts for TV shows or movies, make sure to include strong hooks throughout each act to keep your audience engaged until the very end! With these tips in mind, you’ll be able to write captivating content every time!

In conclusion, writing hooks are a powerful tool for captivating your audience and keeping them engaged. By understanding your target audience, exploring their interests, and creating a connection with them, you can craft hooks that will make them eager to read more.

Whether you evoke emotions, pose questions, surprise them, tell anecdotes, or use statistics, the key is to make your hook memorable, impactful, and relevant to your audience. Remember, the hook is just the beginning of your story – the rest is up to you to make it as captivating and thought-provoking as possible.

Additional Resources

• How to Write a Hook For Your Story [Video]
• Writing Dynamite Story Hooks: A Masterclass in Genre Fiction and Memoir
• Ten Secrets to Write Better Stories [Article]

108 Questions to Ask ChatGPT if You are a Writer

Flying straight: the meaning of ‘as the crow flies.

When it comes to writing, Willow Tenny is a true pro. She has a wealth of experience in SEO copywriting and creative writing, and she knows exactly what it takes to produce quality content. On her blog, Willow Writes, Willow shares top writing strategies with both beginners and experienced writers.

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8 story hook examples (how to grab attention)

A ‘hook’ in a story promises intrigue, entertainment and answers to the questions it raises. Far from the trickery of a bait and switch, a hook gives a true sense of what your reader can expect of your story’s pleasures. Explore great story hook examples and what they teach us about starting strong:

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A literary ‘hook’ in a story promises intrigue, entertainment and answers to the questions it raises. Far from the trickery of a bait and switch, a hook gives a true sense of what your reader can expect of your story’s pleasures. Explore great story hook examples and what they teach us about starting strong

Story hook examples

A literary ‘hook’ in a story promises intrigue, entertainment and answers to the questions it raises. Far from the trickery of a bait and switch, a hook gives a true sense of what your reader can expect of your story’s pleasures. A brilliant hook also also grabs a reader’s attention from the get go, to encourage them to read on. A hook can also show a strong voice from the start. Explore great story hook examples and what they teach us about starting strong. Here are eight types of hooks.

These hooks in narrative writing a hook should: Raise curiosity, create questions and promise eventful action with them.

1. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

At dusk they pour from the sky. They blow across the ramparts, turn cartwheels over rooftops, flutter into the ravines between houses. Entire streets swirl with them, flashing white against the cobbles. Urgent message to the inhabitants of this town , they say. Depart immediately to open country . Anthony Doerr, All the Light We Cannot See (2014), p. 3.

2. Anil’s Ghost by Michael Ondaatje

When the team reached the site at five-thirty in the morning, one or two family members would be waiting for them. And they would be present all day while Anil and the others worked, never leaving; they spelled each other so someone always stayed, as if to ensure that the evidence would not be lost again . Michael Ondaatje, Anil’s Ghost (2000), p. 5.

3. Let The Great World Spin by Colum McCann

Those who saw him hushed. On Church Street. Liberty. Cortlandt. West Street. Fulton. Vesey. It was a silence that heard itself, awful and beautiful. Some thought at first that it must have been a trick of the light, something to do with the weather, an accident of shadowfall. Others figured it might be the perfect city joke – stand around and point upward, until people gathered, tilted their heads… Colum McCann, Let The Great World Spin (2009), p. 3.

4. Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood

It’s 1851. I’ll be twenty-four years old next birthday. I’ve been shut up in here since the age of sixteen. I am a model prisoner, and give no trouble. That’s what the Governor’s wife says, I have overheard her saying it. I’m skilled at overhearing. If I am good enough and quiet enough, perhaps after all they will let me go; but it’s not easy being quiet and good… Margaret Atwood, Alias Grace (1996), p. 5

5. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

Villon-sur-sarthe, France, July 29, 1714 A girl is running for her life. The summer air burns at her back, but there are no torches, no angry mobs, only the distant lanterns of the wedding party, the reddish glow of the sun as it breaks against the horizon, cracks and spills across the hills, and the girl runs, skirts tangling in the grass as she surges toward the woods, trying to beat the dying light. V.E. Schwab, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue (2020), p. 3.

6. On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

Let me begin again. Dear ma, I am writing to reach you-even if each word I put down is one word further from where you are. I am writing to go back to the time, at the rest stop in Virginia, when you stared, horror-struck, at the taxidermy buck hung over the soda machine by the restrooms, its antlers shadowing your face. Ocean Vuong, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous (2019), p. 3

7. God Help the Child by Toni Morrison

It’s not my fault. So you can’t blame me. I didn’t do it and have no idea how it happened. It didn’t take more than an hour after they pulled her out from between my legs to realize something was wrong. Really wrong. Toni Morrison, God Help the Child (2015), p. 3

8. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

On the morning of October 30, 1969, the body of Chase Andrews lay in the swamp, which would have absorbed it silently, routinely. Hiding it for good. A swamp knows about death, and doesn’t necessarily define it as tragedy, certainly not a sin. Delia Owens, Where the Crawdads Sing (2018), p. 6

The examples of hooks from novels above illustrate what effective hooks do:

How to write good hooks for stories:

Great story hooks do one or more of the following. They:

• Build urgency
• Prompt pressing questions
• Involve intriguing contexts
• Introduce striking voices
• Show a glimpse of a vivid world
• Imply past or future conflicts
• Build narrative tension
• Share relevant backstory
• Set the story’s tone

Let’s explore each of these ideas in brief with reference to the story hook examples given above.

Ways to write hooks:

1. build urgency.

A girl running for her life; a dead body lying in a swamp; a crowd gathering to point into the sky.

Each of these actions or images create a kind of urgency that hooks a reader into the story.

The reader wants to know why a girl is running for her life. We need to find out who murdered Chase Andrews. We want to know what the crowds are staring up at in Let The Great World Spin (an urban tightrope walker).

To build urgency in your story’s hook, you could:

• Describe an action with a time limit: For example, having ten minutes to get to a crucial interview
• Share actions with high stakes: A girl running for her life; a tightrope walker between NY skyscrapers
• Imply a situation requiring urgent investigation: A murder, a mystery – a vital piece of missing information for one or more characters

What needs to happen at the start of your story (or scene, or chapter) that is of utmost priority for your characters?

Watch this brief video on how to write hooks and keep reading for more ideas:

Story Hook Examples: How to grab attention

2. Prompt pressing questions

Good story openings include meandering beginnings that take time getting to the point (this is especially common in literary novels that do not necessarily require the brisk pace of a thriller).

