Opening Line/Hook Discussion

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One really important sentence in your essay is your opening line (you might have heard this called a hook at some point as well). The point of this first sentence is to grab your readers attention and make them want to read more of your essay. I like to think about it like this: if someone were walking and saw your essay on the ground and just read the first line, they should want to pick up your essay and read more!

That means, we don't want to start with something like "I'm going to tell you about non-cognitive factors." or "Have you ever wondered about non-cognitive factors?" We are better than that!

For this discussion all you need to do is post two possible opening lines/hooks you might use in your essay. Before you do that, here is a handout that gives you some options. Obviously you will not copy the examples directly; you will make the type of example work for our essay topic. Look at the handout and then look at my example below.

89 A Glossary of Good Beginnings 1. Interesting description. Ashes filled the air when I was around the camp 23. "Show" feelings. I sat in my desk, sweat dripping down my face. I shut fire. Crackle, crackle it went. my eyes tight, then opened them. I looked at my watch, 11:27. Three minutes! 2. Sound. Boom! The trunk slammed. Bang! The car doors slammed as we got Three minutes until I heard a sound, a sound that would set me free for three out of the van. months of total nothingness 3. The past in the present. It is April 10, 1912. The Titanic is going to travel 24. Comic story. "Oh my God!" I exclaimed, "What's John doing out there? all the way from England to America. Why is he on his hands and knees, Mom?" I looked out the big kitchen window wondering if my eight-year old brother was all right. He was looking distressed. 4. Exclamation. Yeah! We're going to Disneyland tomorrow! Yeah!" I yelled Then he threw up. about as loud as I could. 25. Challenge the reader. Colin Greer, the President of the New World 5. A thought. I'm in big trouble now, I thought to myself. Foundation, a civil rights organization in New York, has something to say about 6. A complaint. It seems like we never go swimming at Fife pool! your character. 7. A surprise. Wow! I was doing my back hand-spring and I landed it! 26. Focus on something important. In my old, battered, black wallet I carry many things. A letter from a friend. My lunch ticket. My social security card. 8. A question. Have you ever been an Editor-in-Chief? Well I'll tell you, it's a big Many other tidbits and items as well. There is one thing however, which I prize job! above all my possessions. It is a photograph. 9. Sound, repetition, and simile. Screech, screech, screech! The first time 27. A list. The sweat on your brow. A layer of dust on your face. Out in the we tried to play the recorders it sounded like a lion running his claws down a woods. Somewhere. And on a horse. Of all the places in the world, I feel best on a chalkboard. horse. 10. Exclamation, repetition, strong feelings. Chores! Chores! Chores! Chores are boring! Scrubbing toilets, cleaning sinks, and washing bathtubs take 28. A scenario. Right now I want you to pretend you are in a store. As you walk up a lot of my time and are not fun at all. around, you see that some products are much more inexpensive. Now, look at the labels on these cheaper items. You will probably notice that many of these labels 11. Extremely strong feelings. The very first time I saw asparagus I hated say, "Made in China," or "Made in Honduras." Have you ever stopped to wonder it. I had never even tried it before and I still hated it! why products made in these countries are so much more affordable than the 12. A series of questions. Touch of the flu? Egg in her hair? Poor Ramona! things manufactured right here on American soil? 13. Scary, exciting, or intense moment. ...I tried to run, but I couldn't. 29. Fantasy or fairy tale-type language. In yesteryear, when Moby Dick The monster seemed like it was growing by the minute! And then, the most was just a tadpole, and the seas rolled and thundered over the jetties and onto the horrible thing was about to happen - I screamed and sat bolt upright in bed. I shore, I searched for my first sand dollar still hidden somewhere in the ever gasped swallowing huge amounts of air. stretching Long Beach Peninsula 14. Main idea. I will always love my grandparents' beach house. The way the 30. Simple action to complex realization. I walk up the hill with my waves role over the gooey sand and the way the sand weaves in between your toes. friends, then turn into our cul-de-sac, go to the front door, put the key in the lock, The way we pick up barnacle-covered rocks and watch the sand crabs scurry away. turn, and step in. The house breathes a kind of spooky hello as I set my books The way we dig for clams and end up knee deep in the never ending sand. down and go to the kitchen where the inevitable note is waiting: "Have a snack, Be home soon. I love you." 15. Something interesting to come. It all started on an average day. I didn't think anything unusual was going to happen, but boy was I wrong! 31. Startling statement. A great crime was committed against a people in 16. Conversation. "We're moving." That's what she told me. I couldn't believe 1942. This was the signing of Executive Order 9066 by President Franklin D. it! I had just made the basketball team and was making more friends. "What!" I Roosevelt, which called for the eviction and internment of all Japanese Americans. exclaimed. 32. Thesis. Education is a key element in developing the skills necessary for a 17. Reveal something unusual. "Company halt!" yelled the drill master. My successful life. Too often, students are more involved earning a paycheck than mom stopped and went into position. Her dog tags clinked as she moved. spending time on their academic studies. Students need to realize that their high school classes will prepare them for a brighter future. 18. An unsettling description. A flash of lightning illuminates the harsh emptiness of the night. In an orphanage children cry mournfully. They are 33. Something outlandish. I am a dynamic figure, often seen scaling walls starving. and crushing ice. I have been known to remodel train stations on my lunch breaks, making them more efficient in the area of heat retention. I write award- 19. Unusual image of a character. Simon Wilken was snacking down on a winning operas. I manage time efficiently. Occasionally, I tread water for three plum with great gusto. days in a row. 20. Anecdote. On a dark December night in 1776, as he led a barefoot brigade 34. Fast action. I raced inside, slamming the front door behind me. I plopped of ragged revolutionaries across the icy Delaware River, George Washington said, my backpack on the floor and dashed for the kitchen. Our cat, asleep in the "Shift your fat behind, Harry. But slowly or you'll swamp the damn boat." hallway, quickly awoke and scurried out of harms way. I knew I only had a few 21. Describe the setting. The deafening crowd was packed into the precious seconds before my brother, coming in through the back door, beat me to Kingdome on the sold-out Buhner Buzz-Cut Night. Hundreds of people were the kitchen and nabbed the last of mom's brownies. outfitted in brand new buzz-cuts and were enjoying the Mariner game 35. A saying. It was Ralph Waldo Emerson who said that "A foolish consistency 22. Address the audience. You walk into the dentist's office. You sit down. is the hobgoblin of simple minds." He said it almost 200 years ago, but perhaps it You try to read a magazine. But it's no use. You're scared and there's nothing you bears repeating today to our senators and congressman who act as though our can do about it. country can continue to spend money it does not have. @ 1995-2003 by Steve Peha. For more information, or additional teaching materials, please contact: Teaching That Makes Sense, Inc. . E-mall stevepeha@ttms.org . Web www.ttms.org