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Writing Your Paper: Structure

  • Brainstorming
  • Creating a Hook
  • Revising, Editing, and Proofreading
  • Transitions
  • Formal Writing
  • Active vs. Passive Voice
  • Peer Review
  • Point of View

Introductions

Funnel the reader into your specific topic by taking a hook, line and sinker approach to your introduction. When an essay starts right out the gate with information or quotations, it’s almost like cold water in the face, rather than being eased into it. While it is important to be concise and to the point in your opening paragraph , there is much to be said for keeping your reader interested by easing them into your main point.

  • Hook the reader with a unique statement or question that will spark the reader's interest. Questions are trickier to use than statements because if you answer the question immediately, the reader may feel as if you are wasting his/her time in the essay that follows.
  • Your line will be drawing a connection from that hook toward the issue you are addressing. This line will keep the reader interested.
  • Your sinker will usually be your thesis statement, which is your guiding purpose, or what keeps your essay in place. Ultimately, the goal is to keep the reader’s attention until you can start to reel them in with your essay’s paragraphs.

*Content adapted from the shared resources handouts on eTutoring.com.

Body Paragraphs

If you can, think of a paragraph as like a hamburger . 

  • The top bun of that hamburger is your topic sentence .  A topic sentence provides a mini summary of your paragraph’s main idea and looks back to your thesis and forward to the paragraph. 
  • Then, the meat of the paragraph is your evidence to support the main idea.  Along with the meat, you’ve got commentary by you unpacking the quoted material for readers. 
  • Lastly, the bottom bun of the hamburger is your closing .  The closing sentence(s) provides the paragraph with a finished feeling and connects to the thesis again.  The bottom bun usually does NOT lead into the next paragraph.  Instead, the closing deepens the significance of the paragraph’s main point and connects, again, to the thesis. 

T his handout gives good information on paragraph development and unity.

Topic Sentences

Topic sentences are  mini summaries  of the paragraph to follow and, at the same time,  relate to your thesis  to help focus your paper.

The resource provides good examples and even a chance to practice identifying strong topic sentences: https://arts.uottawa.ca/writingcentre/en/hypergrammar/writing-paragraphs

Conclusions

Yes, it is true that writers must be careful not to introduce new points in the conclusion, but this does not mean the conclusion must just sum up points made previously in the body paragraphs.  How boring!  A good conclusion will explore the broader significance of your thesis.  You’ll expand your thinking outward a bit. This is a handy page on conclusions that gives a good example:  https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/writingprocess/conclusions

Essay Structure

The overall structure of an essay with transitions may look something like this:

hook line and sinker essay

You can learn more about transitions  HERE .

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  • Last Updated: Feb 26, 2024 12:42 PM
  • URL: https://research.ewu.edu/c.php?g=53658

Home → Academic Writing → How to Write a Research Paper Introduction: Hook, Line, and Sinker

How to Write a Research Paper Introduction: Hook, Line, and Sinker

Jordan Kruszynski

Jordan Kruszynski

  • January 4, 2024

hook line and sinker essay

Want to know how to write a research paper introduction that dazzles?

Struggling to hook your reader in with your opening sentences?

Crafting a captivating research paper introduction can be the difference between a mediocre paper and an outstanding one. The introduction sets the tone for the entire paper, and if it fails to capture the reader’s attention, your hard work may go unnoticed. In this post, we’ll explore some techniques for crafting a compelling introduction that will hook your reader from the very beginning. From using statistics to posing thought-provoking questions, we’ll show you how to reel in your reader hook, line, and sinker.

So, grab your pen and paper, and let’s get started!

What Makes a Captivating Introduction?

When it comes to writing a research paper, the introduction is everything. It’s the first glimpse your audience gets of what’s to come and the determining factor as to whether they continue reading or move on. A captivating introduction should immediately grab the reader’s attention and draw them in, enticing them to learn more about your unique research. It should be thought-provoking, relevant and informative.

By connecting with your audience and allowing them to identify with your work, you create an emotional investment from the start. You might be thinking that a research paper introduction only needs to provide cold, hard information, but this is missing half of the picture. If you can blend quality information with skilful writing, you’ll ensure that your reader remains engaged and open to your argument throughout the entirety of your paper. So, when crafting your introduction, strive to be engaging and focus on making a strong impression.

Pre-Writing Strategies for Crafting an Effective Introduction

Crafting that quality introduction begins even before you put pen to paper (or finger to keyboard). Start planning mentally with the following tips:

  • Try to ‘visualise’ your research from beginning to end. Your paper is your means of guiding the reader through that research. Imagine that you’re going to take the reader by the hand and walk them through it. What do they need to know before you set off? What’s going to convince them to take the journey? Thinking along these lines will set you in the right frame of mind for writing.
  • Remember that your introduction acts as a roadmap, directing readers towards your key points and arguments and letting them know what to expect. Thinking in terms of providing a map will clarify your writing decisions.
  • Think clearly and with confidence. If your introduction is vague, lacks sufficient information or is otherwise unconvincing, your reader may become disengaged from the outset.

How to Write a Research Paper Introduction with Clarity and Style

With your thoughts flowing, you can now turn to the act of writing your introduction, Each of the sections outlined below will typically take up one paragraph of your intro, with the exception of the literature review, which is likely to occupy several.

  • Always keep in mind that anyone can read your paper, not just an academically literate audience. With this in mind, begin by introducing your subject generally, ideally in a way that a layperson could understand. If you overwhelm your reader with technical language from the outset, they may become frustrated and stop reading.
  • Your subject introduction might include some historical context, or a brief overview of the significance of your field. Either way, prepare to narrow down that general overview to your specific research. Let the reader know what you’re working on.
  • More importantly, explain why your research is important. Perhaps you’re seeking to fill in a gap in the historical record, or are working on medication that could help people with a specific illness. Be clear about why your research could make a difference and why the reader should pay attention to it.

Literature Review

  • At this point, you can go into more detail on existing research efforts in your field with a literature review. Find out all about these and how to construct them in our complete guide . (Add link to lit. review post once it’s published)

Research Intention

  • Here, go into detail on the intention of your research. If you have a hypothesis, state it, or if you’re approaching your work with a broader, more open research question, then set it out.
  • Briefly discuss your research methods, keeping in mind that you’ll probably be writing a complete methodology section later.

Paper Overview

  • In this optional section, provide a brief overview of your whole paper by section, outlining what you intend to do in each of them – for example ‘In Section 4 we describe our methodology in detail. In Section 5 we present our data without analysis. In Section 6 we conduct an analysis of the data.’

As we mentioned before, balancing quality information with skilful, engaging writing can grab your reader’s attention right from the start. One way to do this is through a hook. But what makes a good hook?

  • It could be a statistic, taken either from your own research or elsewhere. Naturally, it should be relevant to your topic, as well as thought-provoking – a figure that makes your reader sit up and take notice of what you’re about to say. For example, if your paper focuses on marine plastics, then consider using a statistic to illustrate just how prevalent the problem is.
  • It might be a reference to a current event that is garnering a lot of attention. If you can connect that event to your research, and prove its social relevance, you can potentially earn more readers than you might expect.
  • You could even use a quotation, for example from a respected academic in your field. This can act as a point of inspiration for both you and your reader. There’s nothing stopping you from being creative in your introduction, and if your hook is directly relevant to your research, then it can take whatever shape you like.

