The Hook

The Topic

The Thesis

This sentence or sentences is at the very

beginning of the introductory paragraph. Its job is

to grab the reader’s attention.

There are different types of hooks…

A short, interesting or amusing story. It must be very quick and

to the point, only a few sentences long.

Example:

Sally is a home school student who got to do the best activities

to study science. She went to the Space and Air Museum, built a

rocket and interviewed a pilot. She loves to be in home school.

(the essay prompt is “Why is home school a good choice for your

education?”)

A quick exchange between two people.

Example

“Where do you go to school?” a boy asked his friend.

“I am in home school and it is awesome!” replied the

boy’s friend.

Interesting information that supports your opinion

in the essay. Be sure that it is accurate!

Example

There were 1.1 million homeschool students in the

US in 2003 according to the National Center for

Education Statistics.

DefinitionA phrase said by someone else (usually a famous

person or an expert) in support of your position.

Example – George Santayana, a philosopher, and poet said,

“A child educated only at school is an uneducated child.”

Definition –A statement that is overstated for effect.

Example –Homeschool is by far the best schooling option for

everyone. If you are not in homeschool you will not learn anything!

Example –Have you ever wanted to be in charge of your own

education?

The hook must relate to the essay topic

The hook should lead into the topic statement smoothly For example – In the fact or statistic example the

fact leads directly to the sentence where you tell what your essay is about:

There were 1.1 million homeschool students in the US in 2003 according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Homeschooling is something that many students are choosing to do to better their education.

After the hook write about the topic of your essay

– what are you going to be writing about?

A thesis statement tells what your position on the topic is.

ExampleHomeschooling is the best choice for your child’s education.

After your thesis statement write your rainbow

sentence. In the persuasive essay these will be the

three reasons that support your thesis.

Example

In a homeschool environment students learn at their

own pace, can learn about interesting topics, and

can go to many different places to learn.

Sentence 1: Hook (either an anecdote, conversation, fact, statistic, quotation, exaggerated information, question)

Sentence 2: Topic Sentence (tell what the topic is)

Sentence 3: Thesis Statement (tell your position on the topic)

Sentence 4: Rainbow Sentence (reasons that support your thesis)

Sentence 5: Transition Sentence (leads to your body paragraph)