1. How to start an essay
Hook strategies

2. Thought Provoking Question
Tip: Avoid asking questions that have only a “yes” or “no” answer. These do not make good openings for introductions.

3. Thought Provoking Question
How does reading affect your success in other subject areas?
What is the best book you’ve ever read?
Why do teachers insist that students read every day?

4. Quote by Famous Person
Tip: Make sure your quote is from a notable or famous person and it is strongly related to your topic.

5. Quote by Famous Person
“The greatest gift is a passion for reading.” – Elizabeth Hardwick
“The person who deserves most pity is a lonesome one on a rainy day who does not know how to read.”
– Benjamin Franklin
“Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today.”
- Malcolm X

6. Anecdote (Brief Story)
Tip: Keep it brief (1-3 sentences). Could be true or it could be hypothetical.

7. Anecdote (Brief Story)
I was in third grade when I read my first “chapter book” all the way through. I sat for hours after school curled into my Dad’s armchair in the living room, finishing the story before bed time. There has seldom been a happier moment of my life than the moment I completed that first, amazing story.

8. Anecdote (Brief Story)
I owe my career as a teacher of reading to the influence of the film maker George Lucas. From the moment I first saw those words sliding up the screen at the beginning of Star Wars and realized that they were a part of the story I would miss out on until I could read, I was hooked. No one ever again had to explain to me the importance of reading.

9. Statistic
Tip: Make sure your statistic is true. The only exception to this is on the SBA because you won’t have time to research.

10. Statistic
Studies show that only ten minutes of independent reading daily will improve students’ grades in all subjects by 30%.
In 2011 the average person with a doctoral degree made $1100 more per week, than a person without a high school diploma.

11. Description… Use of Describing Words
Tip: Make sure it’s related to your topic. Keep it fairly short 2-4 sentences.

12. Description
Crisp new pages crackle as you open them. That wonderful smell of never-been-read paper and ink emanates from the crease. Words so carefully chosen by the author encircle you and sweep you away to another place. This is the pleasure of reading.

13. Description
There is nothing so enticing as a library. Shelves upon shelves lined up in neat, even rows upon which books upon books sit straight at attention, their titles calling out to you. The reverent hush of the room as others around you work quietly, respecting the concentration of others. The feel of the cool spines as fingers tenderly trail across them, looking for that perfect story.

14. Definition
Tip: Make sure the term is related to your topic. It’s generally better to define a concept rather an object.

15. Definition
Read: “to look at carefully so as to understand the meaning of.”
Book: “A written work of fiction or nonfiction usually on sheets of paper fastened or bound together within covers.”

16. Thesis Statement
Tip: Save this opening strategy for timed-writing such as the SAT.

17. Thesis Statement
The ability to read gives any person who indulges in it the ability to have compassion on his fellow man, to understand cultures and peoples who are different from himself, and to make wise decisions without having to make quite so many foolish mistakes.

18. Thesis Statement
Students who read are happier, wiser and require less time to complete their homework than students who refuse to read.

19. Other Tips Not every strategy works for every subject
Try out two or three hooks and then choose the best one.
Don’t be afraid to change your mind!
Try something new. Don’t do the same thing all the time.
Challenge yourself!