AP ENG- Hooks

Writing an essay - Hooks

Multiple Choice

What is a hook in an essay?

• a tool used to catch fish

• a sentence that gets the reader's attention

• a sentence that shows the essay is complete

Hooks are...

• interesting

• catch the attention of the reader

• related to the topic you are writing about

Hooks are not...

• questions

• boring

• unrelated to what you are writing about

If a hook cannot be a question, what can it be?

• A quote from an article

• An interesting fact

• A statement that makes people think

• But it is NEVER, and I mean NEVER, a question.

Multiple Choice

Select the best hook from the choices below.

• Have you ever wondered what it would be like to survive a shark attack?

• There are an average of 16 shark attacks each year in the United States.

• My favorite animal is a shark.

• Sharks are purple.

Multiple Choice

Read the hook and decide the kind of hook it is:

More people die from falling coconuts than they do from shark attacks.

(aims.gov.au)

• fact

• quote

• interesting statement

Multiple Choice

Read the hook and decide the kind of hook it is:

"It happened in a split second. The mouth’s opened up and she’s hit me in the guts with her nose. I thought: Oh, here we go."

(The Guardian)

• fact

• quote

• interesting statement

Multiple Choice

Read the hook and decide the kind of hook it is:

One October morning in 2003, 13-year-old Bethany Hamilton was just trying to catch some waves with a friend on a Kauai beach in Hawaii. While she was lying on her board, a tiger shark suddenly came up from below and bit her left arm clean off.

(wideopenspaces.com)

• fact

• quote

• interesting statement

Multiple Choice

Read the hook and decide the kind of hook it is:

"Experienced spear fishers say the shark that is going to bite you is the one you don’t see, and I certainly didn’t see this shark at all. "

(The Guardian)

• fact

• quote

• interesting statement

Tips for writing a good hook

• Sometimes facts about your topic from another source provide an interesting background. You can google things like "Number of children with cancer in the US." and then find something interesting to use as a hook. IT MUST BE CITED.

• Sometimes you can use quotes in an article you read if you think it is interesting and relates to your topic.

• You can also just think a little bit about what you read and try to come up with an interesting way to summarize what you want to talk about in your essay.

• If you were thinking about a question, you can try to re-phrase it so that it is a statement and not a question.

Making a question... NOT a question

• Sometimes people like to ask questions like: "Have you ever wondered what it would be like to ____?

• You could rephrase that: "Many people have wondered what it would be like to ______. Max understands, because ...."

  
  

Multiple Choice

Your hook MAY NOT contain

• a question

• a fact

• a quote

• an interesting statement

Multiple Select

If you use a fact or quote, or any words that are not your own words must be

2 answers!

• in quotations

• the article must be cited

• written as though it is yours

CITING SOURCES

• This is another lesson for another day, but be aware of a few things:

• 1. Keep track of the websites where you got your information

• 2. Use quotation marks any time you use all the words that came from someone else.

• 3. Even if you paraphrase (put someone else's words into different words) you need to keep track and give credit to the people who wrote those words.

Poll

Which one of these is an example of a STRONG hook?

Prompt: Explain how your generation is similar to previous generations.

• I think that my generation is the best generation that their has ever

  been.

• Which generation do you belong to? I'm a part of Generation Z. Generation Z, Millennials, and Gen X have some stuff in common.

• Generation Z is similar to Milinneals and Gen X because they all have entrepreneurial drive.

• Generation Z has TikTok, the Millennials had Brittney Spears, and Gen X birthed the first Star Wars film. While each generation was different, some things remained the same.

Creating a Thesis Statement

• A thesis is a sentence that let the reader know what you will write about and it helps you to stay organized while writing.

• This is also the MOST IMPORTANT sentence in your entire essay!

• 
  

  Steps to Creating a Thesis Statement

• Turn the prompt into a question

• Restate/answer the question.

• Include 2-3 main points/reasons to support your “answer” (these are the main points you will elaborate on)

Need an example, No problem!

Prompt: Write an article to the schools newspaper explaining how your generation is similar to m previous generations.

Prompt Question: How is Generation Z similar to Gen X and Milinneals?

Thesis: Generation Z is similar to Gen X and the Millennials because they all are driven by economic success and share common life experiences.

More Examples of Thesis Statements

Prompt: Write an article for the schools website to inform the student body of the dangers of driving while distracted.

