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Why a Good Hook is Important in Everyday Writing

Author: Jacob Quigley
by Jacob Quigley
Posted: Oct 15, 2018

Asking why a hook is important in everyday writing is like asking why a hook is important when going out to fish. No one will attempt a fishing expedition without a hook for the simple reason that no fish will give the fisherman a second look if they did not have something to attract the fish with. In everyday writing, a hook does the job of attracting the reader. It promises the reader that they will get what they are looking for from the written material.

What is a hook?

In fishing, the hook will hold and force the fish, against its will, to come out of the water. In writing the situation is not too different. In this instance, the hook is that something in the first sentence that the reader will find irresistible. In its own way, it will force the reader to read the text until they get to the end. While the hook should attract the reader to the written material, it must relate to what the rest of the writing is about. It should, in its own way, force the reader to read the next sentence and later paragraphs.

It may seem like hooks may only be applicable to writing fiction literature, but a statement like this is false. Even serious academic works like dissertations or literary analysis essays need something to grab readers' attention.

It introduces the subject in an interesting way

With the proliferation of written content in both the internet and on hard copy, readers do not have time for boring material. It does not matter how important a piece of writing is, if it fails to grab the attention of the reader, they will ignore it. In written text, the hook provides the invite for the reader to stay with the paper. The hook should not only be interesting, it needs to stay relevant to the content of the paper. If the writer just concentrates on making the initial sentence exciting and forgets to relate it to the content, the readers will not continue reading. The reason being that the essay is not what they are looking for. The writer must take extra care to ensure that this sentence in not only interesting but it is relevant too.

It helps the reader to decide if the writing is legitimate

After the heading, the hook is the first interaction the reader will have with any written material. It is the statement that will help the reader to decide if the whole paper is a legitimate piece of writing. For this reason, the writer needs to ensure that the statement contained in this sentence is not only inviting; it validates the rest of the material in the writing. The writer should not only concentrate on making the statement shocking or exciting. It is their duty to ensure that it is relevant and true. This will make the reader approach the written material with the seriousness that it deserves.

The hook sets the tone of the written material

The way the writer starts the written text is the easiest way by which the reader will tell the tone of the writing. This is the sentence that tells the reader about the intended audience of the material. Once the reader has had time to read the hook, they are able to tell whether the essay, on the whole, is serious writing of it is a relaxed read. It is also through the hook that the reader will be able to determine whether the written material is going to give them the benefit they are looking for or not.

The hook is the most important part of any written material. It plays a profound role. It is the first sentence, in the writing, that will help the reader decide whether this written piece is what they want to read or not. It is here that the reader will decide whether they are going to read the whole piece or they will move on to the next. This is the part of the essay that will introduce the reader to the main idea of the article and define the general tone that the written piece of work will take.

About the Author

Currently Studying Journalism at NYU, planning to make a career out of writing on a whole variety of topics. Facebook or Google+is the best way to get in touch.

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  • Guest  -  2 years ago

    Cool information, great respect to the author! I have been going through the buy term paper at this site and I like it very much, last year I studied math, this year - English, biology, both offline and online, I want to say that this site is well prepared for different situations such as studying online and offline at the same time, All teachers are friendly, kind and understanding to their students, the training is comfortable for all members of this process, the approach is individual to each student, in short, I recommend it to all!

Author: Jacob Quigley

Jacob Quigley

Member since: Oct 17, 2016
Published articles: 1

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