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In This Post:

How to write a lead: 9 ways to nail your opening.

The lead, also spelled lede, is the all-important opening of your article. Here’s what to know.

The lead can refer to an opening section, paragraph, or sentence of a written piece.

I enrolled in night school at UCLA because I wanted to develop my skills with something other than an online course. I’m a little burnt out on online courses and the funnels that sell them. I’ve been buying courses for eight years and not finishing them for nine. And I felt ready to learn from more seasoned experts — professors and editors who had decades of experience under their belts.

The UCLA night school building sits on the edge of campus in Westwood, about half a mile from the intersection of Sepulveda and Santa Monica boulevards. When I showed up to class, I sat alongside a dozen other adults ranging in age from 19 to 65 as our teacher handed out the first writing exercise.

“This is the most important skill you will learn in journalism school,” he said.

The assignment was to write a lead. Sometimes misspelled “lede” for journalism shorthand, a lead is a single sentence, paragraph, or section that summarizes the who, what, where, when, why, and how of your story.

Think of leads as being like movie trailers. You get a sense of what the movie is about, yet the teaser leaves you wanting more. There are also many variations on the lead — there is something for everyone.

Headlines are vital for successful content marketing , but to keep readers or viewers intrigued, you need a great lead, too. Here’s how this classic journalism technique can help you reach your goals.

Table of Contents

What is a lead (lede), types of leads for writing online, how to write a lead: best practices to consider, when should you write the lead for your news story, practice writing great leads today.

Before delving into the intricacies of a lead, it’s crucial to understand its purpose.

The lead is the opening paragraph or sentence of an article, designed to capture readers’ attention and entice them to continue reading. A well-crafted lead sets the tone for the rest of your writing and serves as a guide for the reader, highlighting the main points and generating curiosity.

In news, a lede serves readers by communicating what they need to know about current events. Marketers can benefit from this skill, too.

A lede will help you do the following:

• Reduce bounce rate. Readers will be less likely to dip out after just a few seconds, and may explore other pages on your website.
• Increase time on page. The longer readers stay on a page, the better it is for SEO. Time on page is a common quality metric in corporate media.
• Feed your sales funnel. Ledes aren’t just for articles; their logic applies to video scripts and sales pages, too. If readers hang around, you’re doing something right.

(For clarity, this definition of lead is different than a marketing lead — someone who has entered your sales funnel — and is distinct from the word lead as other parts of speech, such as “lead me to the nearest food truck, please.” 🌮)

Although there’s no one correct way to write a lead, some approaches are better than others based on the type of article. Journalists learn a core set of leads in year one to attract and engage readers. Here are nine different lead styles to know about.

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• Summary lead / straight news lead.
• Single-item lead.
• Anecdotal lead / analogous lead.
• Delayed identification lead.
• Scene-setting lead.
• Short sentence lead / zinger lead.
• First-person lead.
• Observational lead.
• Question lead.

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In this TikTok, I use a lead sentence to get the point across quickly.

No. 1: Summary Lead / Straight News Lead

Of all the types of leads summary lead is the most common. It’s very popular when writing about hard news or breaking news, and if you’re new to writing, you can’t go wrong with a summary lead. This approach is also called a news lead or a direct lead.

Hannah Block, international news editor for National Public Radio (NPR), describes it well: “Just the facts, please, and even better if interesting details and context are packed in.”

The summary lead formula is simple: aspire to communicate most of the who, what, where, when, why, and how of your story (referred to hereafter as “the W’s”) in a single sentence.

This approach is preferred in news writing, which aspires to remain neutral and unbiased in its delivery of information, and creates immediate clarity. Prioritize active voice, journalistic writing, and proper AP style in a summary lead.

Here is an example from the Associated Press (AP).

“Intensifying its fight against high inflation, the Federal Reserve raised its key interest rate by a substantial three-quarters of a point for a third straight time and signaled more large rate hikes to come — an aggressive pace that will heighten the risk of an eventual recession.” ( 1 )

AP’s business section has a “business highlights” subsection in which each article is a collection of leads and summary paragraphs. Read through it to get a feel for how to create clarity and context in a single paragraph that includes the most important information. AP News is free to read.

