The Hook

The most important sentence in any essay is the first one. Admissions officers read hundreds of essays. They're tired, caffeinated, speed-reading through mountains of applications. You have one sentence to make them pause them from skimming through.

What makes a powerful hook?

1 Start in the middle of the action.

No context. No explanation. Not a long, loose dependent clause. Start with the most interesting, core, and ripe part of your story. • Antuan Groize was this decrepit old man in his 50s, and he was obsessed with Boeing 787, the Dreamliner. • At the time, I was suffering from some form of existential malaise.

2 Use dialogue.

• "Your turn," my opponent smirked. • "This doesn't make sense," I muttered, staring at my own blood work results.

3 Give fresh, novel claims.

Raw, unfiltered claims are attention-catching. So use them if you can, but ensure that you can backup your claims rationally. • Plato would be a dictator in our age.

What to avoid:

• Do NOT retell the prompt. "I have always been interested in..." is a generic opening.

• Do NOT start with a famous quote. Unless you have an extraordinarily unique spin, famous quotes are overused and gimmicky.

• Do NOT begin with sweeping generalizations. "Throughout history..." or "In today's society..." are academic openers that kill personality.

• Do NOT explain what you're about to explain. Just start the story.

• Do NOT start with overdrama. Something like "OMG," or "BOOM."

Think of your favorite TV shows. The best episodes don't waste time with "Previously on..." They place you in the middle of the action. Your essay should do the same.

Trust that context will reveal itself as the story unfolds. Open without much background. You can give the context later.