“Hooks” Activity

You wrote part of an introduction in the “background mapping” activity. Now you will practice writing a “hook” to lead into your introduction using several different techniques.

Topic: Obesity

Prompt: Recent studies show that more than 60 percent of Americans are overweight. Of these adults, 27 percent are severely overweight. In addition, obesity among adolescents has doubled to 13 percent within these past 20 years. While some feel that maintaining weight is an individual’s responsibility, others blame the “supersize” lifestyle of our nation. They demand that fast food chains, such as MacDonald’s, should offer some healthy menu options and that schools should place more emphasis on physical education.

  • What do you think is the cause of American obesity?
  • What should be done to prevent it?

Technique #1: Examine a quote

Using a quote is commonly done, and can be a very effective technique. However, for it to work, you cannot simply dump the quote in your paper; you must take a moment to introduce and explain it, too!

PRACTICE 1:“This might be the first generation where kids are dying at a younger age than their parents and it's related primarily to the obesity problem.”--Judy Davis

1.Introduce your quote by including a phrase such as the following

  1. ______says that
  2. A well-known quote states ______

2.Include your quote in quotation marks.

3.Take 1-3 sentences to explain

  1. How this quote connects to the subject of your paper.
  2. What’s important about this quote.

Technique #2: Use a definition (wisely)

Some teachers hate when students start their papers with a definition, and for good reason. Most of your readers more than likely already know the definition of the word you’re looking up, so it’s not interesting for them to read a dry, boring dictionary definition. However, if you expand on your definition, your readers might take interest.

PRACTICE 2: Look up the word “obesity” and write a possible hook for each of the three following definition techniques:

  1. Point out the definition’s shortcomings.

To do this, modify one of these phrases, or create a similar phrase:

  • “However, this definition is missing ______”
  • “This definition fails to acknowledge ______”
  • “What this definition is missing is ______”
  1. Add to that definition.

To do this, modify one of these phrases, or create a similar phrase:

  • “In addition, (the word) also means ______”
  • “On top of this, (the word) is synonymous with ______”
  • “Many people also use words like ______to define (the word).”
  • “Most people are unaware that (the word) is sometimes also defined as ______”
  1. Deconstruct or analyze that definition.

To do this, modify one of these phrases, or create a similar phrase:

  • “The most interesting part of this definition is ______because…”
  • “Note that the definition does not include ______, which is interesting because…”
  • “This definition is surprising/not surprising because______”

Technique #3: Include an important or shocking fact

This technique can be very useful, but only if your fact is, indeed, interesting or shocking. Boring or unimportant facts don’t serve an introduction well; they get in the way. If the prompt or your readings have offered you any important facts, use them—but if you get the facts from anywhere but the prompt, be sure to clearly cite where you got the fact, or you can be reported for plagiarism!

PRACTICE 3:Find an important fact from the prompt and use it to write a 1-3 sentence “hook” that leads into your introduction.

Technique #4: Dispel a commonmisconception about the topic

If many people have the wrong idea about your topic, it might be helpful to introduce (and dispel) a widely-held misconception about your topic before giving the background on what your topic actually is!

PRACTICE 4:Modify one of these phrases, or create a similar phrase:

  • “Many people believe that ______. However…”
  • “When most people think about (the topic), they think that ______. The truth is…”
  • “A common misconception about (the topic) is that ______. This could not be further from the truth.”
  • “It is often said that ______. What many people don’t understand about (the topic) is that it is…”

Technique #5: Pose(and answer) a question

This is the most commonly abused (and often poorly-used) technique. While it can be done effectively, it shouldn’t be used for every paper, and it should only be done when it is truly the best technique for a particular topic.

You should never use a question unless:

  • It is open-ended (which means that it is not a yes or no question)
  • It is likely to get your readers engaged in provocative, interesting thinking
  • It directly connects to your subject and claim.

Bad questions:

  • Do you go to the farmer’s market? (This is a yes/no question—and a boring one!)
  • Have you ever thought about what happens when we die? (Of course—everyone has. Avoid asking “Have you ever” questions because the answer is almost always going to be “yes.”)

Good questions:

  • What would happen to our relations with other countries if everyone on earth decided to travel to a country they’ve never been to before? (This is open-ended, thought-provoking, and interesting.)
  • How would your life change if you were no longer allowed to get or be married? (This is also open-ended, and it forces people to consider how a topic—marriage—specifically relates to them.)

PRACTICE 5: Write a list of five open-ended questions you could use as possible “hooks” for this topic. When you are finished, choose the one you like best and put a star by it.

Now that you have practiced five different techniques, choose the “hook” you liked best and add it to the introduction you have created for the obesity prompt.