- Prompt Question: What are some of the dangers of driving while distracted?

- Thesis: Some of the dangers of driving while distracted are injuries and fatalities

Prompt: Write an explanatory essay on why it is important to recycle.

- Prompt Question: Why is it important to recycle?

- Thesis: It is important to recycle because it conserves energy and reduces air pollution.

Multiple Select

Which of these are examples of hooks?

• Anedotes

• Paraphrase

• Facts

• Questions

• Quotes

Multiple Choice

The bridge/background information is there to...

• Give details about your main points/reasons.

• Help your reader become interested in the topic

• Give some information on the topic and connect your hook to the thesis.

• Wrap up the intro paragraph

Multiple Choice

Which is the correct structure for an intro paragraph?

• Hook, thesis, ideas to develop, bridge/background info, wrap-up

• Hook, Ideas to develop, thesis, background information, wrap-up

• Prompt question, thesis, bridge/background info, wrap-up

• Hook, bridge/background info, thesis, ideas to develop, wrap-up

Multiple Choice

Where does the hook go in your paper?

• Beginning of the body paragraph.

• Beginning of the conclusion.

• End of the introduction.

• Beginning of the introduction.

Multiple Choice

Which of the below is an anecdote?

• 75% of women receive less pay then men. That means that for every dollar a man receives, the woman only receives 75 cents.

• Kathy, a radiologist, didn't realize she was receiving less pay than her male counterparts for years. It wasn't until a work outing when the topic of yearly raises came up, that she discovered she was making 10% less.

• It wasn't until 1963, with the Equal Pay Act that Congress took action to address the gender wage gap. Since then the gap has narrowed, but it still exists (Daugherty).

• Every day a woman and a man wake up to go to the same job, where they complete the same duties. They work the same hours, and handle the same case load, but imagine that the woman only makes 82% of the man.

Multiple Choice

Which of the below is a historical hook?

• 75% of women receive less pay then men. That means that for every dollar a man receives, the woman only receives 75 cents.

• Kathy, a radiologist, didn't realize she was receiving less pay than her male counterparts for years. It wasn't until a work outing when the topic of yearly raises came up, that she discovered she was making 10% less.

• It wasn't until 1963, with the Equal Pay Act that Congress took action to address the gender wage gap. Since then the gap has narrowed, but it still exists (Daugherty).

• Every day a woman and a man wake up to go to the same job, where they complete the same duties. They work the same hours, and handle the same case load, but imagine that the woman only makes 82% of the man.

Multiple Choice

Which of the below is an intriguing statement hook?

• 75% of women receive less pay then men. That means that for every dollar a man receives, the woman only receives 75 cents.

• Women aren't capable of achieving as much in the workplace as men. At least, that's what their pay seems to say.

• John F. Kennedy stated that women and men should be paid the same and that to do otherwise is "an unconscionable practice."

• Every day a woman and a man wake up to go to the same job, where they complete the same duties. They work the same hours, and handle the same case load, but imagine that the woman only makes 82% of the man.

Multiple Choice

Which of the below is an hypothetical hook?

• 75% of women receive less pay then men. That means that for every dollar a man receives, the woman only receives 75 cents.

• Women aren't capable of achieving as much in the workplace as men. At least, that's what their pay seems to say.

• John F. Kennedy stated that women and men should be paid the same and that to do otherwise is "an unconscionable practice."

• Every day a woman and a man wake up to go to the same job, where they complete the same duties. They work the same hours, and handle the same case load, but imagine that the woman only makes 82% of the man.

​With a partner, quickly discuss this: Create a hook for the following:

"Does Technology make us more alone"

​Your hook can be

1. Historical

2. An anecdote

3. A hypothetical

4. An intriguing statement

Open Ended

Create a hook for the following:

"Does Technology make us more alone"

Your hook can be

1. Historical

2. An anecdote

3. A hypothetical

4. An intriguing statement

Open Ended

Create a hook for the following:

"Should College be free?"

Your hook can be

1. Historical

2. An anecdote

3. A hypothetical

4. An intriguing statement

DO NOT use the same hook type as the last practice.

​Personal Anecdotes

​Tell a story from your past that relates to the topic.

​

​Used to relate the reader with the author, also relates reader to the subject.

​

​Creates emotional ties from the reader to the subject.