Final Thoughts

The introductory paragraphs of your research paper are your chance to make a great first impression. By crafting a captivating introduction, you can draw your reader in and set the stage for an outstanding paper. From using powerful statistics to posing thought-provoking questions, there are many techniques you can use to hook your reader from the very beginning. So don’t be afraid to get creative and experiment with different approaches until you find one that works for you.

With these tips in mind, you’ll know how to write a research paper introduction that will leave your audience hooked, lined, and sunk!

Looking for introduction inspiration? Check out the array of papers available on Audemic , where you can listen to your heart’s content until you find the one that hits right!

Keep striving, researchers! ✨

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Hook, Line, Sinker: How to Write an Introduction

June 1, 2021 by Gail Marie in

hook line and sinker essay

The largest fish ever caught by rod and reel was a 2,664-pound great white shark . That’s over a ton of prehistoric saw-toothed terror, dangling from one end of an impossibly thin braided wire. At the other end was Alfred Dean, a hobbyist angler and professional fruit grower from Southern Australia. Aside from a few modifications to Alf’s get-up — like a “fighting chair” and bait made from slabs of porpoise meat — an amateur angler would recognize the equipment he used: steel hook, weighted sinker, fishing line. The hook snares the fish, the sinker pulls the hook deep enough for the fish to find the bait, and (at the risk of stating the very obvious) the line keeps the fish connected to the fisherman. While Mr. Dean can teach us plenty about shark fishing, writers can use a similar technique to completely and totally engage their audience. You could say readers fall for it hook, line and sinker.

hook line and sinker essay

Hook: Use Pattern Interrupts to Pique Interest

Fishing hooks come in all shapes and sizes, from salmon egg bait hooks to swimming nymph fly lures. Some are designed to mimic insects, while others hold big pieces of bait. Despite noticeable variations, they serve the same core purpose: to hook a fish. Writing hooks are much the same, coming in all shapes and sizes, but each serving a primary purpose: subvert a reader’s expectation to snag their attention. The “art” of writing a good hook is often made out to be more complicated than shark fishing. But the best hooks simply look and feel different from what the reader expects. If you still think that surprising the reader sounds tricky, consider this: Most articles begin with predictable, boring opening lines:

  • “The average employee spends too many hours a week doing something tedious, costing companies billions annually. Imagine if your staff could get that time back ...”
  • “A Harvard University study found that eight out of 10 professionals ...”
  • “Webster’s Dictionary defines 'intro' as the beginning, sometimes used to capture attention. In this article ...”
  • “Did you know that most marketers ...”

Hooks do the opposite: They are unexpected. They break with convention and force the reader to pay attention. One example we use during our onboarding process for new writers comes from the article High-Concept Content: the Hollywood Framework for Crafting Popular Content :

screely-1622109701033.png

The article about content marketing opens with two short paragraphs comparing B-movie extraordinaire Snakes on a Plane with the Oscar-winning The Revenant. It’s hard for the reader to gloss over this introduction because it’s so unexpected (and well-written, not belabored). Whether they like it or not, their attention has been hooked.

How to Write a Hook

There are dozens of ways to pique reader interest, all equally valid, but a few formats are particularly effective:

  • Metaphor. Figures of speech serve dual purposes: They make unfamiliar topics easier to understand, and they allow the writer to pull stories and ideas from interesting places. Take this ProfitWell article using the Greek legend of Icarus to draw parallels with customer churn.
  • Non sequitur. Our own head of R&D, Andrew Tate, introduces the reader to the GPT-3 AI model through berserk llama syndrome, Seinfeld, and Shakespeare . Random concepts? Hardly. The reader quickly learns that each is a part of GPT-3’s dataset.
  • Hypothetical. Make the reader an active participant in your writing by using a relatable hypothetical situation, like this example from WorkOS . Turns out, driving through San Francisco in 2016 is tangentially related to developer-led business models (and surprising to someone who needs to read about them).
  • Quote. Introduce third-party expertise and context by pulling a quote from literature, fiction, or history. UiPath plays with Archimedes’ wisdom to frame the idea of “leverage” in enterprise businesses.
  • Anecdote. Create a human connection by sharing a personal experience (or someone else’s personal experience), like Wildbit sharing their first-person perspective on hiring . It also contextualizes the idea of “people-first” recruitment practices.
  • Data. Let numbers speak louder than words. See how Appcues uses Slack’s revenue figures to hint at the outsized impact product adoption has on a company’s bottom line.

Just like fish populations can gradually acclimatize to lures , readers become accustomed to the same hooks. When every writer defaults to inspirational quotes and generic statistics, for instance, they become the next pattern that needs interrupting.

Sinker: Provide Substance with a Clear Thesis

Most fishing lines are light enough that they’ll float on the surface of the water. In order to catch fish, the line needs a small weight attached to it so that it sinks deep enough for the fish. The same principle applies to content. A catchy hook is often enough to pique a reader’s interest, but when introductions don’t offer substance — without meat! — readers won’t stick around. (There’s a name for this type of content: clickbait.) Introductions need to pique the reader’s interest and deliver on the expectation created by that hook. Most would-be readers click-through to an article from an email, social post, or a search results page. Those first few sentences set a particular expectation — that they’ll learn something concrete or experience a compelling story. The introduction must prove to the reader that their expectations will be met. Do this with a thesis — a clear, concise summary of the argument you’re making. As we explained in our article about outlining , “The idea expressed in your thesis is your destination — by the end of the draft, you will have convinced your readers of something. What is that something?” Our Snakes on a Plane article has an interesting hook, but it also delivers on the expectation set by the title: The reader will learn how to craft popular content. It starts to deliver on that expectation by sharing a clear thesis statement, right there in the introduction:

"Some content is high-concept: The reader can immediately anticipate what the article is about and what the value is. Some content is low-concept: The value of the article isn’t immediately apparent, and it relies on great execution to make it satisfying."

screely-1622109734334.png

As well as sharing a clear thesis, great introductions provide depth by:

  • Demonstrating relevance to the reader. Every article is written with a target audience in mind, and great introductions reassure the reader that yes, this is written for you — like this I Done This article , clearly written for the leaders of development teams, or this brightwheel piece , obviously intended for managers of childcare centers.
  • Highlighting concrete benefits from reading. Be explicit about the tangible benefits your article offers for prospective readers, like this Animalz article that introduces the possibility of helping your articles “generate hundreds of backlinks and rack up hundreds of thousands of views.”

Hooks perform the flashy job of getting attention, but the burden of holding attention falls to the thesis portion of your introduction. The thesis is your sinker.

Line: Connect Your Introduction to the Rest of the Article

Modern fishing lines are exceptionally tough, able to endure strains into the thousands of pounds, all while resisting abrasion from teeth and corrosion from the elements. They keep every component of the fishing experience connected to every other, from the rod and hook to the angler and the fish. In a similar vein, great introductions establish a connective thread that runs throughout the entire article. Many good writers think of hooks as standalone tools. They expend a huge amount of mental energy to share interesting, unexpected ideas in their first few paragraphs ... and then forget all about the metaphors, anecdotes, and data points they’ve introduced. The introduction is catchy, but it has little bearing on the rest of the article. It may even feel disjointed or superficial. Great introductions carry the unexpected throughout the rest of the article. It’s revisited in order to add greater clarity to each of your points. It builds a single unifying framework that structures the entire piece. To make the point, here’s our example article from before:

screely-1622123958047.png

The hook from the introduction is revisited later in the article and used to introduce and contextualize a key point. This process is repeated throughout the article:

screely-1622109800464.png

The result is a continuous narrative, spanning from introduction to conclusion. The metaphor hooks the reader, but it also improves comprehension of the entire article. Here’s another example from estate planning platform Vanilla . On its own, a hook about ghost stories risks feeling cheap and sensationalist, bearing little connection to the meat of the article — real estate planning. But by revisiting the hook throughout the article, working it into headers and body copy, the metaphor creates a helpful and satisfying narrative thread. This thread separates good introductions from great ones. It isn’t always easy (like writing an article about introductions using dozens of fishing metaphors), but the result is more memorable, more cohesive, and more useful to the reader when done well.

