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Hook the reader with a great first sentence. You can use anecdotes, surprising facts, fun turns of phrase, or quotes. This is designed to bring the reader into your essay, not tell the whole story. It can be broadly related to your paper, not laser focused. Check below for even more examples of a great hook.[2]
Literary Essay: "Anyone reading Bram Stoker’s Dracula today has seen the conventions of vampire fiction a million times before: the garlic, the mirrors, the bats, a villain who is powerful, cunning, and erotic."
Research Essay: "According to Max Weber, one of the most influential developments in the Modern West has been the “demythologization” (entzauberung) of the world-- surely there has been a noticeable change in the world from the days of the Greek gods or medieval witchcraft."
Personal Essay: "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back changed my life, but, like all pivot points in a child’s life, I was too young to realize it at the time.