Yet even if your story opening is gentler, more tone-and-mood-setting, a question hook, rather than full-tilt action, how can you prompt pressing questions, creating elements of a hook?

In the opening hook to Anil’s Ghost , for example, we wonder what evidence is being sought that could be ‘lost again’.

A good story makes us ask ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘why’, ‘where’ and ‘when’ at several junctures. The hook is a crucial place to set up these questions. Tweet This

For the above story hook examples, readers may have questions such as:

• What are people gathering to point at? ( Let The Great World Spin )
• What or who is the girl running from? (The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue )
• Why does the narrator think something is gravely wrong with her newborn (God Help the Child )
• When will the prisoner be released, if ever? ( Alias Grace )

What thought-provoking questions does your hook give your reader? You can also use a rhetorical question as a hook. Or, use a statistic hook, quoting facts and figures to grip a reader’s attention.

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3. Involve intriguing contexts

The best story hooks don’t only grab our attention. They tell us (often in a highly compressed way) a lot about the world we’re about to enter. Why we’re in for a good story .

We begin to understand aspects of con text such as place , era, scenario and situation. That a wartime city is about to be evacuated, for example ( All the Light We Cannot See ). Or that there is a wedding party, somewhere in the periphery, that may be relevant to a character’s current situation ( The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue ).

What makes context intriguing? Elements such as:

• Implied recent, imminent or eventual conflicts
• Interesting, compelling relationships (e.g. the man writing to his mother at the start of On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous )
• Interesting facts (for example, Delia Owens’ description of the swamp’s peculiarities as a biome opening Where the Crawdads Sing )

How can you involve your characters’ contexts at the start of a novel, chapter or scene so that your reader pricks up their ears?

4. Introduce striking voices

We tend to think of hooks strictly in terms of ‘Plot’ with a capital ‘P’. Yet a hook may be something as simple as teasing the reader with introduction to an interesting character (or multiple characters).

For example, in the opening to Ocean Vuong’s On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous (written as a Vietnamese-American man’s letters to his abusive mother), there is an immediate, intimate sense of a connection between two characters. A connection that has its own complex history filled with vignettes such as the rest stop scene the narrator describes.

We have an immediate sense of voice through the wording of the man’s letter.

A hook thus is not only made up of the pressing or intriguing questions it inspires. It can also be something as simply compelling as a lone, specific voice reaching out to us from the written page.

You could also consider using a quotation hook. This, as the name implies, means using a quote from a notable or famous person. This will serve introduce the topic of your story, or lead into it. A quote hook will can be effective in reeling your reader in from the word go.

What makes your viewpoint narrator’s voice compelling from the first line? What fragment of their experiences, beliefs, fears or desires may invite your reader into their narrative?

5. Show a glimpse of a vivid world

Many novels start with story hooks that describe and define place, a descriptive hook. Delia Owens’ swamp facts at the beginning of Where the Crawdads Sing , for example. Or Ondaatje’s description of a forensic archaeological site in Sri Lanka.

To hook readers in, you could show a glimpse of what is extraordinary about this place. The dead body in the swamp with its already remarkable properties. The strange hunting trophy on the rest stop wall that fills the narrator’s mother with horror in On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous . These are all examples of vivid descriptions of scenes that create a picture  in a reader’s mind.

What detail is typical of your story’s era, time or primary location? Or else, your hook could begin with something out-of-the-ordinary – the tightrope walker between towers of Let The Great World Spin , for example.

6. Imply past or future conflicts

Stories are about change, at root. Nothing is an agent of change like conflict (as the evacuation order leaflets at the start of All the Light We Cannot See show).

As an example, on the first page of God Help the Child by Toni Morrison, we wonder what is so wrong about the narrator’s newborn.

We quickly learn that her worry is driven by colorism, a by-product of racism. The narrator’s child has been born ‘midnight black, Sudanese black’ (p. 3), the mother’s surprise being because she has lighter skin tone herself.

From the first page, this story hook example suggests conflicts at the heart of racism; its comparative prejudices and violences. We wonder how others will treat this child due to a mother’s concern, thus her anxious focus creates narrative suspense.

What past or anticipated conflicts might feature strongly in the opening pages of your story? Find ways to build a hook around their suspense.

7. Build narrative tension

The best story hook examples teach us how to build narrative tension from the start. It may be something as simple as Addie LaRue running for her life from the wedding party. Or else the hush of a crowd craning their necks at a terrifying, aerial spectacle.

To build narrative tension in your hook, you could use just such an attention-grabbing hook:

• Describe high-stakes events (e.g. a man walking a tightrope between skyscrapers)
• Imply an immediate struggle or obstacle (for example, the implied hurdles of being ‘other’ in the opening to God Help the Child )
• Suggest a situation whose outcome could go either way (for example, whether the protagonist will be released from prison or not in Alias Grace )

8. Share relevant backstory

Beginning with a large chunk of backstory that is irrelevant to the main events of your story is not a good way to begin. Your reader may quickly become bored, as writing coach Romy Sommer explains:

An issue I see with a lot of beginner writers is they tend to write the backstory as the story itself. So the first few chapters will be, ‘This thing happened, and then this thing happened…’ Understanding Character Arcs: How to write characters, preview on YouTube

Good story hook examples instead of giving all the backstory tell the reader backstory that is relevant to the current situation.

For example, the petty crime that lead a character to be currently incarcerated. Or the evacuation order that lead to your character’s current hurrying from their home city. This type of hook is useful for revealing just as much as you want to in a few simple sentences.

Relevant backstory tells us just enough to give the present scene context, history, and fuller narrative purpose .

9. Set the story’s tone

Many of the story hook examples listed above set the tone for the story. Addie LaRue’s bid for freedom, to not ‘just’ be anybody’s wife, for example. Or Little Dog’s difficult, complex relationship with his mother in On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous .

How can your story’s hook hint at your story’s primary subjects, themes and symbols?

Writing exercise: ‘Toning’ your hook

Find three adjectives for a hook sentence you’d like to write. For example:

• Tense, unsettling, eerie
• Lyrical, languid, mysterious
• Gritty, fast, loud
• Silly, quirky, unexpected

Write a sentence to a paragraph while thinking about your three adjectives. How many questions out of the 5 (‘who’, ‘what’, ‘why’, ‘where’ and ‘when’) can you make your reader ask?