Land the Big One

Many writers spend more time wrestling with introductions than shark anglers wrestling great whites, and for good reason: They’re hard. Introductions must pique a reader’s interest, introducing the article’s thesis, and compel the reader to keep reading. They must carry a huge amount of tension, balancing intrigue with relevance, novelty with familiarity. So, here’s a process to try: Sit in your “fighting chair” and clearly define your thesis. That’s your generic but functional intro. Now, look for a metaphor that helps you explain it, something that loosely connects back to each of your key points. Finally, use an anecdote, data point, or story to illustrate your metaphor. Combine and hit publish. Note: Gail Marie is an almost-vegan and does not condone sport fishing. Still, the metaphor stands. Or swims.

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Tech, Media & Entertainment

Writing Great Intros: The Hook, Line, and Sinker Approach

hook line and sinker essay

Comedy and writing great intros have something in common: surprise the reader.

Some call it the hook, line, and sinker approach. Like in fishing, that’s also what you need to write great introductions to your posts or articles.

Of course, this is what your primary school teacher taught you. But let’s go a bit further.

Table of Contents

What do you call a fisherman who throws an empty hook? A bad fisherman.

It’s the same with copywriting.

Your goal is to surprise the reader with a pattern interrupt. Start with something that the reader would never expect, like talking about a wild boar chase in a finance article.

A few formats you can use are:

These make unfamiliar topics easier to understand, and they allow the writer to pull stories and ideas from interesting places.

Hypothetical

Bring the reader in your article with a hypothetical situation.

Start with the quote of an expert, even if it’s not related to your topic.

Non sequitur

Introduce a fact that has nothing to do with the topic, and then link it to your argument.

Create a connection with the reader by sharing a personal experience.

Let numbers speak.

Trust and authority

It’s not enough for your hook to grab attention or be slightly controversial… The main driver of any real engagement with your copy is  trust and authority.

Casey Hill tested this theory by using two different hooks and sharing results on LinkedIn:

  • Empty hook:  “Recently I sat down with Nick Mehta, CEO of Gainsight, to discuss how to scale your organization.”
  • Trustworthy hook:  “Nick Mehta runs Gainsight, a company that Vista acquired for $1,100,000,000. He knows a thing or two about scaling organizations.”

Guess what? The second hook had 10x more views than the first one.

Let’s dig into Casey’s takeaways…

Use specific claims

When you can show real numbers and results, it feels far more persuasive than only showing the end result. For example:

“In June 2022, [insert brand] implemented [insert solution] to replace [insert alternative]. After a bit of a ramp period, they saw demo conversions climb first 6% in July and then 11% in August.”

Use customer proof

Casey points out that when many brands use customer claims, they usually just include a quote. That’s an empty hook, because we don’t know if real people made them.

Replace quotes with videos of clients or customers describing specific before-and-afters of your product. You’ll see an immediate difference.

Affinity matters

If you want someone to buy your product, make them feel you’re on the same page.

Casey says he bought a SaaS start-up book just because the title was closely related to the growth stage his company was in.

Borrow authority

Sometimes you can use a little help from already authoritative people.

This can take many forms… Quoting an industry leader, referencing an excerpt of a high-profile podcast, citing a trusted website, and so on.

That’s how you put real, tasty bait on your hook.  Just make sure you can back your trustworthy claim when the time comes… and you’ll catch the big ones.

Your hooks shouldn’t be disjointed from the rest of the article. If you spend a good amount of mental energy to come up with an innovative hook, you should make the most of it. Come back to that unexpected fact or metaphor throughout the rest of the article. This helps you build a consistent narrative along with all the text.

A common tactic in journalism involves using the hook at the beginning and tying it back in at the end.

After you hook the reader, your job is to provide some substance to deliver the expectations created by the hook. You can do this by:

  • Making a clear, concise summary of the argument you’re making.
  • Demonstrating relevance to the reader.
  • Highlighting concrete benefits from reading your post.

Writing Great Intros: Other Tips

The first tweet of a whole Twitter thread, or the first paragraph of a blog post makes the difference between a flop and a boom.

If you take a look at the intro of ten Twitter threads that went viral, you can unpack why they worked.

These are our favorites:

“I’ve interviewed and managed over 2,000 people.

Here are my 55 contrarian observations about humans.

A thread…”

Why does this work?

  • It provides proof that the author is qualified to talk.
  • “Contrarian observations” hooks curiosity.
  • It shares a list.
  • It uses numbers.

Let’s look at another:

“I was burned out in finance working on someone else’s schedule, and tired of having my time tied to $.

So I started investing in cash-flowing biz’s. Not sexy startups, but boring businesses.

One of my fav small deals netted $67k a year, $100k at close… w/ quarters

A thread:”

Why does it work?

  • Rags to riches story.
  • “Investing in boring businesses” makes it more believable contrary to the hyped investing world.
  • The numbers prove the author can talk about this topic. And paradoxically, since it’s “just” $67k, and not millions, it makes it more attractive because it’s more believable.

“Good copywriting is a superpower.

Amazon, the second most valuable brand in the world, puts an emphasis on teaching its employees how to write.

They know good copy equates to more customers. These are the 8 tips to write like an Amazonian.”

Why did it work?

  • It borrows authority from Amazon.
  • Build some hype with the superpower analogy.
  • It introduces a list.

Hook, Line, and Sinker Approach outside the intro

Be it a blog post , a tweet , a podcast , or a YouTube video .

Successful doesn’t necessarily mean viral. A successful piece is one that exceeds other pieces of similar quality and format.

The model is made up of the same three elements: hook, line, and sinker.

Let’s give it a proper look.

Hook: The goal is to grab attention

There’s no information delivered, just the promise of what’s to come.

The elements of the hook are the headline , subheadline, article image, or the first seconds of a video. Here are some examples:

  • Serious Eat: Our Favorite Recipes of 2024 – This is promise-based and it entices curiosity if you’re the target audience.
  • BBC: “Alexa tells a 10-year-old girl to touch a plug outlet with a penny.” – This tells a story and makes you wonder how it ends. It’s an open loop.

Line: This is the meat of the content

The goal is to satisfy the curiosity created by the hook.

Otherwise, the hook will be just another clickbait headline .

The other objective is to trigger an emotional response .

Usually, surprise, fear, hatred, and anger stimulate more engagement and shares.

But there are many examples of high-performing pieces that leverage joy, gratitude , empowerment, shame, and pride.

Sinker: The lasting memory that sticks with you after you consume the content

It’s like the lightsaber sound from Star Wars. Or “I’m going to make him an offer he can’t refuse.” from The Godfather.

And there’s no unique sinker.

It can be a line, a sound, or a photo. It all depends on the person that consumed the content.

There isn’t a clear path to come up with a sinker. But you should try to introduce as many sinkers as you can in a piece.

In other words, you should try to make your piece memorable.

Bottom line

These were the most interesting examples, but the main lessons you can learn from the whole list are:

  • Agitate a widely spread problem.
  • Use numbers and lists.
  • Add contrast (boring investments ).
  • Share proof you’re qualified to talk about the topic. Or borrow it if you can’t.

