10 steps to write a hook for an argumentative essay

First, let’s have a quick view of the argumentative essay itself. This type of paper is different from others because the main aim is to reason a particular point of view by providing proper arguments for that. The hook for an argumentative essay will not be very different from the hooks of most other types of essays. However, there are several points that you have to take into account when writing a hook for your argumentative essay.

1. Clarify the general requirements for your paper

You can find on the web many articles with advice on how to write a good essay or a good hook for an essay, but some of them can be not quite correct for your particular case. The point is that academic writing is different with the strictness of its rules. Some devices from fictional fiction that were useful for college students’ work can be inappropriate for papers in universities. 

You can find reviews like “use a citation of a famous person as a hook” or “start a paper by sharing your personal experience.” It is true, such things really help to grab attention. But are they allowed in your case? Don’t make the case too complex, and just ask a person who will check work if it is allowed to use first-person pronouns or quotations at the beginning.

2. Define the point of view that you will support

You can agree that it is hard to start working on your assignment when you have no idea what you will write about. The specifics of the argumentative essay is that you have to choose some idea or point of view and provide proper arguments to support it. It is often the case when you consider two views on one issue and then provide arguments against the one you do not support and for one you do support. You must have the base, the main idea of your paper. It will be highly helpful for you with the next step.

3. Choosing from standard strategies  

So, what are the answers about permission you have for the essay? Are you allowed to use quotations, first-person narrative, or rhetorical questions? The last strategy is useful but also requires clarification. 

The question really can help grab attention and increase a reader’s interest in the future text. However, rhetorical questions are forbidden by the strictest rules of academic writing, so you need to be sure you can use them. Second, the question must not be commonplace. If you want your hook to be really effective, find an unexpected question for your context.

4. Developing a variant for stricter rules

If devices from above are forbidden, and you need strict academic writing, there are still several options. You can provide an interesting fact about your topic. You can provide some information that shows how relevant your topic is for the contemporary context. One more option is to write something that seems to have no relation to your topic and make the connection with one or a few sentences. Choose the way you like and turn to the next step.

5. Reject the most obvious options

If you want your hook to be really good quality, as well as the whole essay, you have to decline the most obvious variants. Remember that an expert who will check your work probably has seen many other works with similar topics. You might not want your paper to look cheap for them. And they will appreciate it if you make an effort to write something original and not follow the path that was used a hundred times before. 

6. Finding evidence

In the case you are allowed to choose a quotation at the beginning, you have to choose it and properly cite the source. If you choose another option, for instance, an interesting fact that will attract the reader’s attention, it also can require some time to find something appropriate. You might want to include some statistics to represent the relevance of your topic. It also leads to the need for research for credible sources of the statistics from which you can choose. 

7. Develop several options

During working on your essay, you will understand that it is part of the natural writing process. You think about different formulations and options to write the same idea in different ways. For the hook, as long as it is an important part of the paper, you might even formulate several options and see which one you will like more and find more suitable for your argumentative essay.

8. Take a quick rest

Writing papers is hard work that increases moral tension. As a writer, you have all right to have a break to rest and clear your mind a little. It can be useful to make your thoughts free from the main task. Your work on it after a break will be more productive.

If you have an issue with hooks for argumentative essays in general, you might need some assistance and use online paper writing services such as CustomWritings. Many students from the UK, USA, and some other countries where English is used for writing academic papers use help obtained from an essay writing website. Companies with such services provide to each of their customer personalized, professional papers written from scratch, and you can order the best example to use for further writing.  

9. Select the option

Choose the option from the several you created. You might need to change it in some way to fit your paper perfectly. Or create a new one that will be better than all that you have considered before. Choose your hook among options, make it perfect, and integrate it into the essay. 

10. Proofread

Check your hook one more time to find if there are no mistakes or misprints when it is written. Review if the quotations are cited properly in the case you use some outside information for your first sentence. Proofreading is an important step for the quality of the hook and the whole paper in general. Best for you to not neglect it. 

Now you know ten effective steps to write outstanding hooks for your argumentative essay, which can be useful for other types of papers as well. If it is hard for you to cope with academic writing, remember that you can buy a custom example of the paper from a company that provides its service online. The top example can inspire you to become one of the best argumentative essay writers.