Start finessing your story idea now so you have the foundation for a brilliant hook.

Related Posts:

• Grabbing attention with scene beginnings: 5 tips
• 10 dialogue tips to hook readers
• How to start a novel: Hook readers from page one
• Tags how to write a hook , story openings

Jordan is a writer, editor, community manager and product developer. He received his BA Honours in English Literature and his undergraduate in English Literature and Music from the University of Cape Town.

20 replies on “8 story hook examples (how to grab attention)”

Another excellent and practical article, Jordan. Thank you!

Thank you for the kind feedback, MJ! Have a lovely week.

Hi Jordan, so glad I stumbled on this article while researching Hook / Concept! Excellent information and I’ve printed it off (for an anti-clutter frugal printer, that is quite high praise lol). Now off to read your other articles. Thanks!!

Hi Regan, thank you so much for your kind feedback and taking the time to share it. I am only happy to contribute to print-clutter 🙂 It’s a pleasure, have a good week.

Thanks Jordon you help me a lot I am writing a non fiction article I needed to find out about a good hook how to try to hook reader in the first sentence I got it thanks to your explanations if you ever teach writing lessons on how write short stories for children I ready to enlist thanks for your help

Hi Scooter, it’s a pleasure. Penguin has a useful article by Alan Durant on how to write a children’s picture book here that you may find interesting. Happy holidays!

Thank you, Jordan. I found this very helpful! People so often talk about a ‘hook’ and it’s interesting to really break it down to see what makes it work.

Hi Rebecca, it’s a pleasure. I’m glad to hear that! Thank you for reading our blog and have fun working on your story’s hook 🙂

Very helpful. Thanks. Although, I noticed that you use ‘their’ to refer to the woman giving birth, but ‘him’ to the person writing to the mother, whose gender was not revealed in the sentence. sigh. why do we need to erase women? Other than that small observation, very useful info.

Thank you for your feedback and my apologies, definitely no erasure intended. I think the spur-of-the-moment rationale was probably to use the neutral ‘their’ due to the ungendered reference in the immediate sentence (‘the narrator’). Yet since the narrator in question is indeed a woman, I’ve changed it to ‘her’. I’m glad you found this article useful, thank you for reading and sharing.

If you had to pick one story hook, which would you pick, having something blow up or a tiny man shrinking?

Hi Alex, thank you for your question about story hooks. Explosions are fairly standard for action stories, but depending on the context it could be a safe in medias res starting point. But if a man is tiny already, why would he be shrinking? Thanks for reading our blog.

Great article. It helped me a lot with my writing. thanks

So glad to hear that, Sule. It’s a pleasure, thank you for your feedback and for reading our blog.

Excellent examples and a well written article.

Hi Debra, thank you for your kind feedback. I’m glad you enjoyed this article.

I hope this doesn’t annoy you, I’m compelled to rearrange wording until its more clear to me of what’s being said.

We tend to think of hooks strictly in terms of ‘Plot’ with a capital ‘P’. Yet a hook is just as often made from an inviting ‘who’—or compellingly repulsive anti-hero.

Hi Meka, not at all, thank you. I appreciate all help from our readers in making my articles better, especially when feedback is constructive like this. I’ve rewritten that sentence for clarity (I’m always updating articles here thanks to readers’ helpful suggestions). Thanks for sharing.

I’ve struggled for ages to understand hooks and inciting incidents! I’m autistic, and despite having a great logical brain, sometimes it takes the right kind of teaching by breaking down a concept into steps, then “steplets” lmao. I’ve been writing for years, but never actually LEARNED how, if you know what I mean. Now I want to write a proper fanfiction that’s not for kids. I want it to be as scary and spine tingling as possible without being heavy handed. This article helps a ton!!! I’m definitely gonna check out any others and watch the linked videos! Thank you very much for the help! ^–^ ♡♡♡

Thanks Rose. That’s wonderful to hear, so pleased that this is so helpful. Enjoy the videos and the rest of our varied blog posts.

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11 Keys to Creating Good Hooks for Books

Table of Contents

Hooks for books are the single most important component of why your story will be powerful and resonate with readers.

Language is the driving force behind book sales. You don’t sell books to robots. You sell books to those who rely their decisions on the language they read or hear. A book hook utilizes the power of language to attract attention and arouse curiosity.

What if you could convince them to purchase your book in a single sentence? Would you like to find out how? Obviously, this is the effectiveness of a book hook.

In this article, we show you in details how to create captivating hooks for your books. Let’s dive in!

Good hooks for books must be personal, easy to understand, and memorable. Good hooks don’t come from the plot, from long descriptions of complicated ideas, or from long descriptions of characters.

How does one build an effective book hook? Try the following methods to get started:

1. Visualization

Every author desires to see his or her novel adapted into a film, whether it be a fictional drama or a nonfictional documentary. But if this possibility materialized, you would need to think like a screenplay, not a novelist.

Daily, screenwriters present big motion picture concepts to Hollywood studios in an effort to secure contracts. To achieve success, a screenwriter must distill the essence of an entire film into a single simple concept.

If you write fiction, imagine your manuscript as an impending major motion picture, such as a thriller, romantic comedy, or horror flick. How would you capture the reader’s interest in a single sentence?

If you’ve written a memoir, visualize it as a cinematic drama. How would you generate interest in your tale with a single question or statement?

Imagine your nonfiction history, education, religion, or self-help book as a feature-length documentary. How could you make it fascinating in a single sentence?

Think like a scriptwriter to get in the proper mindset for creating a book hook.

2. Create a compelling and robust description

Beginning a book’s opening line with a gripping description that leaves the reader with questions is one of the most effective techniques.

You want the reader to feel awestruck and compelled to turn the pages of your book in order to learn more.

3. Start with a critical plot moment

You can also begin with action by introducing the reader to a significant story aspect in the opening line. This will allow you to strike the ground running and immediately engage the reader in the story’s plot.

4. Introduce an engaging narrative voice

You can also begin your book with an engaging and distinctive narrative voice.

This is particularly useful if your work features a first-person narrator. You can also utilize an interesting third-person narrator voice to introduce characters in an entertaining manner.

5. Start with an unconventional setup

You can also captivate your audience by placing your characters in an unexpected or peculiar circumstance. This may then intrigue the reader enough to want to continue reading to see how the characters react to the unique situation.

6. Write to your audience

You may build a powerful opening line by considering what your readers would be most interested in reading initially.