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Creative Spotlight: Hook, Line, and Sinker: How to Effectively Introduce Your Content

December 14, 2016 (Updated: May 4, 2023)

hook line and sinker essay

“It was a pleasure to burn.” – “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury

“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.” – “1984” by George Orwell

“It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.” – “A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens

These opening lines hooked readers into some of the most influential pieces of literature. Part of these books’ popularity can be attributed to the fact that they each grabbed the readers’ attention from the start. Each of them gives us the feeling that the following hundreds of pages are worth reading.

Writing an attention-catching opening line is not restricted to novel writing, the principle also carries over into content creation. By giving some extra attention to the opening lines and the following introduction of our content, we can make our content stand out, grab our readers’ interest, and show why our content is worth the audience’s time.

Introductions: What’s the Big Deal?

Why should we spend time on introductions? Can’t we just give the reader a nice appetizer of an opening line and cut to the meat, the main course, of our content? We could, and some circumstances may certainly call for us to do so, but most of the time, we can introduce content to our advantage, rather than just letting them take up some of our word count.

Introductions are the first opportunity we have to stand out. Think of when you’re looking for information on the web. Do you read every word of every page that seems related to whatever you’re searching for? If you do, kudos, but most internet travelers don’t have time to linger on every page . They read the first few lines of the page, then move on if it doesn’t catch their interest or seem like it will meet their needs. These two ideas — catching interest and proving that our content can meet the reader’s needs — are in an elaborate dance. They must be effectively balanced within an introduction to keep the reader reading and aware of what they’re in for.

In summary, the purposes of an introduction are to make yourself stand out (which can include introducing your voice), to introduce the topic, to give an idea of why that topic matters, and to connect to the reader. The rest of this post will explore the different parts of the introduction and how those principles can be practically applied to creating an effective introduction.

Hook

Image via Flickr by Zak Greant

Let’s go back to the opening lines of this article, which serendipitously are also the opening lines of some of the greatest novels ever written. What effect do they have? What do they accomplish? Each of them are vastly different, and yet each of them piques our interest. They raise questions. Why is it a pleasure to burn, and what is being burned? What’s significant about the clock striking thirteen? And since when did clocks go to thirteen? How can it be both the best of times and the worst of times? Isn’t that a paradox? No, these hooks don’t give us a summary of the whole novel, but they make us want to read further to answer our questions.

As mentioned previously, the hook is the first step in making content stand out (other than the title, perhaps), so it deserves proper attention. It makes the reader want to keep reading. Thus, in many cases, if we don’t have an effective hook, the rest of our content could end up becoming just a jumble of meaningless chicken scratch floating through the ether of the internet.

The type of hook we use to open our content can depend on style. A hook may immediately show why our content matters, it may pose questions, it may introduce our voice (which can be a hook in itself), and it may even connect with the reader using relatable scenarios. The type of hook you choose could also depend on the audience or the voice preferred by a client, as prescribed in the style guide . Whatever the type of hook may be, it should catch the attention of the reader and lead them to the meat of the content.

Line and Sinker

Once your audience is hooked, you’ve made a kind of two-way promise. Your audience has agreed to continue reading your content while you have agreed to maintain the consistency of whatever caught their eye in the first place, whether that was your voice or the information that you promised to the deliver. The rest of the introduction is where we begin to fulfill the expectations we set with the hook.

If it wasn’t accomplished in your hook, now is the time to show the reader why your content is significant and why it will benefit them to read it, the line and sinker if you will. This is where you have the opportunity to connect with the reader, to show them that reading your content will help them save money, be healthy, or answer burning questions. Does this sound a little bit like what your college writing teacher told you about essay introductions and thesis statements? Who knew college works?

Along with making some kind of connection with the reader (I don’t say “after you made some kind of connection with the reader,” because these pieces could really be in any order depending on the type of introduction), an introduction should give the reader a general (or specific) idea of what you’ll cover in your content, whether the content is written or mostly visual. This is where the reader really decides whether or not it will be worth their time to continue reading into the bulk of your content.

Content copy is like a house, and we’re the lucky real estate agents that get to guide the audience through the wonderful mansion that we’ve constructed. Before taking them through all the rooms and showing off all the features of the home, we should take the time in the impressive entryway to set the mood for the rest of the tour. That entryway is our introduction. How the reader feels after the intro will frame how they read the rest of the content. Once the reader is caught on the hook of an introduction, the rest of the content mansion can be enjoyed in all its glory.

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hook line and sinker essay

MICHAEL BEUBIS

  • Apr 15, 2020

Hook, Line, and Sinker.

Ahhhh, the dreaded hook. I know you've heard this before, but it's true. Every essay, from the analytical to the persuasive to the personal, can indeed benefit from a strong hook. A great hook will catch the reader's attention and inspire them to continue reading your essay. That said, I can't tell you how many times over the past twenty five years (yes, it's been that long) I've witnessed students struggling to come up with a decent hook. Indeed, most student essays just forego a hook altogether and stick with something dry and pretty much routine. So, how do you come up with an effective hook? Well, first things first: You need to have a solid understanding of the main idea or argument of your essay. What are you trying to say or communicate? This understanding is crucial because your hook should be connected to your main idea. For example, if your essay is about the futility of the American Dream, you can't start with an unrelated idea, no matter how catchy or interesting it happens to be. The hook has a direct relationship in some way to your main argument or idea. Ok, so you have a solid grasp of the theme of your essay, great. Now comes the fun part. Yes, conjuring up a killer hook can actually be fun! I use the word "conjure" because there is a bit of magical thinking that comes along with this part of the process. Start with your understanding of the theme and then let your creativity and imagination run wild a little bit. Take your time and be patient. Don't get frustrated if you can't come up with something right away. So, using my earlier example of the "American Dream" essay, you may ask yourself," what does the American Dream look like, sound like, feel like, taste like?" Define it, question it, make a statement about it. What would people do to get it, or keep it? You don't need to address the futility part yet, because you'll address that in your thesis statement, which should be the last sentence in the introduction. If you are writing a personal essay, start with a specific moment in your story that will connect back to your main idea later in the essay. BE SPECIFIC! Describe how the moment in detail. Describe the setting, the sights, the sounds, the smells, and the feelings. Then you can pull back out to where the story begins and go from there. Now, these are just a few ideas, but the choices are endless. If you're writing a persuasive essay, you can start with some startling data or facts related to your main idea that you know will surprise or interest the reader. I guess what I'm saying is that there are no rules, just possibilities. Lastly, go ahead and take a big swing. Even if you're little off, teachers and readers will appreciate your effort!

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Hook, Line, and Sinker Quotes

Hook, Line, and Sinker by Tessa Bailey

I just wanted to say thank you for the Fleetwood Mac record you left on my sister’s doorstep. You really didn’t have to do that. -- Hannah (Prologue) Importance : After attending the record expo in Seattle, Fox surprises Hannah with a Fleetwood Mac album that he leaves on her porch. This quote is important because it shows the start of the conversation that Hannah and Fox have for seven months through texts.

Hannah Bellinger had always been more of a supporting actress than a leading lady. The hype girl. If she’d lived in Regency England, she would be the second at every duel, but never wield the pistol. -- Narrator (Chapter 1) Importance : In the previous novel, Hannah was a supporting character while her sister, Piper, acted as the leading lady. This quote is important because it highlights Hannah's desire to become her own leading lady throughout the course of this novel.

They were men who... -- Narrator (Chapter 2)

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Meaning of hook, line, and sinker in English

Hook, line, and sinker.

