2. hooks

3. The hook is designed to intrigue readers
and to motivate them to read your work attentively.

4. There are infinite possibilities for attention-getting devices.

5. Some of the more common devices include using a story…

6. a rhetorical question

7. or a quotation.

8. While any of these devices can be
effective, it is important for you to
spend time:

9. strategizing

10. creating

11. practicing

12. the HOOK.

13. Most importantly, a hook should create curiosity in the minds of your readers
Oleg Zhivetin

14. and convince them that the essay will be

15. interesting

16. and useful.

17. The wording of your hook should be refined

18. and practiced.

19. Be sure to consider the mood/tone of your essay

20. determine the appropriateness of
humor

21. emotion

22. aggressiveness, etc.

23. RHETORICAL QUESTION

24. Rhetorical questions are questions designed to arouse curiosity without requiring an answer.

25. Either the answer will be obvious

26. or if it isn't apparent, the question will arouse curiosity
until the
essay
provides
the
answer.

27. An example of a rhetorical question
to gain the reader’s attention for a
speech about fly-fishing is

28. "Have you ever stood in a freezing river at 5 o'clock in the morning by choice?"

29. Have you ever heard of a railroad with no tracks, with secret stations, and whose conductors were considered criminals?

30. Underground Railroad

31. Unusual Statement

32. Making a statement that is
unusual to the
reader is
another
possibility for
gaining her/his
attention.

33. "Follow the drinking gourd
"Follow the drinking gourd. That's what I said, friend, follow the drinking gourd."

34. This phrase was used by slaves as a coded message to mean the Big
Dipper, which revealed the North Star,
and pointed toward freedom.

35. Quotation

36. A quotation from a famous person or from
an expert on your topic can gain the
attention of the reader.

37. The use of a quotation immediately launches you into the essay

38. and focuses the reader on your topic area.

39. If it is from a well-known source, cite the author first.

40. Mother Teresa prayed, “Sweetest Lord, make me appreciative of the dignity of my high vocation, and its many responsibilities. Never permit me to disgrace it by giving way to coldness, unkindness, or impatience.”

41. If the source is obscure (little known), begin with the quote itself.

42. "No day dawns for the slave, nor is it looked for
"No day dawns for the slave, nor is it looked for. It is all night--night forever "

43. This quote was taken from Jermain Loguen, a fugitive who was the son of his Tennessee master and a slave woman. (1 + 1 = 3)

44. Humor

45. You might chose to use tasteful
humor, which relates to the
topic as an effective way to
attract the reader both to you
and the subject at hand.

46. You
Subject
Reader

47. "I'm feeling boxed in."

48. These may have been Henry "Box"
Brown's very words after being placed on
his head inside a box which measured 3
feet by 2 feet by 2 1\2 feet for what seemed
to him like "an hour and a half."

49. He was shipped by Adams Express to freedom in Philadelphia (Brown 60,92; Still 10).

50. factual
statistic

51. A statistic is a numerical fact.

52. You can use a factual statistic
to grab your reader’s
attention.

53. As you research the topic you've picked, keep your eyes open for…

54. statistics that will have impact.

55. Today, Tiger Woods’ talents are worth millions,

56. but in 1840 the price of a human life, a slave, was worth $1,000.00

57. STORY

58. The crowd was wild. The
music was booming. The
sun was shining. The
cash registers were
ringing.

59. This story-like re-creation of the scene at a Farm Aid concert serves to engage the readers and causes them to think about the situation you are describing.

60. Touching stories or stories that make readers members feel involved with the topic serve as good hooks.

61. One dark summer night in 1849, a young woman in her 20's left Bucktown, Maryland, and followed the North Star. What was her name?

62. Harriet
Tubman

63. She went back some 19 times to rescue her fellow slaves
She went back some 19 times to rescue her fellow slaves. And as James Blockson relates in a 1984 issue of National Geographic, by the end of her career, she had a $40, price on her head. This was quite a compliment from her enemies (Blockson 22).

64. REVIEW of HOOKS Attention–getting devices Intriguing, motivating
Refined
Appropriate for mood & subject of essay
Various types:
Rhetorical Question
Unusual Statement
Quotation
Factual Statistic
Story

65. “We are cups, constantly and quietly being filled
“We are cups, constantly and quietly being filled. The trick is, knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out.”
Ray Bradbury