Consider the age of your target reader, their interests, and the style of writing they may appreciate. Then, using this reader as a model, you can compose a first sentence specifically for them.

7. Purpose of the Hook

In contrast to a synopsis or narrative summary, the hook for your book should not reveal the entire plot or provide excessive detail. Instead, the hook should convey your book’s subject matter in one to two phrases and interest readers.

8. Employ the active voice

Always utilize the active voice and active verbs in your hook to ensure that it is quick and engaging. Passive speech and passive verbs can render your hook uninteresting, stale, and not very memorable to readers.

9. Discuss the primary plot

Your hook should also include the story’s central conflict or the subject at stake. Attempt to address the primary conflict or crisis in a few concise and descriptive terms. Avoid attempting to explain the crisis. Instead, describe it plainly.

10. Emphasize character and action over topic

It may be tempting to simply summarize the book’s major topics. However, this may sound too generic and commonplace. Avoid mentioning themes and instead concentrate on the book’s characters and plot. Revise the hook after reading it aloud.

11. Read Aloud

After creating the hook, it may be helpful to read it aloud to hear how it sounds. Consider whether any awkward sentences or vague nouns might be replaced with more engaging, active nouns.

Ensure that the hook is written in the present tense and does not betray the book’s conclusion.

Be aware that it may take some time to truly understand the way in which you can best create hooks for your work. However, it’s a daunting task that will lead to some exciting writing.

Abir Ghenaiet

Abir is a data analyst and researcher. Among her interests are artificial intelligence, machine learning, and natural language processing. As a humanitarian and educator, she actively supports women in tech and promotes diversity.

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How To Write A Good Hook For An Essay

What was the last essay you’ve read? Can you remember how the beginning made you want to keep reading? 

Every unforgettable essay needs an effective hook at the beginning. Otherwise, readers will stop at the first few sentences and won’t bother to read the rest.

Catchy hooks give us a reason to keep reading. 

And once you know  how to write a good hook, you’re well on your way to earning a good living with your writing . 

Keep reading to learn what you need to know.

What Is a Hook in Writing?

Picture yourself skimming through radio stations listening for only a second or two before switching to the next station in line, straining your ears for something familiar and hoping to hear one of your favorite songs. 

And when you catch a tune you love, you stay put, smiling and savoring the music, for as long as it lasts. 

While this isn’t a perfect analogy, it does illustrate the power of hooks. When we hear (or read) something that strikes a familiar chord, that asks an important question, or that calls out to something in us, we stop looking for something else and we want more of what we’ve found. 

• We want to know if it’ll answer that question.
• Or we want to hear new information about something important to us. 
• Or we want to hear the story teased at the beginning. We care about how it ends. 

This is what makes for a good hook. And you’ve only got the first few sentences to work with. 

Once you know how to create effective hooks for whatever you’re writing, all you need to do is get your content in front of the people most likely to care about it. 

The best hooks for writing essays come in seven different types, each of which can be broken down further. 

7 Different Types of Writing Hooks

The most compelling hooks for essays begin with one of the following elements:

An Interesting Question

Your reader, like you, is full of questions. If you know some of your reader’s questions, you can use that to get their attention and entice them to keep reading. 

After all, once you ask the question, the reader who sticks around will be hoping your essay contains an answer — or at least something that leads them in that direction.

Use a question that goes right to the heart of your essay’s position. Make it a question that will require your reader to stick around until the end to get the fullest, clearest answer. 

A Strong Statement or Declaration

Definitive statements get attention — especially when they’re controversial or they go against established wisdom. 

Think of something most people tend to accept without question, and try making a contrary statement. 

If you say it to a crowd of people, you’ll probably get some arch looks — maybe even some hecklers. But you’ll have their attention. The next step is to make the best use of it. 

An Interesting Fact or Statistic

If you know your audience is hungry for factual information on your essay’s subject matter, why not lead with an interesting fact or relevant statistic? 

Show how much you know about the subject. And give your reader information they can quickly and easily quote or pass on to others. 

If you do this, though, make sure your information comes from a credible source, and be sure to provide that source. Once you lose your reader’s trust as an “authority” on your essay’s subject, they’re unlikely to trust you on anything else.

A Metaphor or Simile

Leading with a metaphor about your subject can get your reader thinking about it in a different way. And with new perspectives come new insights and ideas. 

The metaphor identifies one thing with another non-equivalent thing. For example, if your harsh but creative roommate describes your latest culinary creation as “Pepto on a plate,” they’re not literally equating the two. 

A simile is like a metaphor , but it uses the word “like” or “as” to connect the two non-identical things. So, in this case, your roommate might say, “That looks like Pepto on a plate,” they would be using a simile to rudely warn you about your cooking.

More Related Articles:

15 Common Grammar Mistakes That Kill Your Writing Credibility

Are You Ready To Test Your Proofreading Skills?

37 Words of Diction To Use In Your Writing

A Story / Anecdote 

Starting with a captivating anecdote is a classic way to get your reader’s attention and start thinking of how it applies to your essay’s subject. Everyone loves a good story — as long as it doesn’t take too long to tell it.

Keep the story brief, including only as much information as you need to get your reader’s attention and keep them interested in what happens. Then you can tie the story to your essay’s subject matter (if the connection isn’t already apparent).

This can be a personal story or someone else’s. Make it memorable and make it count.

A Vivid Description

A description that creates a clear image of a scene can draw your reader in, as long as the scene depicted is relevant to the subject. 

This approach works best in narrative essays, but it can also work in other types, as long as it contributes to your essay’s overall point. Don’t use it for comic relief or to pull a bait and switch on your reader. 

If your essay is on the importance of a well-equipped home office, for example, you might lead with a description of one you’ve seen (or imagined). 

A Quotation 

Lead with a memorable quote if it segues neatly to your subject matter. Use it if the quote and your essay compliment each other. The quote should feel as if it belongs there, and your essay should feel like an organic but delightfully unexpected outgrowth. 

If you can’t find just the right quote to begin your essay, either create a fitting quote of your own, or lead with something else.

15 Writing Hook Examples

What makes a good hook for an essay?

And what are some examples that can help you understand how to make a hook that will make your readers want to keep reading? 