  • Used when you are surprised or pleased that someone believed something that was intended to deceive them.

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Media Makers Meet | What's new in media

Hook, line, and sinker: A model for crafting successful, viral content

hook line and sinker essay

Despite studying content that overachieves for years, it’s only in the past few months that I’ve stumbled into a mental model I’ve called: Hook, Line, and Sinker. My goal here is to broadly encapsulate  *why*  overachieving content pieces hit their mark, and why similar, but underperforming pieces miss.

First:  when we talk about “content,” we’re talking about all kinds of content: short-form entertainment videos on TikTok, engaging B2B-focused posts on Twitter or LinkedIn, case studies, research reports, funny comics on Reddit, and everything in between.

Second:  Overachieving doesn’t mean “goes insanely viral,” “gets 10,000 retweets,” or “ranks #1 in Google for 100 high volume keywords” or any other singular metric for content success. It merely means that, when compared to pieces of similar quality and format, they dramatically exceed the average.

Third:  Content is art, not science. Content success relies on human behavior, not the laws of physics. Accordingly, this model is a subjective framework, not a precise formula.

What does the framework look like?

The Hook, Line, & Sinker Framework visualized

My hypothesis: content which follows this simple, intuitive pattern generally outperforms content that doesn’t.

As evidence, I’ll submit the Internet’s aggregators of high-engagement content:

  • YouTube Trending
  • Google News Top Stories
  • Techmeme  /  Mediagazer  /  Memeorandum
  • Reddit r/All
  • Hacker News
  • SparkToro Trending
  • Most Viewed on TikTok
  • Twitter’s Trending Links

Study the pieces that consistently perform well in places like these and you’ll find this model applies with shocking frequency. Moreover, when the model doesn’t apply (i.e. a piece’s headline creates no curiosity, fails to deliver on the expectation created, and lacks an emotion-generating, memorable close) the content doesn’t appear.

The Hook: Grab Attention, Make a Promise

In  The Hook , titles, headlines, featured images displayed as previews on social media, and the first few bits of consumable content in a piece are there not to deliver information, but to make a promise of what’s to come.

hook line and sinker essay

Above are three examples of The Hook in action.

  • Serious Eats’  Favorite Recipes of 2021  makes a compelling promise, especially for those who love the methodical, test-kitchen site’s approach to cooking. The photo of pasta further teases this promise, saying “don’t you want to know what this is? And how to make it?”
  • Vox’s  Welcome to Covid-19’s “junior year”  headline is less promise-filled, but uses a growing-in-popularity social media meme sure to grab attention, then deploys the subheader (especially “What are Americans to do?”) to make the promise of what’s to come.
  • BBC’s  Alexa tells 10-year-old girl to touch live plug with penny  seems like the kind of headline that tells the whole story, but in fact, it’s such a unique, surprising, and clearly-delivered bit of information that it demands a click to learn more. This headline was so engaging, it sat near the top of Google News for several hours until an even-more engaging headline on the same story took over:  Amazon Alexa slammed for giving lethal challenge to 10-year-old girl  (from Bleeping Computer)

None of these pieces are massively viral hits, but all of them significantly outperformed hundreds of similar competitors in their topic spaces. And if we analyze those big, viral hits, we can see the same pattern at work, especially the curiosity-triggering headline/image/first-few-seconds.

The Hook  can sometimes be mistaken for “clickbait,” and if the subsequent content doesn’t deliver on the promise made, or delivers in a subpar fashion, that’s a reasonable charge to level. But, while clickbait makes an unfulfilled-promise,  Hook, Line, Sinker  does the opposite.

The Line: Deliver on the Promise, Trigger Emotions

The Line  isn’t meant to be literal. It should almost always be more than a single line (unless we’re talking TikTok or Twitter). The Line’s purpose is to satisfy the curiosity created by your headline/preview. You’re producing the meat—a story, an explanation, a dataset, a visual series—that quenches the visitor’s thirst for knowledge, entertainment, distraction, or resolution.

The key is to do this in a way that triggers an emotional response. Certain emotions are more correlated with sharing than others, e.g. surprise, fear, hatred, and anger are well-known to incite an engagement response (one of the reasons social media algorithms that prioritize engagement result in so many negative side effects). But, plenty of high-performing pieces leverage other emotions: wonder, joy, satisfaction, gratitude, empowerment, comfort, shame, pride.

In recent years, especially on social media, the emotional resonance of “feeling seen,” has been an especially powerful trigger crafted by stories of shared identity, struggle, injustice, and success. Similarly, the power of controversy, even on entirely trivial subjects (e.g.  a human man on planet Earth believes running pizza under cold water is an acceptable way to cool it down ; this was 2021’s most upvoted unpopular opinion).

A superb example of delivering, nay overdelivering, on a headline’s promise came from  Grub Street’s in-depth journalism on the great bucatini shortage of 2020 .

hook line and sinker essay

Above, you can see all the elements of an excellent  Hook . A great headline and subheader, a perfectly-matched hero image, and a killer intro paragraph dripping with sarcasm, humor, characters, and a story to come.

Friends, that story is even more incredible that you might imagine. Read for yourself:

Bizarre. Incredible. Detailed. Ludicrously well-researched. An almost unbelievable quantity of rabbit-hole-revealing phone calls, emails, rumors, and conspiracies.

It’s not merely the quality of the writing, delightful though it is. The Line of Grubstreet’s piece is the strength of both substance and style reinforcing one another. The  comments on Reddit  (where the piece did quite well) kindly call out this impressive journalistic duality.

hook line and sinker essay

Obviously, the medium of longform, journalistic dive into pasta shortages will reward attributes unique from, say, a 30-second explainer video on LinkedIn or a webinar about desalination plants. But  The Line , the substantive bulk of the content, delivering on a promise, in an emotionally resonant way, remains critical to any content piece’s success.

The Sinker: Make the Message Last, Inspire Sharing

Many content pieces that have success—top Google rankings, lots of social shares, high visitor engagement, etc—can reach that success with just the first two of the elements described here:  The Hook , and  The Line . However… almost every content piece, video, audio, text, graphical, interactive, or multimedia on every platform that went truly “viral,” nailed this final element:  The Sinker .

The Sinker is that singular, powerful, lasting memory that makes a piece stick with you. It’s the “ I’ll have what she’s having ” (from  When Harry Met Sally ), the “ I can see Russia from my house ” (Tina Fey as Sarah Palin… or wait, maybe Palin actually said it?), the light saber sound from Star Wars (you can hear the  vwoosh  sound in your head right now), the first bite of al dente pasta after a childhood of soggy noodles.

Here’s the real secret: there is no one  Sinker .

The Sinker is different for different content consumers. The one memorable line, incredible takeaway, photo you’ll never forget, the way the piece made you feel… For someone else, that wasn’t The Sinker, it was ______________. All those conversations you’ve had about a book you read, a movie you watched, a podcast you listened to when you said “I can’t get over X,” and they replied, “really? For me it was Y,” should reinforce this secret truth.

The Sinker might exist in multiple places in different ways. It could be a photo in the midst of a text-heavy essay, or a one-liner delivered near the end of a short video. It could be a chart that cleanly summarizes paragraphs of data, or a gut-punching paragraph that explains why the boring-looking line chart is actually interesting.

Your job as creator isn’t to deliver only one of these potential hits, but to strike those chords again and again throughout your content, then remind the reader/viewer/listener at the end.

