Research Papers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hooks

A hook is a catchy phrase, quote, or anecdote that you put at the beginning of your paper in order to catch the reader’s attention. An example of a hook might be:

Maria Hernandez used to think that the United States stood for freedom. Her opinion changed after she was imprisoned for criticizing her country’s ruler—a cruel dictator supported by the United States.

Hooks are nice, but not necessary. If you can think of a good hook—great!—use it. If you can’t think of a hook, don’t worry about it. Similarly, the conclusion is a natural place to throw in a catchy quote or clever statement, but don’t lose sleep trying to be too clever. There are more important things to worry about. 

Some writers use a rhetorical question as a hook or topic sentence. For example:

Could humans become extinct within the next 100 years? Some scientists believe that this is a real possibility. 

There is nothing terribly wrong with using a rhetorical question in this way, but please be aware that many teachers frown upon it. It is considered lazy writing. Limit yourself to one such question per paper, at the most. Better yet, just leave out the question and get straight to the point:
Some scientists believe that humans could become extinct within the next 100 years.


Instructions for the Quiz

Answer the questions.

Quiz