Here are 15 to get you started:

• Quote a crazy but true fact — If the fact is relevant to your essay and startling enough to surprise your reader and make them curious, they’re more likely to keep reading. 
• Quote a famous person — If the quote is relevant to your essay, and the source is considered wise or knowledgeable, your reader will feel more confident of your essay’s credibility. 
• Ask a question, give an answer — If you ask a relevant question, your reader will feel curious about the answer and will want to know more about it. 
• Make a bold statement — If you succeed in either piquing your reader’s curiosity or getting them angry, they’re more likely to keep reading to get some clarity on your statement.
• Offer a shocking statistic — A surprising statistic will make your reader want to know more, especially if it challenges a long-held belief.
• Tell a story — Share an anecdote that relates to your essay and resonates with your reader, and they’ll feel invested in what happens and curious about the point you’re trying to make.
• Set the scene (description) — If you can get your reader to visualize the scene you’re describing (which should be relevant to your essay), they’ll feel more invested in what comes after it. 
• Challenge a common misconception — If you present information that challenges a common misconception, your ideal reader will have an “I knew it!” moment and will feel compelled to read the rest.
• Create an image with a simile or metaphor — If your chosen metaphor or simile paints an evocative or surprising picture for your reader, they’ll feel either curious or amused enough to want to read more. 
• Pose a rhetorical question — Starting with a relevant question your reader already knows the answer to makes them more likely to answer the question and read on to satisfy their curiosity.
• Pose a contradiction — Starting with a contradictory sentence makes your reader do a double-take and gets them curious enough to read more in order to get clarity, as long as they care about the subject.
• Tell a joke — By getting your reader to laugh, you’re drawing them in with a powerful and healing emotion, which makes them more likely to consider your position with a sympathetic attitude. 
• Define something — By starting with a definition (a kind of fact), you communicate your respect for clarity, while getting your reader curious about your intent.
• Pose a dilemma   — By presenting two options that aren’t anyone’s ideal, you’re essentially asking a “would you rather” question, which, if relevant, will usually get your readers invested enough to answer the question and curious enough to keep reading. 
• Offer meaningful advice — As long as it’s relevant to your essay, a carefully worded bit of advice can get your reader curious about your reasoning behind it. 

Did you find the perfect hook for your next essay?

The hook is essentially the “first one or two sentences of an essay that serve(s) as both an introduction to the reader and an attention grabber.”

What you’re trying to do with your hook is to get your reader to feel something:

You want your reader to feel as though they have to find out what’s next, either to feed the emotion or to quell it. 

Think of what you want your reader to feel. Then choose the type of hook most likely to elicit that emotion. And from there, you can brainstorm a list of possible openings to get your reader’s attention. 

You can also research popular essays and see how they hook their readers at the beginning. Which ones work the best on you?

Use what you learn to create a hook your readers can’t resist. 

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Hooks for Books

October 15, 2020 //  by  Cynthia Ruchti //   25 Comments

blogger: Cynthia Ruchti

Sounds a little Seussian, doesn’t it? Hooks for books and books on hooks and looks at hooks that hook the books.

It’s no surprise that a book needs a hook. We navigate much of our lives with an eye out for the hook that snags us, often in a good way. That’s not just an ad for athletic shoes, but for shoes that conquer plantar fasciitis pain once and for all. Unsure what to cook for dinner? Try this 3-ingredient chicken recipe that will have the pickiest eater asking for seconds. Scrolling through movie possibilities? You may check the number of stars, the rating, and the length of the movie, but what sells you on a choice is the one or two sentence hook that lets you know it’s not an ordinary save-the-family-farm tale. It’s save-the-family’s-plot-of-real-estate-on-Mars.

Grabbing a reader’s, editor’s, or agent’s attention depends heavily on the strength of your hook.

A hook isn’t just an elevator pitch, a quick pitch, or a summary of your story. It is the grabber. It’s what makes your book stand out from the hundreds or thousands of others with a similar storyline or subject matter.

Every book needs a hook.

A good hook lures (pardon the pun) a reader to say, “Ooh! Have to read that one!” It doesn’t communicate, “That could be interesting” but rather compels the potential reader to get their hands on that book. 

Hooks for books aren’t templates.

Some claim they can be.

FICTION: <insert person> must find/conquer/reveal/evade/solve <insert the item or foe or secret or mystery> before <insert what makes it a ticking time bomb> or <insert what’s at stake, why it could spell disaster>.

NONFICTION: Because <insert problem> creates <insert felt need> for <insert people group>, <insert answer the book provides>.

But templates usually mean that even if the elements themselves are intriguing, the format sounds like every other hook an editor has ever heard. And that makes the bait easy to resist.

Writing a hook for a book takes creativity.

Authors sometimes think a hook is an afterthought. It’s a before, during, and after thought. It helps shape the book, helps make it worth writing, helps editors understand what makes it unique, and helps marketing teams and sales people quickly and efficiently interest potential purchasers.

Let’s look at several examples of ho-hum non-hooks that can be turned into sharp hooks that accomplish their purpose of snagging a reader’s or editor’s attention.

• Two people need to save the world from disaster.
• A pair of unlikely heroes join forces to prevent a global disaster.
• Two sworn enemies join forces to prevent a rogue satellite from destroying all human life.
• Sworn enemies join forces to intercept a rogue satellite bent on human destruction, but one of them will have to die in the process, and neither is volunteering.

Note that moving from yawn-worthy in the first example to “gotta have that book” in the last version was a matter of figuring out what will resonate with and stimulate the imagination of the reader. The first version sounds like it could describe any number of other books. It’s too generic to mean anything, to even register on the interest meter.

What makes a good hook?

Try this set:

• A young woman needs to find a way to preserve her grandfather’s legacy. (Sound familiar?)
• A young investment advisor must save the family farm or risk losing her grandfather’s legacy. (Still too generic.)
• More accustomed to bilking unsuspecting investors than milking cows, Serena faces the end of her grandfather’s legacy—and the last remnants of her soul—if she fails to make good on the promise she made at his deathbed. From manipulation to manure, she’s stepping in it. (That one, I’d read.)

Or this one:

• An old man struggles in his trip across the Pacific. (Snore.)
• An old man sails solo across the Pacific to find himself. (Haven’t I read that one already?)
• A man nearing the end of an unremarkable life takes to the sea to prove life was worth living anyway. Nature is out to prove him wrong.

Which would you want to read? Consider another set of examples, this time nonfiction:

• Learning how to be generous is as easy as one, two, three.
• Generosity, like money, doesn’t grow on trees.
• What if changing one thing could change everything about your enjoyment of life, your relationship with others, and your ability to make a difference in your circle of influence? It can. God called it living generously.

