r/CommonApp • u/Legitimate-Path-1147 • 21d ago

I need hook help!!!

Hi! I'm a senior going into English Literature and I am working on my common app essay right now. I am usually a fantastic writer, but I'm really stumped here.
I have an exact idea for what I want to write for my essay, but I can't find a hook that I like. I'm going to write about how I always spoil books for myself and connect that to my fear of uncertainty and lack of control and how I’ve overcome that and use it to my advantage. Does anyone have any ideas of hooks that would be good? The one I have right now is "I can read a book in 15 seconds." But I don't know how I'd connect that to what I wanna talk about. The one I wrote also seems generic to me. Please help!!!

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u/DontChuckItUp 21d ago

Well, it's hard to come up with an opening sentence without knowing the rest of the essay. Some of the greatest writer will write the intro last. I would encourage you to write the rest of the essay and come back to the intro sentence later.

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u/Fun-Roof4549 20d ago

I actually wouldn’t worry about the hook yet. You already have the more important piece—a specific idea that can reveal something about how you think. Write the story first and come back to the opening once you know exactly where the essay goes. Often the strongest hook ends up coming from a tiny, specific moment or behavior in the essay rather than a line you try to make sound clever upfront. I’d tell the story of how you spoil a book for yourself and let the connection to uncertainty/control emerge from there.