Here’s another example from Reuters:

“The Philadelphia Phillies ended their long wait for a World Series title with a short burst of baseball last night as they clinched the crown by completing a rain-suspended 4-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.” ( 2 )

No. 2: Single-Item Lead

The single-item lead is similar to the summary lead, but this approach focuses just one or two of the W’s, rather than trying to stuff most or all of them into a single sentence.

This approach is good if your news story or article is very much driven by one particular detail or feeling, and since it’s shorter, it usually results in a bigger punch. Aim to land your idea in as few words as possible, preferably all in one sentence.

Let's rewrite the previous Reuters lead to demonstrate how it could be expressed as a single-item lead instead.

“The Philadelphia Phillies are World Champions again.”

No. 3: Anecdotal Lead / Analogy Lead

If the information you’re introducing to your audience is complex or overly conceptual, a more effective approach might be to use an analogy or anecdote instead.

The anecdotal lead is unique in that it does not communicate the W’s of the story, but rather leans on details or analogies to help the reader infer what the story is going to be about. The result is a more emotionally charged or stylistic lead that goes beyond hard facts and can pull readers in.

Pro Tip : An anecdote is any short story that illustrates a point.

These leads can use an overt analogy or be more descriptive. Here are examples of each.

The Cincinnati Post

“From Dan Ralescu’s sun-warmed beach chair in Thailand, the Indian Ocean began to look, oddly, not so much like waves but bread dough.”

ProPublica/The New York Times

“"I tucked Joel in, but I feel so guilty I didn’t hold him longer,” Julie Rea said, her voice welling with emotion. That is all she can muster about the worst night of her life. As she tries to say more, she breaks down." ( 3 )

Resist the urge to use an anecdotal lead that is too cheesy or cliché. The objective of this lead is to use an anecdote to create depth and intrigue.

No. 4: Delayed Identification Lead

This lead focuses on an action or situation without revealing who is involved at first. It is good to use when someone wants to emphasize a scenario or situation effectively before revealing the W’s. When done well, it pulls people in.

In the first debate for the United States Democratic Primary in 2020, Kamala Harris used a delayed-identification lead in one of her talking points on busing legislation to great effect.

“There was a little girl in California who was part of the second class to integrate their public schools, and she was bused to school every day. That little girl was me.”

No. 5: Scene-Setting Lead

The scene-setting lead creates depth and detail. It is more lush and narrative, and is great for creating vividness or setting the stage for longer pieces.

Usually, the primary intention of the lead is to establish clarity quickly, but in literary journalism and other more longform approaches, taking the time to set the stage at the beginning often results in a more effective piece.

Here is an example of a scene-setting lead from BuzzFeed.

“For seven years before the murder, Dee Dee and Gypsy Rose Blancharde lived in a small pink bungalow on West Volunteer Way in Springfield, Missouri. Their neighbors liked them. “'Sweet' is the word I’d use,” a former friend of Dee Dee’s told me not too long ago. Once you met them, people said, they were impossible to forget.” ( 4 )

Here is another example, a sentence from the book Beloved by Toni Morrison.

“Winter in Ohio was especially rough if you had an appetite for color. Sky provided the only drama, and counting on a Cincinnati horizon for life’s principal joy was reckless indeed.”

No. 6: Short Sentence Lead / Zinger Lead

This type of lead is when you pack a punch with the first sentence of your article to capture a reader’s attention. It can be sassy, shocking, unexpected, compelling, or all of the above.

Usually, when using a zinger lead, the following paragraphs fill in missing details and function like a regular lead.

Here is a sassy example from the Philadelphia Enquirer.

“Philadelphians don’t need anyone’s approval, especially not New Yorkers. But that doesn’t mean we don’t care when we get recognition.” ( 5 )

Here is another example from the Miami Herald. This was a story about a man who attempted to smuggle cocaine by swallowing balloons of it.

“His last meal was worth $30,000 and it killed him.” ( 6 )

No. 7: First-Person Lead

A first-person lead is the battle ax of many a mom blogger or aspiring opinion columnist. First-person leads are fine for blogging, and they’ve become increasingly popular in our social media-first culture.

However, they also break the fourth wall; if you’re writing a journalistic article or reporting, introducing yourself as a character in your story may be a risk.

Remember, the main goal of a lead is to get a point across quickly. If your personal experience doesn’t contribute to that goal, readers won’t understand what they’re reading, and they’ll check out.

Here is an example from a story by National Public Radio (NPR).