A good hook doesn’t give away the whole story, but it also doesn’t leave out either tension or hope. It tantalizes and intrigues. It offers the promise of a good read. And it makes the bait (your book) irresistible.

It’s been said before, but bears repeating. (Every time you hear that phrase, you probably say, “Let me be the judge of whether or not it bears repeating.” Personally, I think it does.) A hook is designed to grab a reader’s or editor’s attention and not let go. So writers, let’s start sharpening our hooks.

Thank you, Pixabay , and Pixabay contributors for the images.

Reader Interactions

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October 15, 2020 at 3:00 am

It’s what makes the book worth writing. Yes, Cynthia! The hook of my book has to pull me in. If I don’t love it, no one else will!

October 15, 2020 at 8:43 am

Great comment, Shirlee!

October 15, 2020 at 5:14 am

I’m working on the hook for my latest WIP. Thank you for the information. 🙂

October 15, 2020 at 8:44 am

You’re very welcome.

October 15, 2020 at 5:49 am

An author is a fisherman angling readers for his book, but before he reels ’em in, he’s got to set the hook, that shiny flashy spinny barb that grabs quarry’s attention, and making one, it can be hard, and needs informed attention to avoid the (yawn!) cliche, and the hackneyed phrase; no, the hook must point a way to brighten readers’ days, and the success of this appeal will thus ensure a brim-full creel.

A hook “points the way”! So true, Andrew!

October 15, 2020 at 9:18 am

You have a gift for laying out the great example. Showing me what to do instead of telling. I guess setting so many books yourself has made you a great fisher of men and women authors!!!!!!

October 15, 2020 at 9:25 am

Thanks, Kim!

October 15, 2020 at 11:05 am

Oooh, this makes me want to rework my hook, too! Great job at getting us going!

October 15, 2020 at 1:34 pm

Priming the pump on your creativity!

October 16, 2020 at 8:59 am

Ha ha! I reworked my hook.

A young boy brings home a puppy who is twenty pounds larger than expected.

Little known fact: an eight-week-old Newfoundland puppy is approximately the same size as a full-grown Scottish terrier. Most perspective pet owners can easily tell the difference … almost every time.

October 15, 2020 at 11:51 am

Cynthia, thank you for clearly summarizing the basics of a book hook. I especially liked your illustrative “What makes a good hook” sets.

October 15, 2020 at 1:35 pm

Thanks, Patricia.

October 16, 2020 at 10:14 am

This is really clear and helpful. Thank you. I could see the difference and understand how wording makes a difference. I look forward to applying what you’ve shown here.

October 16, 2020 at 12:45 pm

That makes me happy, Susan!

October 16, 2020 at 11:43 am

Thanks so much for your tips on writing a great hook, Cynthia! I’ll keep your advice in mind as I continue to tweak the hooks I have for my two completed manuscripts. And now I’ll consider the hook first in future projects.

October 16, 2020 at 12:46 pm

Interesting concept–consider the hook first. 🙂

October 17, 2020 at 1:15 pm

LOVE this! Thanks, Cynthia, for the great examples.

October 18, 2020 at 4:41 pm

Thank you, Jean. You’re a blessing.

October 21, 2020 at 7:59 am

This came at the perfect time! I’m ready to start a new novel, have it plotted out, and the idea of starting with the hook in mind intrigues me. Thanks for the way you presented this, with three examples each, “growing” the idea each time! So, so helpful! 🙂

October 26, 2020 at 10:13 am

Thank you, Regina. Happy writing.

February 15, 2022 at 5:54 pm

I’m having the hardest time finding the perfect hook for my religious book

October 31, 2023 at 7:28 pm

Ask a friend for help figuring it out. Sometimes others are distant enough to see it when we can’t.

October 31, 2023 at 6:47 pm

Mastering the art of crafting captivating hooks is a skill that both writers and readers can appreciate. It’s a testament to the magic of storytelling and how a few words can draw us into a whole new world. Thank you for shedding light on this essential aspect of literature and inspiring us to look at our favorite books in a new light.

October 31, 2023 at 7:29 pm

Thank you for your kind words!

Hook Readers on Your Book: 8 Tips with Examples

Learn eight different ways of delivering a strong hook that will get you reeling in your readers.

In this age of short attention spans, instant gratification, and a plethora of choices for readers, a catchy opening line is a key ingredient in encouraging readers to not only pick up your book but also to keep turning the pages. Those first few words hook an audience and showcase an author’s writing style.

Every piece of writing needs an opening. The key is to make it a gripping one. How to write a good hook may seem daunting at first, but there are some tried-and-true techniques to apply to those opening sentences to craft a great hook that can grab readers’ attention.

‍ What is a hook?

A hook is the very first line or lines of a story with the specific purpose of grabbing a reader’s attention and enticing them to continue reading. It’s a literary device that generates curiosity about a unique character trait, an unusual situation, or an important question. These opening lines also define the genre, introduce the themes of the story or character traits, and help establish your writing style.

The term comes from a fisherman’s hook. To catch fish, they use a shiny hook and delicious bait to lure and capture their prey, snagging them so they can’t get free. You’ll want to use arresting details and purposeful words to suck in potential readers with your first line.

‍ Why you need a good hook

People have an attention span of about 8 seconds. For the average reader, that’s around 17 words. If you don’t grab the reader’s attention in your first sentence, chances are they won’t pick up your story. Think about what drew you to this article. Were you searching for tips on writing a good hook, and the title drew you in? Or did the emotive words in the title cause you to click?

Consider a child playing with a ball. The ball rolls onto the street and the child, distracted, doesn’t see a car speeding down the road. Do you quietly say “Excuse me, you should get out of the street” or do you yell “Look out!”

You do what’s necessary to grab the child’s attention. The opening lines of your book need that same “pay attention to me” treatment.

How do you peak a reader’s interest? You turn on their curiosity.

‍ What Kind of Hook is for you?

Writing hooks can be confusing, and there are different types of hooks depending on a few factors. The genre of your book is a good place to start, but don’t forget about your writing style. Below are the most popular types of hooks, along with some sample first sentences to showcase the type of hook’s qualities.

‍ 1. Start in the middle.

Technically called media res, one of the most common and impactful ways to create a great hook is to drop your readers right into the middle of the action. It’s an easy and clear way to create intrigue with very little setup.