Here’s an example:  Millenials Aren’t Killing Industries. We’re Just Broke And Your Business Sucks . It’s an older piece (from 2017) that “strikes back” at the idea that people born between the arbitrary years of 1981-1996 are responsible for the downfall of certain goods and services.

The Sinker for some (as seen in social sharing and comments) was the statistics of how much less this group will make than their older counterparts at similar life stages. For others, it was the embedded chart showing clear lines of exactly how much less at which ages. Still others resonated with the punchy critiques that helped them feel seen, e.g. “ We aren’t malicious. We aren’t unpatriotic. We aren’t even that broke. What we are is smart enough to know the difference between a good business and a bad one. ”

The embedded  tweet from Brandon Sheffield  struck a chord, too:

hook line and sinker essay

At the conclusion of the piece, the writer reminds readers of the hits, then strikes a final, emotional, memorable blow by proudly owning the power of this industry-killing ability.

I must admit though, after being called lazy, whiny, participation trophy-loving snowflakes by past generations for so many years, it’s nice knowing that we’re now verifiable killing machines feared by titans of industry around the world. Conor Cawley for  Tech.CO

The Sinker needs to make the piece stay with the consumer, make it something they think about later, consider sharing, associate with other ideas, want to include in their email newsletter—you get the idea.

My favorite example? The New York Times’  How Y’all, Youse, and You Guys Talk . Published in 2013, even 5 years later, according to NYT sources, it was the page that had received the most traffic in the website’s history. Sure, it’s got a great Hook and Line, but the real key is The Sinker — everything about the content focus, design, and especially, the end, inspires memorability and sharing.  Take the quiz  and see if you can resist sending it to someone whose linguistic origins have you curious.

Do me a favor, next time you’re writing a piece, filming a video, recording a podcast, sending a newsletter… try the Hook, Line, Sinker model. If you don’t have one, and can’t come up with one, consider following in my colleague, Amanda’s footsteps (from  her newsletter, The Menu ):

Image

Even better than attempting to retrofit a struggling piece is applying that energy to a more-worthy, more-success-likely content candidate. It serves no one, least of all yourself, to create content devoid of purpose, destined to fail.

Rand Fishkin Founder, SparkToro

This article was originally  published on SparkToro  and is re-published with kind permission.

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Home » Hook, Line, and Sinker: A Look at Sport Fishing on Keuka Lake

Hook, Line, and Sinker: A Look at Sport Fishing on Keuka Lake

Craving a freshwater fishing adventure? Keuka Lake offers diverse species, stunning scenery, and trophy-sized catches.

Nestled amidst the scenic Finger Lakes region of New York, Keuka Lake offers a haven for anglers seeking a diverse and exciting freshwater fishing experience. This article explores the variety of sportfishing opportunities available on this beautiful lake.

Keuka Lake boasts a healthy population of several fish species, making it a favorite spot for both seasoned anglers and those new to the sport [1]. Among the most sought-after catches are largemouth and smallmouth bass, prized for their fight and impressive size. According to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), trophy-sized bass are a regular occurrence on Keuka Lake, with largemouths exceeding 8 pounds documented [1]!

For those seeking a different challenge, Keuka Lake also provides excellent opportunities for lake trout fishing. Reelaxin Fishing Charters highlights that early mornings are prime time for targeting these deep-water dwellers, offering guided trips to maximize your chances of landing a trophy trout [2]. Beyond bass and trout, anglers can cast their lines for a variety of other species, including landlocked salmon, yellow perch, and even the occasional northern pike.

Fishing on Keuka Lake isn’t just about the catch; it’s about the experience. Imagine casting your line amidst breathtaking scenery, the gentle lapping of waves against your boat, and the thrill of a tug on your line. Whether you’re a seasoned angler or a curious beginner, Keuka Lake offers a unique and rewarding sportfishing adventure.

  • New York State Department of Environmental Conservation:  https://www.dec.ny.gov/
  • Reelaxin Fishing Charters on Keuka Lake … Fish Keuka Lake Trout in the Finger Lakes of New York State: reelaxinfishing.com [2]

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Raritan Bay spring striper fishery sees fish up to 30 pounds

hook line and sinker essay

More chatter of striped bass coming out of the rivers and bays, as fish as heavy as 30 pounds were released by anglers in the last week.

Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet said most of the fishing effort in his area is in the Raritan River, around South Amboy and Cliffwood Beach. The charter fleet really isn't out yet but he counted seven boats in the river on his way to the Saltwater Fishing Expo last weekend.

In about another week or so, many charter captains will be returning to water when the spring bass bite in the Raritan Bay should start to hit its stride. It could be a rough patch of unpredictable weather before that though as the forecast is all over the place between the rain, wind and patchy skies.

More: Fishermen caught at Barnegat Light, fined for poaching striped bass

Grumpy's Tackle in Seaside Park said the fishing in Barnegat Bay and its tributaries remains a worm bite.  They have been trying to keep up with the bloodworm but have occasionally run out. They weighed in a pair of keeper striped bass for two fishermen that were right around the 29 inch, 10 pound mark. The shop said there's also been an uptick in winter flounder activity. One fishermen came back to the shop for flounder hooks after he was getting a ton of bites while bass fishing,

The ocean remains void of fishermen as there is not much to catch locally until the spring blackfish fishery opens up April 1 and the bass starting running the beach.

Out of Bogan's Basin in Brielle, the Paramount has been running a few days a week and catching some codfish and ling, enough for a dinner and leftovers. The 125-foot Jamaica party boat did run offshore to drift for tilefish last weekend. The results were not great because their baits were chased by spiny dogfish, which were a nuisance for most of the trip. When they finally slowed down, Capt. Howard Bogan Jr. said they caught a few tilefish. The big fish for the day was a 10 pounder by Luis Barboza of Hamilton.

Trout stocking

Staff from Fish & Wildlife have begun to make their rounds with big water tank trucks filled to the brim with rainbow trout for the pre-season trout stocking. They started Monday and will be at it until April 5, when they will have dumped a total of 184,360 rainbow trout into the state's freshwater trout lakes, rivers and streams. The season opens April 6.

More: New Jersey's fishermen, marine council support long fluke season

During the two-week pre-season stocking, trout fishing is prohibited. Fishermen are not even allowed to catch and release the fish. The exception is the trophy producing lakes, Lake Hopatcong, Mountain Lake, Prospertown Lake, Lake Shenandoah, Swartswood Lake and the section of Lawrence Brook from Davidsons Mill Road to Farrington Lake dam remain open for catch and release only during the pre-season stocking.

When Jersey Shore native Dan Radel is not reporting the news, you can find him in a college classroom where he is a history professor. Reach him @danielradelapp; 732-643-4072; [email protected] .

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Could First-Time Home Buyers Lose Out Under New Commission Rules?

Economists and real estate experts warn that changes in how agents are paid could have unintended consequences for people buying their first homes.

Kathryn Puerini, right, with Nathan Libby, wearing orange shirts, stand in front of a house. He is holding a small white dog. She is holding the leash of a large brown dog sitting in front of her on the pavement.

By Ronda Kaysen and Rukmini Callimachi

With a landmark legal settlement poised to upend a decades-old norm that has dictated who pays real estate agents and how much, economists, agents and lenders are beginning to worry that the burden could now be on first-time home buyers.

Buyers may soon have to pay out of pocket for something that had always been baked into the price. And buyers who are new to the market or have smaller down payments on hand — typically, moderate- and middle-income households: often Black and Latino home buyers who have long lagged behind their white peers in homeownership rates — are going to feel the most pain.