“For many of us, Sept. 11, 2001, is one of those touchstone dates — we remember exactly where we were when we heard that the planes hit the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. I was in Afghanistan.” ( 7 )

No. 8: Observational Lead

In an observational lead, you project authority by talking about an issue at hand and relating the information back to the big picture.

Observational leads usually aren’t used for breaking news, and they focus more on giving overall context to a situation, rather than just basic facts. They’re a great opportunity to share your perspective, industry savvy, or writing style.

Here are the opening two sentences of a feature from The New York Times that leveraged the observational lead.

“In 2018, senior executives at one of the country’s largest nonprofit hospital chains, Providence, were frustrated. They were spending hundreds of millions of dollars providing free health care to patients. It was eating into their bottom line.” ( 8 )

No. 9: Question Lead

A question lead uses question format to create curiosity and intrigue. Since a question lead is not providing details, the second paragraph of your piece will need to pull extra weight and deliver missing details.

Ensure you have this one-two punch in place so that the rhythm of your article reads properly.

Here's a terrific question lead from an article in The Las Vegas Sun.

“What’s increasing faster than the price of gasoline? Apparently, the cost of court lobbyists.

District and Justice Court Judges want to hire lobbyist Rick Loop for $150,000 to represent the court system in Carson City through the 2009 legislative session. During the past session, Loop’s price tag was $80,000.” ( 9 )

Question leads are also popular in SEO writing , especially questions addressed directly to the reader. Most search engine traffic is people with intent who are trying to have their questions answered; this approach is an easier way to hook readers, but it is sometimes considered low-brow.

Let's look at a question lead from Social Media Examiner that followed this format.

“Are you using TikTok or Instagram for business? Looking for a content strategy that works and won’t leave you exhausted?

In this article, you’ll discover a three-step strategy to create highly engaging TikTok and Instagram content that will scale your audience while helping you avoid burnout.” ( 10 )

Come Up With a Good Hook

To write an effective lead, begin with a strong hook that instantly grabs your readers' attention.

Consider using a thought-provoking question, a surprising fact, or an engaging anecdote that relates to the topic. The key is to make your readers curious and eager to find out more.

For example, if you're writing an article about the benefits of exercise, you could start your lead with a captivating question like, "Did you know that just 30 minutes of daily exercise can add years to your life?"

Related: How to Write Powerful Headlines

Know Your Audience

Understanding your target audience is essential to create a lead that resonates well. Consider your readers’ demographics, interests, and motivations.

For instance, if you are writing a lead for a tech-savvy audience, you may want to start with a powerful statistic or a cutting-edge technological breakthrough. On the other hand, if your audience consists of beginners, you could begin with a relatable storytelling approach to ease them into the topic.

Tailoring your lead to the specific interests of your readers will increase their engagement and make them more likely to continue reading. This is a core concept of positioning.

Keep It Short and Concise

In our fast-paced digital age, attention spans are shrinking. To capture your readers' interest and keep them engaged, keep your lead short and concise.

Use clear and concise language to convey your message effectively. Long-winded leads tend to lose readers' interest quickly, so aim for brevity.

Pro Tip : Avoid unnecessary jargon or complex sentences that may confuse or bore your audience. Instead, focus on making your point succinctly and compellingly.

Use Keywords Strategically

In today's digital landscape, search engine optimization (SEO) is a crucial element in writing leads. Strategic placement of relevant keywords helps search engines recognize the relevance of your content and boost its visibility in search results.

When writing your lead, identify the primary keyword or key phrase that represents your topic. For instance, if you're writing an article on budget travel tips, the primary keyword may be "budget travel." Integrate the keyword naturally in your lead to make it more search-engine-friendly and increase your chances of attracting organic traffic.

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Consider writing your lead first, then editing your lead last.

The lead will give you a running start, and is usually one of the first things you will write when you sit down in front of a blank page. However, since the lead needs to accurately capture the essence of your article, it’s helpful to have the rest of your piece developed before attempting to summarize it.

Leads are surprisingly challenging to write, but when done well, they make an article sing.

When you’re able to communicate a message quickly — whether it be yours or someone else’s — your words will reach more people and make a bigger impact in the long run. ◆

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Welcome to the blog. Nick Wolny is a writer, editor and copy consultant based in Los Angeles.

How to Write a Lead: 10 Do’s, 10 Don’ts, 10 Good Examples

• Written By Megan Krause
• Updated: November 15, 2023

What is lead writing?