This type of hook has two advantages:

1. By landing in the action, the scene’s own energy motivates the reader to keep going.

2. Readers do not have any context as to the nature of the story yet and as such, they will have questions. The only way to find out those answers is to keep reading. They want to know what creature is chasing the hero, who wrote the love poem, why the air is unbreathable, etc.

For some authors, this means literally in the midst of an action scene, but in general, the concept is to not start with the day the world was created. There will be plenty of opportunities to write in elements of your backstory. The core concept here is to start in the middle of something interesting happening.

George R. R. Martin drops us into the action in A Game of Thrones with an opening line where readers want to know, at the same time, where the characters have been and where they are going.

‍ “We should start back,” Gared urged as the woods began to grow dark around them.

In Enchanter’s End Game , David Eddings sets a scene where readers want to know why mule bells are mournful to the character.

‍ There was, Garion decided, something definitely mournful about the sound of mule bells.

‍ Pro-tip: A short-cut to this is a stolen prologue. This is essentially an eventful and key scene in your story that you steal, but placing a snippet of the scene as your prologue.

‍ 2. Life-changing moments

Speaking of action, why not use your inciting incident to kick off your story? By honing in on the life-changing moment for your character, you can catch readers’ interest by showing the pivot that is happening in that moment.

Potential reader’s curiosity is heightened because they are going through the same monumental change as the character and thus a close connection to the character can be cemented.

A great example of this is in Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka.

“As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.”

In Coraline by Neil Gaiman, you know that Coraline is going through that door. But what’s on the other side?

‍ “Coraline discovered the door a little while after they moved into the house.”

‍ 3. Hit them where it counts.

Tapping into your readers’ sense of empathy is another poignant way to connect with potential readers. Kicking your story off with an intense emotional response in the first few lines lets your readers attach to your character. Developing a relationship with a character draws the reader into their world, making them interested in their story, their wound, their battle to overcome. If a reader is invested in the character, they are much more likely to keep reading to find out what happens.

Pay careful attention to the choice of words here. Focus on emotive language, words and phrases that create the reaction you want. If you are writing about a murder, there’s a difference between an innocent bystander and a defenceless victim, both of which draw a picture of the scene more than simply stating there is a dead person.

‍ Pro-tip: Hooks matter in writing outside fiction too. Even in academic writing, essay writing, and academic papers, it helps to have an effective hook to draw readers in, and propelling them towards your thesis statement - the core argument of your piece. In those settings,  consider hooking readers with a personal story. An emotional appeal can help readers understand why you wrote this book and ease them into the more dense or informative content to come.

L.E. Modesitt, Jr. creates a connection with the reader in his The Magic of Recluce by pointing out a complaint about childhood most fantasy readers can relate to.

‍ “Growing up, I always wondered why everything in Wandernaught seemed so dull.”

In Mistborn , Brandon Sanderson writes a line connecting readers to a common fear.

‍ “Sometimes, I worry that I’m not the hero everyone thinks I am...”

‍ 4. Surprise your readers

Billie Wilder famously said about beginnings, “Grab them by the throat and never let go.” Opening your book with an unexpected rhetorical question, or a controversial statement, will engage your audience as they are eager to continue reading to find out where you’re going with that opening.

This could take the form of a statement hook that shocks readers, or you take a common misconception and turn it on its head.

Jane Austen opens Pride and Prejudice with a sentence that piques the reader’s curiosity without introducing a single character, setting or time frame.

‍ “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”

William Goldman launches The Princess Bride with a statement at odds with itself.

‍ “This is my favorite book in all the world, though I have never read it.”

‍ 5. Make FOMO your friend

The fear of missing out (FOMO) is a strong motivator to keep readers engaged. Hint at what is coming, but don’t give them all the details. Reader needs to solve the puzzle, figure out why the character is doing or saying that or where the action takes place. This will drive readers to continue.

Mark Twain not only mocks himself, but teases at more to the story in his opening line of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn .

‍ “You don’t know about me, without you have read a book by the name of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, but that ain’t no matter. That book was made by a Mr. Mark Twain, and he told the truth, mainly.”

In City of Glass by Douglas Coupland, readers want to know about all the wrong things in this opening line.

‍ “It was a wrong number that started it, the telephone ringing three times in the dead of the night, and the voice on the other end asking for someone he was not.”

‍ 6. The question hook

This hook idea is a classic, one you might have heard in high school during a class on essay hooks for various types of essay, including the  narrative essay, persuasive essay, argumentative essay, or a research paper. 

Open with a question that is an attention grabber, one with no clear and obvious answer. Something readers will feel compelled to keep reading so they can discover the answer.

‍ “Where’s Papa going with that ax?” said Fern to her mother as they were setting the table for breakfast.

–– E.B. White, Charlotte's Web.

Edgar Allan Poe delivered a perfect hook in his story, The Cask of Amontillado.

“The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge.”

This hook is brilliant on multiple levels. As a first person point of view statement, it gives the reader insight into the mental state of the main character. It could fit into several of the hook categories listed in this article. I included it here because, even though it is not a question itself, it immediately had me asking questions. What kind of injuries are we talking about here? What was the insult that was so bad revenge is needed? How will this person take their revenge?

‍ 7. Timing

The pace of your opening lines can help with a sense of urgency, setting the clock not only for your story but also setting your readers’ minds on alert. The structure of these opening lines should lend to the rushed or urgent aspect of your story.

In Freaky Deaky , Elmore Leonard displays urgency through his use of time, orientation and the short, crisp fragments he cuts his opening sentence up with:

‍ “Chris Mankowski’s last day on the job, two in the afternoon, two hours to go, he got a call to dispose of a bomb.”

Lee Child’s staccato delivery of the opening lines of The Killing Floor introduces inner workings of the lead character. They are blunt, detail oriented and precise. Readers immediately want to know why, where and what is going on at this diner.

‍ “I was arrested in Eno’s diner. At Twelve O’clock. I was eating eggs and drinking coffee. A late breakfast, not lunch.”

‍ 8. Skip the description

World building in any story is essential, but don’t write an opening opus of the rules of magic, the planes of your planet or the physical description of your character’s features and wardrobe. Without any questions to create curiosity, this explanation may leave readers feeling they have to dredge through content to get to the good stuff. And what do readers do when they get bored? They put down your book and stop reading.

Focus on a few key details that help orientate the reader. You have plenty of time to fill in the details of your story in the following pages, even for a short story.

Ernest Hemingway sets the stage nicely in The Old Man and the Sea .

