How to hook your reader?

Harpoons vs. Hooks

Hooks

Hey! Look at me!

Harpoons

Look at this!

Read on!

In this important essay...

This paper is about...

Possible Hooks

Start with a simile or metaphor

Searching for freedom is like looking for an oasis in the desert, it is a difficult journey, but the end result is rewarding and refreshing.

Possible Hooks

Begin with a definition

According to websters.com, freedom is "the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action."

Possible Hooks

Begin with a quotation

In a 1925 address at Faneuil Hall, in Boston, Massachusetts, Charles Evans Hughes said, "When we lose the right to be different, we lose the privilege to be free."

Possible Hooks

Begin with an interesting fact

Today, in the United States, people of all types are still fighting to be free. Many are fighting for free speech, access to resources, and even the right to marry.

For the Math-Minded...

Thesis: As seen in nature and in the movie Antz, freedom is not just about doing whatever you want, it is about making choices that support you and those around you.

Thesis: Freedom is about X, Y, and Z.TS 1: Freedom is about X.TS 2: Freedom is about Y.TS 3: Freedom is about Z.

Possible Introduction...

Today, in the United States, people of all types are still fighting to be free. Many are fighting for free speech, access to resources, and even the right to marry. As seen in nature and in the movie Antz, freedom is not just about doing whatever you want, it is about making choices that support you and those around you.

Topic Sentence 1

TS 1: Freedom is not just about doing whatever you want, it is about making choices that support you and those around you.

Topic Sentence 2

TS 2: Many examples in nature demonstrate that freedom is not just about doing whatever you want, it is about making choices that support you and those around you

Topic Sentence 3

TS 3: The movie Antz demonstrates that freedom is not just about doing whatever you want, it is about making choices that support you and those around you