It’s the opening hook that pulls you in to read a story. The lead should capture the essence of the who , what , when , where , why, and how  — but without giving away the entire show. A good lead is enticing. It beckons. It promises the reader their time will be well-spent and sets the tone and direction of the piece. All great content starts with a great lead.

Old-school reporting ace and author of ‘The Word: An Associated Press Guide to Good News Writing,’ Jack Cappon, rightly called lead writing “the agony of square one.” A lot if hinging on your lead. From it, readers will decide whether or not they’ll continue investing time and energy into your content or jump ship. And with our culture’s currently short attention spans and patience, if your content doesn’t hook people up front, they’ll bolt. The “back” button is just a thumb tap away.

So, let’s break down the types of leads, which ones you should be writing, and the top 10 do’s and don’ts. We’ll get you hooking customers in no time.

Two Types of Leads

There are two main types of leads and many, many variations thereof. These are:

The summary lead

Most often found in straight news reports, this is the trusty inverted-pyramid lead we learned about in Journalism 101. It sums up the situation succinctly, giving the reader the most important facts first. In this type of lead, you want to determine which aspect of the story — who, what, when, where, why, and how — is most important to the reader and present those facts.

An alleged virgin gave birth to a son in a barn just outside of Bethlehem last night. Claiming a celestial body guided them to the site, magi attending the birth say the boy will one day be king. Herod has not commented.

A creative or descriptive lead

This can be an anecdote, an observation, a quirky fact, or a funny story, among other things. Better suited to feature stories and blog posts, these leads are designed to pique readers’ curiosity and draw them into the story. If you go this route, make sure to provide broader detail and context in the few sentences following your lead. A creative lead is great — just don’t make your reader hunt for what the story’s about much after it.

Mary didn’t want to pay taxes anyway.

A note about the question lead.  A variation of the creative lead, the question lead is just what it sounds like: leading with a question. Most editors (myself included) don’t like this type of lead. It’s lazy writing. People are reading your content to get answers, not to be asked anything. It feels like a cop-out, like a writer couldn’t think of a compelling way to start the piece. Do you want to learn more about the recent virgin birth?  Well duh, that’s why I clicked in here in the first place.

Is there no exception?  Sure there is. If you can make your question lead provocative, go for it — Do you  think you have it bad? This lady just gave birth in a barn  — just know that this is accomplished rarely.

Which Type of Lead Should You Write?

This depends on a few factors. Ask yourself:

Who is your audience?

Tax attorneys looking for recent changes in the law don’t want to wade through your witty repartee about the IRS, just as millennials searching for craft beer recipes don’t want to read a technical discourse on the fermentation process. Tailor your words to those reading the post.

Where will this article be published?

Match the site’s tone and language. There are some things you can get away with on  Vice.com  that would be your demise on the  Chronicle of Higher Education .

What are you writing about?

Certain topics naturally lend themselves to creativity, while others beg for a “Just the facts, ma’am” presentation. Writing about aromatherapy for a yoga blog gives you a little more leeway than writing about investment tips for a retirement blog.

Lead Writing: Top 10 do’s

1. determine your hook..

Look at the 5 Ws and 1 H. Why are readers clicking on this content? What problem are they trying to solve? What’s new or different? Determine which aspects are most relevant and important, and lead with that.

2. Be clear and succinct.

Simple language is best. Mark Twain said it best: “Don’t use a five-dollar word when a fifty-cent word will do.”

3. Write in the active voice.

Use strong verbs and decided language. Compare “Dog bites man” to “A man was bitten by a dog” — the passive voice is timid and bland (for the record, Stephen King feels the same way).

4. Address the reader as “you.”

This is the writer’s equivalent to breaking the fourth wall in theatre, and while some editors will disagree with me on this one, we stand by it. People know you’re writing to them. Not only is it OK to address them as such, we think it helps create a personal connection with them.

5. Put attribution second.

What’s the nugget, the little gem you’re trying to impart? Put that information first, and then follow it up with who said it. The “according to” part is almost always secondary to what he or she actually said.

6. Go short and punchy.

Take my recent lead for  this Marketing Land post : “Freelance writers like working with me. Seriously, they do.” Short and sweet makes the reader want to know where you’re going with that.