‍ “He was an old man who fished alone in a skiff in the Gulf Stream and he had gone eighty-four days now without taking a fish.”

In the opening line to Harry Potter, J. K. Rowling gives us location, character development and a hint at the core themes of the book. 

‍ “Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.”

‍ One more thing…

Before potential readers sink their teeth into your strong hook, they’ve already had a taster: the title of your book. Your title is a snapshot of your story, the essence drilled down to one, two, or three words. It is a mini hook that can pull in your target audience with emotionally impactful language that piques their curiosity.

‍ Keep it up.

A great hook is the first step in creating interest in a reader, but use these techniques sparingly. You are telling a story and with that comes balancing the reader’s curiosity with answering the questions or explaining the hints you’ve dropped. Be sure to fill in some of those blanks early on, while holding the larger reveals for later. Readers want to know their hunches were correct or find out why they were wrong.

‍ Pro-tip: Mystery authors, or those of you with a mystery in your books, can sustain the hook by using a Russian doll type method: as you open one doll or reveal the answer to one question, just like there is a smaller doll inside, propose another question to be puzzled out.

Hook, Line, and Sinker

A well-written hook will capture a reader’s interest and draw them into your story. It’s the first tasty morsel to sample the meal that is your book. Think about what draws you into reading a story and try out the different techniques above to create your own engaging hook.

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8 New Books We Recommend This Week

Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times.

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Our fiction recommendations this week include a “gleeful romp” of a series mystery, along with three novels by some heavy-hitting young writers: Téa Obreht, Helen Oyeyemi and Tommy Orange. (How heavy-hitting, and how young? Consider that Obreht was included in The New Yorker’s “20 Under 40” issue in 2010 — and she’s still under 40 today. So is Oyeyemi, who was one of Granta’s “Best Young British Novelists” in 2013, while Orange, at 42, has won the PEN/Hemingway Award, the John Leonard Prize and the American Book Award. The future is in good hands.)

In nonfiction, we recommend a painter’s memoir, a group biography of three jazz giants, a posthumous essay collection by the great critic Joan Acocella and a journalist’s look at American citizens trying to come to terms with a divided country. Happy reading. — Gregory Cowles

THE MORNINGSIDE Téa Obreht

After being displaced from their homeland, Silvia and her mother move into the Morningside, a weather-beaten luxury apartment building in “Island City,” a sinking version of New York in the middle of all-out climate collapse. Silvia learns about her heritage through the folk tales her aunt Ena tells her, and becomes fascinated with the mysterious woman who lives in the penthouse apartment.

“I marveled at the subtle beauty and precision of Obreht’s prose. … Even in the face of catastrophe, there’s solace to be found in art.”

From Jessamine Chan’s review

Random House | $29

A GRAVE ROBBERY Deanna Raybourn

In their ninth crime-solving tale, the Victorian-era adventuress and butterfly hunter Veronica Speedwell and her partner discover that a wax mannequin is actually a dead young woman, expertly preserved.

“Throw in an assortment of delightful side characters and an engaging tamarin monkey, and what you have is the very definition of a gleeful romp.”

From Sarah Weinman’s crime column

Berkley | $28

THE BLOODIED NIGHTGOWN: And Other Essays Joan Acocella

Acocella, who died in January, may have been best known as one of our finest dance critics. But as this posthumous collection shows, she brought the same rigor, passion and insight to all the art she consumed. Whether her subject is genre fiction, “Beowulf” or Marilynne Robinson, Acocella’s knowledge and enthusiasm are hard to match. We will not see her like again.

"Some critics are haters, but Acocella began writing criticism because she loved — first dance, and then much of the best of Western culture. She let life bring her closer to art."

From Joanna Biggs’s review

Farrar, Straus & Giroux | $35

WANDERING STARS Tommy Orange

This follow-up to Orange’s debut, “There There,” is part prequel and part sequel; it trails the young survivor of a 19th-century massacre of Native Americans, chronicling not just his harsh fate but those of his descendants. In its second half, the novel enters 21st-century Oakland, following the family in the aftermath of a shooting.

“Orange’s ability to highlight the contradictory forces that coexist within friendships, familial relationships and the characters themselves ... makes ‘Wandering Stars’ a towering achievement.”

From Jonathan Escoffery’s review

Knopf | $29

PARASOL AGAINST THE AXE Helen Oyeyemi

In Oyeyemi’s latest magical realist adventure, our hero is a woman named Hero, and she is hurtling through the city of Prague, with a shape-shifting book about Prague, during a bachelorette weekend. But Hero doesn’t seem to be directing the novel’s action; the story itself seems to be calling the shots.

“Her stock-in-trade has always been tales at their least domesticated. … In this novel, they have all the autonomy, charisma and messiness of living beings — and demand the same respect.”

From Chelsea Leu’s review

Riverhead | $28

3 SHADES OF BLUE: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, and the Lost Empire of Cool James Kaplan

On one memorable occasion in 1959, three outstanding musicians came together for what may be the greatest jazz record ever, Davis’s “Kind of Blue.” Kaplan, the author of a Frank Sinatra biography, traces the lives of his protagonists in compelling fashion; he may not be a jazz expert but he knows how to tell a good story.

“Kaplan has framed '3 Shades of Blue' as both a chronicle of a golden age and a lament for its decline and fall. One doesn’t have to accept the decline-and-fall part to acknowledge that he has done a lovely job of evoking the golden age.”

From Peter Keepnews’s review

Penguin Press | $35

WITH DARKNESS CAME STARS: A Memoir Audrey Flack

From her early days as an Abstract Expressionist who hung out with Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning at the Cedar Bar to her later success as a pioneering photorealist, Flack worked and lived at the center of New York’s art world over her long career; here she chronicles the triumphs, the slights, the sexism and the gossip, all with equal relish.

“Flack is a natural, unfiltered storyteller. … The person who emerges from her pages is someone who never doubts she has somewhere to go.”

From Prudence Peiffer’s review

Penn State University Press | $37.50

AN AMERICAN DREAMER: Life in a Divided Country David Finkel

Agile and bracing, Finkel’s book trails a small network of people struggling in the tumultuous period between the 2016 and 2020 U.S. presidential elections. At the center is Brent Cummings, a white Iraq war veteran who is trying to cope with a country he no longer recognizes.

“Adroitly assembles these stories into a poignant account of the social and political mood in the United States. … A timely and compelling argument for tolerance and moral character in times of extreme antagonism.”

From John Knight’s review

Random House | $32

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