• An essay opening helps the writer hook a reader's interest just like a fishing hook helps a fisherman.hook image by Zbigniew Nowak from Fotolia.com
  
  The introduction to an essay is the writer's first chance to grab his reader's attention. Sometimes an essay opening is called the "hook" of the essay for this reason; it is where the writer hooks the reader's interest and encourages him to keep reading the rest of the essay. A good essay opening can mean the difference between essay-writing success and failure. Explore a variety of types of openings for writing an essay and determine which one fits the nature of your essay the best.
  
  

Quotation

• Some writers like to lead with a quotation. A quotation works especially well if you can relate it strongly to your thesis or the main idea of your essay. When writing about literature, you might choose a quotation from the literary work itself or a quote from literary criticism about the piece. When writing about a heated issue you can use a quotation from one of the sides of that issue. A quotation introduction is truly effective when the quotation is unique, poignant and speaks directly to the heart of the essay's thesis. If your quotation cannot do those things then it should not be the lead-in for your essay.
  
  

Detailed Description

• If you need your reader to understand a person, situation or issue in order to understand your essay, then you might want to open your essay with a detailed description introduction. This type of opening gives your reader enough sensory detail about something that she feels she can see it, smell it, hear it, taste it or touch it. For instance, an essay about genocide might offer a detailed description of a child in an affected village staying awake all night afraid for his life. An essay about a particular type of food might give enough detail about the dish to make the reader's mouth water. The detailed description works well as an opening if you want to plant an image or idea in your reader's head before she reads the body of your essay. This helps the reader understand your essay before she has even read it.
  
  

Question

• Using a question as the first sentence in your essay can help the reader interact with you as a writer. It makes the reader think about the subject of your essay and, possibly, relate that subject to his own life. For instance, an essay on global warming might ask a reader to think about what the world would be like if no one ever recycled. Or it might ask him to consider his own contribution to environmental efforts. An essay about literature might ask the reader if he has ever experienced something similar to the events in a novel. The question opener, like the quotation opener, is effective only when the question specifically relates to the rest of the essay.
  
  

Statistics and Facts

• Opening with a specific fact or statistical data is particularly effective if that data will be relevant to the rest of your essay. The fact you use should be something that your reader does not already know, and if possible it should be something that will shock or surprise her. An essay on child labor laws might begin with the percentage of underage workers in your state or country. An essay on the environment might warn the reader that it will only take a certain number of years for the earth's resources to be depleted. This type of opening is intended to let your essay "hit the ground running," so to speak, and get straight to the point right away. You may return to this fact later in your essay but it should stand on its own without a lot of explanation.