7. If you’re stuck, find a relevant stat.

If you’re trying to be clever or punchy or brilliant, and it’s just not happening, search for an interesting stat related to your topic and lead with that. This is especially effective if the stat is unusual or unexpected, as in, “A whopping 80 percent of Americans are in debt.”

8. Or, start with a story.

If beginning with a stat or fact isn’t working for your lead, try leading with an anecdote instead. People absorb data, but they  feel  stories. Here’s an  example of an anecdotal lead that works great in a crime story: “It’s just after 11 p.m., and Houston police officer Al Leonard has his gun drawn as the elderly black man approaches the patrol car. The 9mm pistol is out of sight, pointing through the car door. Leonard rolls down his window and casually greets the man. ‘What can I do for you?'” You want to know what happens next, don’t you?

9. Borrow this literary tactic.

Every good story has these three elements : a hero we relate to, a challenge (or villain) we fear, and an ensuing struggle. Find these elements in the story you’re writing and lead with one of those.

10. When you’re staring at a blank screen.

Just start. Start writing anything. Start in the middle of your story. Once you begin, you can usually find your lead buried a few paragraphs down in this “get-going” copy. Your lead is in there — you just need to cut away the other stuff first.

Lead Writing: Top 10 don’ts

1. don’t make your readers work too hard..

Also known as “burying the lead,” this happens when you take too long to make your point. It’s fine to take a little creative license, but if readers can’t figure out relatively quickly what your article is about, they’ll bounce.

2. Don’t try to include too much.

Does your lead contain too many of the 5 Ws and H? Don’t try to jam everything in there — you’ll overwhelm the reader.

3. Don’t start sentences with “there is” or “there are” constructions.

It’s not wrong, but similar to our question lead, it’s lazy, boring writing.

4. Don’t be cliche.

We beg of you .

5. Don’t have any errors.

Include typos or grammatical errors, and it’s game over — you’ve lost the reader.

6. Don’t say anything is “right around the corner.”

Just trust us. We’ve seen it used way too much. “Valentine’s Day is right around the corner,” “The first day of school is right around the corner,” Mother’s Day sales are right around the corner” … Zzzz.  Boring .

7. Don’t make puns. Even ironically.

It’s an old example but it proves the point. From a Huffington Post story about a huge swastika found painted on the bottom of a swimming pool in Brazil: “Authorities did Nazi this coming.” Boo. Absolutely not. Don’t make the reader groan.

8. Don’t state the obvious.

Don’t tell readers what they already know. We call it “water is wet” writing. Some examples: “The internet provides an immense source of useful information.” “Today’s digital landscape is moving fast.” Really! You don’t say?

9. Don’t cite the dictionary.

“Merriam-Webster defines marketing as…” This is the close cousin of “water is wet” writing. It’s a better tactic for essay-writing middle-schoolers. Don’t do this.

10. Don’t imagine anything. You are not John Lennon.

“Imagine a world where everyone recycled,” “Imagine how good it must feel to save a life,” “Imagine receiving a $1,000 tip from your favorite customer on Christmas Eve.” Imagine we retired this hackneyed, worn-out lead.

10 Worthy Examples of Good Lead Writing

1. short and simple..

Edna Buchanan, the Pulitzer Prize-winning crime reporter for The Miami Herald, wrote a story about an ex-con named Gary Robinson. One drunken night in the ‘80s, Robinson stumbled into a Church’s Chicken, where he was told there was no fried chicken, only nuggets. He decked the woman at the counter, and in the ensuing melee, he was shot by a security guard. Buchanan’s lead:

Gary Robinson died hungry.

2. Ooh, tell me more.

A 2010 piece in the New York Times co-authored by Sabrina Tavernise and Dan Froschjune begins:

An ailing, middle-age construction worker from Colorado, on a self-proclaimed mission to help American troops, armed himself with a dagger, a pistol, a sword, Christian texts, hashish and night-vision goggles and headed to the lawless tribal areas near the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan to personally hunt down Osama bin Laden.

3. Meanwhile, at San Quentin.

From the 1992 story titled, “After Life of Violence Harris Goes Peacefully,” written by Sam Stanton for The Sacramento Bee:

In the end, Robert Alton Harris seemed determined to go peacefully, a trait that had eluded him in the 39 violent and abusive years he spent on earth.

Remember Olympic jerk Ryan Lochte, the American swimmer who lied to Brazilian authorities about being robbed at gunpoint while in Rio for 2016 games? Sally Jenkins’  story on Lochte  for The Washington Post begins:

Ryan Lochte is the dumbest bell that ever rang.