“First-time home buyers are usually the people who don’t have much cash and experience — and that experience matters,” said Daryl Fairweather, the chief economist of Redfin, the online brokerage that cut ties with the National Association of Realtors last year.

Buyers did not have a seat at the negotiating table when N.A.R., the powerful trade group, agreed on March 15 to pay $418 million in damages and to abandon its longstanding rules about how commissions are set, advertised and paid. The lawsuit was initially brought by home sellers in Missouri who accused N.A.R. of artificially inflating home prices by coupling commissions paid to sellers’ and buyers’ agents.

Under the settlement, once it is approved by a federal court, there will be a commission “decoupling.” That means buyers and sellers would each be responsible for paying their own agents rather than expect the seller of a home to pay a single commission, invariably 5 or 6 percent of the sales price, to the listing agent who then splits it with the buyer’s agent. The new rule changes will likely lower commission costs considerably, by as much as 30 to 50 percent, economists and analysts estimate. Still, another fee — albeit potentially a smaller one — will be added to the buyer’s side of the ledger.

Most buyers will also have to sign an agreement with an agent before even viewing a property. Sellers will no longer be allowed to include commissions in the listing. Sellers could still ultimately pay buyers’ commissions but are likely to drop them in competitive markets, the very ones where buyers are under the most financial strain.

For experienced buyers with plenty of cash on hand, commissions may not make a significant difference in the calculations; such buyers may also feel confident enough to have little or no representation.

But for buyers who barely cobbled together enough cash to cover down payments and closing costs, coming up with more money at the bargaining table might be one check too many. Such buyers may be pushed out of the market altogether or persuaded to forgo representation as they negotiate what is likely the largest purchase of a lifetime.

“That’s the real question and the real potential unintended consequence,” said Susan M. Wachter, a real estate professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, a former assistant secretary at the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The changes in commissions come at a time of profound housing inequities.

Americans who bought homes right before or in the early months of the pandemic reaped the benefits of the most dramatic run-up in home values in U.S. history, as home prices soared 45 percent from December 2019 to June 2022. Those who bought or refinanced a home during that time secured historically low mortgage rates, some below 3 percent.

Today’s buyers are living through a very different housing market, one where home prices keep climbing amid an anemic inventory and stubbornly high mortgage rates (they are hovering below 7 percent ).

“It’s the mind-set that you have to get into homeownership, and then — bam! — we just got hit with a major roadblock,” said Shanta Patton-Golar, a real estate broker in Las Vegas whose clients are predominantly young Black and Latino families and single parents, many working in the city’s casinos; her typical clients grew up in rentals with parents who never owned a home, she said. “Many of them are first-generation home buyers,” she said. “This is their chance to turn their history into generational wealth.”

Her clients rely on down payment assistance programs and on sellers willing to cover closing costs. “We’re pinching from this place to this place to this place so they can come up with the funds to get in a home,” said Ms. Patton-Golar, who has been a real estate agent for 20 years.

With no money left to cover another line item, the one that will go, she fears, will be her paycheck. Ms. Patton-Golar said she was already losing sleep, worrying about how her clients will fare alone at the negotiating table.

“How will they know if this is a Fair Housing situation?” she said. “How will they even know if they need to have an inspection? How do they negotiate if the appraisal comes in lower?”

Already, some buyers and plenty of real estate agents are nervous. Lab Coat Agents , a Facebook group for real estate agents with over 165,000 members, has turned into an ad hoc group therapy session since news of the settlement broke. “I believe most buyers won’t pay plus some can’t pay,” one member posted.

And a few days after the settlement agreement was announced, Kathryn Puerini, 42, walked into a real estate agent’s office in Rhode Island. Halfway through the meeting, the agent slid a sheet of paper across the table: an agreement with a clause stating that if the seller’s agent failed to pay the buyer’s commission, the couple would be on the hook for 2.5 percent of their future home’s purchase price.

Tally the math, and that agreement would add $10,0000 to Ms. Puerini’s out-of-pocket costs if she were to buy a $400,000 home. “I didn’t even know how to respond,” she said.

Ms. Puerini walked out of the meeting without signing.

Of course, a buyer could ask a seller to cover the commission as a concession, but in a fierce bidding war, adding one more thorny contingency to a long list makes a thin offer look weaker.

Banks will not be terribly helpful, either, unless lending rules change. As Dave Medina, a loan officer for Citywide Home Loans in California, put it, “We’re not going to loan somebody something that is more than what the home is worth.”

Existing lending rules create a problem that didn’t exist before. Buyers have always indirectly paid the entire commission — but the cost was included in the sales price and was also wrapped into the loan.

And some lending restrictions will further complicate matters. For example, recipients of Veterans Affairs loans are prohibited from paying any real estate commissions or fees, under any circumstances. The rule “is as crystal clear as it gets,” Mr. Medina said, adding, “Adjusting V.A. guidelines is not an easy thing to do.”

Even buyers with conventional loans will face challenges because there are strict limits to the amount of money a seller can credit a buyer at the closing table, too.

The rules from the settlement take effect in mid-July, if approved by a judge as expected. Laurie Goodman, the founder of the Housing Finance Policy Center at the Urban Institute, anticipates that policymakers and the real estate industry will hammer out new guidelines ahead of that deadline. “They are ripping down the existing structure, but there is nothing in place,” she said. “There is going to be a period of adjustment, while the market figures out what to do.”

Ronda Kaysen is a real estate reporter for The Times, covering the housing market and home design trends. More about Ronda Kaysen

Rukmini Callimachi is a three-time Pulitzer Prize finalist. Before joining The Times in 2014, she spent seven years as a correspondent and bureau chief reporting from Africa for The Associated Press. More about Rukmini Callimachi

Hook, Line, and Sinker

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45 pages • 1 hour read

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Prologue-Chapter 5

Chapters 6-12

Chapters 13-18

Chapters 19-22

Chapter 23-Epilogue

Character Analysis

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Discussion Questions

Music symbolizes connection in both Bellinger Sisters books. Hannah Bellinger’s love of music is a defining trait and a means for her to establish rapport with other characters. In It Happened One Summer, Fox Thornton and Hannah first connect when he shows her the record shop in Westport, giving Piper and Brendan some time alone. Later, Fox goes with Hannah to a record expo in Seattle. The Fleetwood Mac album that Fox buys for her signals his interest and paves the way for their own romance in Hook, Line, and Sinker .

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By Tessa Bailey

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It Happened One Summer

Tessa Bailey

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  1. Hook, Line, And Sinker Meaning with Helpful Examples in English • 7ESL

    hook line and sinker essay

  2. Hook, Line, And Sinker Meaning with Helpful Examples in English • 7ESL

    hook line and sinker essay

  3. Examples of good hooks in writing. 9 Types of Hook and Hook Example to

    hook line and sinker essay

  4. Exceptional Hook In Essay ~ Thatsnotus

    hook line and sinker essay

  5. Review: Hook, Line, and Sinker (Tessa Bailey)

    hook line and sinker essay

  6. Help me write a hook; Hook, Line, Sinker

    hook line and sinker essay

COMMENTS

  1. The Hook, Line, and Sinker Approach to Writing

    Line. In a fishing context, your line connects the hook to your reel which connects to your rod and hand. So, it is the connection and mechanism by which you're going to catch that fish in the end. Now, let's put that into a writing context. Your line is the lifeline, i.e. the journey, you intend on which you take your reader.

  2. Writing Your Paper: Structure

    Funnel the reader into your specific topic by taking a hook, line and sinker approach to your introduction. When an essay starts right out the gate with information or quotations, it's almost like cold water in the face, rather than being eased into it. While it is important to be concise and to the point in your opening paragraph , there is ...

