Openings That Hook: Anecdotes and Surprising Facts

Analyze how authors begin texts with hooks to engage readers and serve their purpose.

The first sentences of a text are designed to grab attention, and the type of hook an author chooses usually serves the purpose. An anecdote, a short story about a real or typical person, creates connection and emotion. A surprising fact or statistic creates curiosity or alarm. A question invites readers to think. A vivid description places readers in a scene. Compare two original openings for an article about food waste. Statistic: 'About one third of the food produced in the world is lost or wasted.

' Anecdote: 'At 2 p. m. , twelve-year-old Lina watched the cafeteria worker scrape forty untouched apples into the trash. ' The statistic shows the scale of the problem; the anecdote makes it personal and concrete. Both serve a purpose of raising concern, but they work differently. When analyzing a hook, identify its type and explain what it makes the reader feel or wonder, and how that sets up the rest of the text.

• 1Hooks include anecdotes, surprising facts, questions, and descriptions
• 2Each hook type creates a different effect
• 3Explain how the hook sets up the purpose