5. An oldie but man, what a goodie.

This beautiful lead is from Shirley Povich’s 1956 story in The Washington Post & Times Herald about a pitcher’s perfect game:

The million‑to‑one shot came in. Hell froze over. A month of Sundays hit the calendar. Don Larsen today pitched a no-­hit, no‑run, no‑man‑reach‑first game in a World Series.

6. Dialogue lead.

Diana Marcum wrote this  compelling lead for the Los Angeles Times , perfectly capturing the bleakness of the California drought in 2014:

The two fieldworkers scraped hoes over weeds that weren’t there. “Let us pretend we see many weeds,” Francisco Galvez told his friend Rafael. That way, maybe they’d get a full week’s work.

7. The staccato lead.

Ditto; we found this one in an online journalism quiz , but can’t track the source. It reads like the first scene of a movie script:

Midnight on the bridge… a scream… a shot… a splash… a second shot… a third shot. This morning, police recovered the bodies of Mr. and Mrs. R. E. Murphy, estranged couple, from the Snake River. A bullet wound was found in the temple of each.

8. Hey, that’s us.

Sure, we’ll include our own former Dear Megan column  railing against exclamation points:

This week’s question comes to us from one of my kids, who will remain nameless because neither wants to appear in a dorky grammar blog written by their uncool (but incredibly good-looking) mom. I will oblige this request for anonymity because, despite my repeated claims about how lucky they are to have me, apparently I ruin their lives on a semi-regular basis. Why add to their torment by naming them here? I have so many other ways I’d rather torment them.

9. The punch lead.

From numerous next-day reports following the Kennedy assassination:

The president is dead.

10. Near perfection.

Finally, this lead comes from a 1968 New York Times piece written by Mark Hawthorne. It was recently featured  in the writer’s obituary :

A 17-year-old boy chased his pet squirrel up a tree in Washington Square Park yesterday afternoon, touching off a series of incidents in which 22 persons were arrested and eight persons, including five policemen, were injured.

Time to Put That Lead Writing to Good Use

Alright, now that you’ve read this article, you’re going to be hooking readers left and right with captivating leads. What’s next? Well, if you want to showcase your new skills while working with top brands, join our Talent Network . We’ll match you with companies that fit your talent and expertise to take your career to the next level.

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How to Start an Essay with Strong Hooks and Leads

ALWAYS START AN ESSAY WITH AN ENGAGING INTRODUCTION

Getting started is often the most challenging part of writing an essay, and it’s one of the main reasons our students are prone to leaving their writing tasks to the last minute.

But what if we could give our students some tried and tested tips and strategies to show them how to start an essay?

What if we could give them various strategies they could pull out of their writer’s toolbox and kickstart their essays at any time?

In this article, we’ll look at tried and tested methods and how to start essay examples to get your students’ writing rolling with momentum to take them to their essays’ conclusion.

Once you have worked past the start of your essay, please explore our complete guide to polishing an essay before submitting it and our top 5 tips for essay writing.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF AN ESSAY’S INTRODUCTION?

 Essentially, the purpose of the introduction is to achieve two things:

 1. To orientate the reader

2. To motivate the reader to keep reading.

 An effective introduction will give the reader a clear idea of what the essay will be about. To do this, it may need to provide some necessary background information or exposition.

Once this is achieved, the writer will then make a thesis statement that informs the reader of the main ‘thrust’ of the essay’s position, the supporting arguments of which will be explored throughout the body paragraphs of the remainder of the essay.

When considering how to start an essay, ensure you have a strong thesis statement and support it through well-crafted arguments in the body paragraphs . These are complex skills in their own right and beyond the scope of this guide, but you can find more detail on these aspects of essay writing in other articles on this site that go beyond how to start an essay.

 For now, our primary focus is on how to grab the reader’s attention right from the get-go.

 After all, the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step or, in this case, a single opening sentence.

A COMPLETE UNIT ON WRITING HOOKS, LEADS & INTRODUCTIONS

Teach your students to write  STRONG LEADS, ENGAGING HOOKS  and  MAGNETIC INTRODUCTIONS  for  ALL TEXT TYPES  with this engaging  PARAGRAPH WRITING UNIT  designed to take students from zero to hero over  FIVE STRATEGIC LESSONS.