  3. How to Write a Research Paper Introduction: Hook, Line, and Sinker

    Thinking along these lines will set you in the right frame of mind for writing. Remember that your introduction acts as a roadmap, directing readers towards your key points and arguments and letting them know what to expect. Thinking in terms of providing a map will clarify your writing decisions. Think clearly and with confidence.

  4. Hook, Line, and Sinker: Kick off your essay

    Hook. A hook is like the first sip of a strong whiskey, which must grab you. It does this in various ways. 1) A startling fact or bit of information. This isn't just about cold-hard facts and soulless numbers. It's about what's happening out there and sets the stage for a deeper discussion of the topic.

  5. Hook, Line, Sinker: How to Write an Introduction

    The hook snares the fish, the sinker pulls the hook deep enough for the fish to find the bait, and (at the risk of stating the very obvious) the line keeps the fish connected to the fisherman. While Mr. Dean can teach us plenty about shark fishing, writers can use a similar technique to completely and totally engage their audience. You could ...

  6. PDF Hook, Line, & Sinker

    your hook aligns with your purpose! 1. Flashes. Glimpses. Sparse, quick prose. 2. Grand philosophical declaration. 3. A line (or short exchange) of compelling conversation. 4. An invitation explicitly extended to the reader. 5. An insightful or simple question that (probably, hopefully) has a complex answer. 6.

  7. Hook, Line, and Sinker

    In another word, the meaning of "hook, line, and sinker" is "completely." "Hook, line, and sinker" is in reference to fishing. A fish usually swallows just the hook with the bait, but if, for some reason, it swallows the hook, the fishing line, and the sinker, it has not only taken the bait but everything else as well.

  8. Writing Great Intros: The Hook, Line, and Sinker Approach

    Hook, Line, and Sinker Approach outside the intro. Be it a blog post, a tweet, a podcast, or a YouTube video. Successful doesn't necessarily mean viral. A successful piece is one that exceeds other pieces of similar quality and format. The model is made up of the same three elements: hook, line, and sinker.

  9. Creative Spotlight: Hook, Line, and Sinker: How to Effectively

    The type of hook you choose could also depend on the audience or the voice preferred by a client, as prescribed in the style guide. Whatever the type of hook may be, it should catch the attention of the reader and lead them to the meat of the content. Line and Sinker. Once your audience is hooked, you've made a kind of two-way promise.

  10. Hook, Line, and Sinker Essay Topics

    Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Study Guide of "Hook, Line, and Sinker" by Tessa Bailey. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

  11. Hook, Line, and Sinker

    Marketing research points out the importance of the title (be it an essay, article, or book), the image accompanying the writing (in books, the front, back cover, and spine), the author's name ...

  12. Hook, Line, and Sinker Character Analysis

    Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Study Guide of "Hook, Line, and Sinker" by Tessa Bailey. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

  13. Hook, Line, and Sinker Summary and Study Guide

    Hook, Line, and Sinker (2022) is a contemporary romantic comedy by bestselling American author Tessa Bailey. It is the second book of the Bellinger Sisters series and follows the first book, It Happened One Summer. Hook, Line, and Sinker follows the developing romance of the younger Bellinger sister, Hannah, when she returns to Westport ...

  14. Hook, Line and Sinker: Techniques for Capturing Your Reader's ...

    As a student writer, you might worry that your essays, while technically successful, come across to readers as dry and boring. So how can you get your audien...

  15. Hook, Line and Sinker. How to find the perfect hook for your essay

    Ahhhh, the dreaded hook. I know you've heard this before, but it's true. Every essay, from the analytical to the persuasive to the personal, can indeed benefit from a strong hook. A great hook will catch the reader's attention and inspire them to continue reading your essay. That said, I can't tell you how many times over the past twenty five years (yes, it's been that long) I've witnessed ...

  16. Hook, Line, and Sinker Quotes

    The hype girl. If she'd lived in Regency England, she would be the second at every duel, but never wield the pistol. -- Narrator (Chapter 1) Importance: In the previous novel, Hannah was a supporting character while her sister, Piper, acted as the leading lady. This quote is important because it highlights Hannah's desire to become her own ...

  17. Hook, Line, And Sinker Meaning with Helpful Examples in English

    A hook, line and sinker are all tools tied to the end of a fishing line used to lure and catch a fish. A fish, being greedy, will see the bait on a hook and gobble up the hook without thinking twice of the danger of being caught. The phrase was first used in 1865 in the sense of fishing and later used metaphorically to apply to other situations ...

  18. HOOK, LINE, AND SINKER

    HOOK, LINE, AND SINKER definition: completely: . Learn more.

  19. Hook, Line, and Sinker: A Model for Crafting Successful ...

    The Sinker might exist in multiple places in different ways. It could be a photo in the midst of a text-heavy essay, or a one-liner delivered near the end of a short video. It could be a chart that cleanly summarizes paragraphs of data, or a gut-punching paragraph that explains why the boring-looking line chart is actually interesting.

  20. Hook, Line, and Sinker Background

    Series Context: The Bellinger Sisters. Hook, Line, and Sinker is the second in a duology, two novels featuring the Bellinger sisters, Hannah and Piper. The sisters were born in the small fishing town of Westport, Washington. Their father, Henry Cross, was swept overboard while he and his men were out fishing for king crab and died.

  21. Hook, line, and sinker: A model for crafting successful, viral content

    The Hook can sometimes be mistaken for "clickbait," and if the subsequent content doesn't deliver on the promise made, or delivers in a subpar fashion, that's a reasonable charge to level. But, while clickbait makes an unfulfilled-promise, Hook, Line, Sinker does the opposite. The Line: Deliver on the Promise, Trigger Emotions

  22. Hook, Line, and Sinker: A Look at Sport Fishing on Keuka Lake

    Nestled amidst the scenic Finger Lakes region of New York, Keuka Lake offers a haven for anglers seeking a diverse and exciting freshwater fishing experience. This article explores the variety of sportfishing opportunities available on this beautiful lake. Keuka Lake boasts a healthy population of several fish species, making it a favorite spot ...

  23. NJ fishing: 30-pound striped bass hitting in Raritan spring fishery

    HOOK LINE & SINKER. Raritan Bay spring striper fishery sees fish up to 30 pounds. Dan Radel. Asbury Park Press. More chatter of striped bass coming out of the rivers and bays, as fish as heavy as ...

  24. Hook, line and sinker! The Trout Club of the Cleveland Museum of

    25 likes, 1 comments - gocmnh on March 21, 2024: "Hook, line and sinker! The Trout Club of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History is proud to host the 18th annual Fly Fishing Film Tour (..." Hook, line and sinker!

  25. Hook, Line, and Sinker Important Quotes

    Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Study Guide of "Hook, Line, and Sinker" by Tessa Bailey. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

  26. How New Rules for Real Estate Commissions Could Affect First-Time

    Angel Tucker for The New York Times. By Ronda Kaysen and Rukmini Callimachi. March 25, 2024, 5:02 a.m. ET. With a landmark legal settlement poised to upend a decades-old norm that has dictated who ...

  27. Hook, Line, and Sinker Symbols & Motifs

    The Fleetwood Mac album that Fox buys for her signals his interest and paves the way for their own romance in Hook, Line, and Sinker. In their initial text messages, Fox engages with Hannah by asking her for music recommendations and listening to songs together. He buys a record player and then records after Hannah says her ideal guy would have ...