​

​

​Ex. It was a cold August day the first time I ate a chocolate chip cookie.

​Rhetorical Questions

​Begin with a question!

​

​Ask the audience a question that you know they can't answer!

​

​Creates interest by making the audience think about things they didn't think about before.

​

​

​Ex. Have you ever had the word's greatest cookie?

Statistic

Use stats to bolster your argument.

​

Used to create a factual basis for your

​

​

​

​

​Ex. 1/4 people have never had a chocolate chip cookie!?

​Metaphors

​Compare your subject to another thing using metaphors!

​

​Metaphors compare things to other things WITHOUT using like or as.

​

​

​Makes audience think about subject through a creative viewpoint.

​

​

​Ex. Chocolate chip cookies are the golden nectar from mount Olympus.

WHAT TO REMEMBER ABOUT HOOKS:

• Hooks are attention-grabbing statements

• Should be specific and relevant to the topic

For Ms. Gilmore: NO QUESTIONS & NO DEFINITIONS (please) :)

Multiple Choice

Topic: the importance of facing fear

Thesis: Teachers should encourage students to participate in unfamiliar and challenging activities.

Which is the most effective hook?

• Singer-songwriter Taylor Swift once said, "I think 'fearless' [means] having fears but jumping anyway."

• Singer-songwriter Taylor Swift once shared with her fans that she had a "big fear."

• Singer-songwriter Taylor Swift once said, "I have a terrifyingly long list of fears."

Multiple Choice

What is this hook best representative of?

The conventional belief is that love is always pure and untainted, but XYZ's "ABC" challenges this notion, urging us to acknowledge that even the deepest love can contain drops of poison. In doing so, the story offers a fresh perspective on the complexities of love and relationships, dispelling the cliche of love as an unblemished emotion.

• metaphor/analogy

• famous quote

• turning a cliche on its head

• shocking statements

Multiple Choice

What is this hook best representative of?

Love is often compared to a lush forest teeming with life, but just like in nature, even the deepest love can contain drops of poison. In the poignant tale of "ABC" by author XYZ, the narrative unfolds like a forest fire, revealing how a seemingly idyllic relationship can also conceal hidden dangers and complexities.

• metaphor/analogy

• famous quote

• turning a cliche on its head

• shocking statements

Multiple Choice

What is this hook best representative of?

"Even the deepest love can contain drops of poison," a sentiment reminiscent of Walter Brunell's wisdom, takes center stage in XYZ's "ABC." The story masterfully illustrates the profound truth behind this quote, shedding light on the intricacies of love and the potential for betrayal within the closest relationships.

• metaphor/analogy

• famous quote

• turning a cliche on its head

• shocking statements

Multiple Choice

What is this hook best representative of?

Just as a diverse forest ecosystem relies on the unique characteristics of each species, human society thrives when it recognizes and celebrates individuality. In "ABC," author XYZ illuminates how the failure to appreciate the distinct qualities of individuals can lead not only to injustice but potentially dire consequences, much like a forest unable to adapt to its changing inhabitants.

• metaphor/analogy

• famous quote

• turning a cliche on its head

• shocking statements

Multiple Choice

What is this hook best representative of?

Author XYZ delivers a wake-up call in "ABC," asserting that failing to recognize the unique characteristics of individuals can be far more than unjust; it can be a matter of life and death. Through the character Sally, the story unfolds a harrowing narrative that demonstrates the life-altering implications of neglecting individuality in our society.

• metaphor/analogy

• famous quote

• turning a cliche on its head

• shocking statements

Multiple Choice

What is this hook best representative of?

While the world often preaches equality and fairness, XYZ's "ABC" challenges the conventional wisdom by highlighting a shocking reality - not recognizing the unique characteristics of an individual may not only prove to be unfair but deadly. The story urges us to reconsider our approach to diversity and individuality.

• metaphor/analogy

• famous quote

• turning a cliche on its head

• shocking statements

Multiple Choice

What is this hook best representative of?

"Not recognizing the unique characteristics of an individual may not only prove to be unfair for the individual, but deadly," echoes the profound words of Walter Brunell. This powerful insight permeates XYZ's "ABC," where the story vividly illustrates the life-and-death consequences of overlooking individuality in a society that should value it.

• metaphor/analogy

• famous quote

• turning a cliche on its head

• shocking statements