WHAT IS A “HOOK” IN ESSAY WRITING?

A hook is a sentence or phrase that begins your essay, grabbing the reader’s attention and making them want to keep reading. It is the first thing the reader will see, and it should be interesting and engaging enough to make them want to read more.

As you will learn from the how to start an essay examples below, a hook can be a quote, a question, a surprising fact, a personal story, or a bold statement. It should be relevant to the topic of your essay and should be able to create a sense of curiosity or intrigue in the reader. The goal of a hook is to make the reader want to read on and to draw them into the central argument or point of your essay.

Some famous examples of hooks in literature you may have encountered are as follows.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” Charles Dickens in A Tale of Two Cities

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

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife” – Jane Austen in Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen in Pride and Prejudice

HOW TO HOOK THE READER WITH ATTENTION-GRABBING OPENING SENTENCES

We all know that every essay has a beginning, a middle , and an end . But, if our students don’t learn to grab the reader’s attention from the opening sentence, they’ll struggle to keep their readers engaged long enough to make it through the middle to the final full stop. Take a look at these five attention-grabbing sentence examples.

• “The secret to success is hidden in a single, elusive word: persistence.”
• “Imagine a world without electricity, where the only source of light is the flame of a candle.”
• “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, but most importantly, it was the time that changed everything.”
• “They said it couldn’t be done, but she proved them wrong with her grit and determination.”
• “He stood at the edge of the cliff, staring down at the tumultuous ocean below, knowing that one misstep could mean certain death.”

Regardless of what happens next, those sentences would make any reader stop whatever else they might focus on and read with more intent than before. They have provided the audience with a “hook” intended to lure us further into their work.

To become effective essay writers, your students need to build the skill of writing attention-grabbing opening sentences. The best way of achieving this is to use ‘hooks’.

There are several kinds of hooks that students can choose from. In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the most effective of these:

 1. The Attention-Grabbing Anecdote

2. The Bold Pronouncement!

3. The Engaging Fact

4. Using an Interesting Quote

5. Posing a Rhetorical Question

6. Presenting a Contrast

 How appropriate each of these hooks is will depend on the essay’s nature. Students must consider the topic, purpose, tone, and audience of the essay they’re writing before deciding how best to open it.

 Let’s look at each of these essay hooks, along with a practice activity students can undertake to put their knowledge of each hook into action.

1: HOW TO START AN ESSAY WITH “THE ATTENTION-GRABBING ANECDOTE”

 Anecdotes are an effective way for the student to engage the reader’s attention right from the start.

When the anecdote is based on the writer’s personal life, they are a great way to create intimacy between the writer and the reader from the outset.

Anecdotes are an especially useful starting point when the essay explores more abstract themes as they climb down the ladder of abstraction and fit the broader theme of the essay to the shape of the writer’s life.

Anecdotes work because they are personal, and because they’re personal, they infuse the underlying theme of the essay with emotion.

This expression of emotion helps the writer form a bond with the reader. And it is this bond that helps encourage the reader to continue reading.

Readers find this an engaging approach, mainly when the topic is complex and challenging.

Anecdotes provide an ‘in’ to the writing’s broader theme and encourage the reader to read on.

Examples of Attention-grabbing anecdotes

• “It was my first day of high school, and I was a bundle of nerves. I had always been a shy kid, and the thought of walking into a new school, surrounded by strangers was overwhelming. But as I walked through the front doors, something unexpected happened. A senior, who I had never met before, came up to me and said ‘Welcome to high school; it’s going to be an amazing four years.’ That one small act of kindness from a complete stranger made all the difference, and from that day on, I knew that I would be okay.”
• “I was in my math class and having a tough day. I had a test coming up, and I was struggling to understand the material. My teacher, who I had always thought was strict and unapproachable, noticed that I was struggling and asked if I needed help. I was surprised, but I took her up on her offer, and she spent extra time with me after class, helping me to understand the material. That experience taught me that sometimes, the people we think we know the least about are the ones who can help us the most.”
• “It was the last day of 8th grade, and we were all sitting in the auditorium, waiting for the ceremony to begin. Suddenly, the principal got on stage and announced that there was a surprise guest speaker. I was confused and curious, but when the guest walked out on stage, I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was my favorite rapper who had come to speak to us about the importance of education. That moment was a turning point for me, it showed me that if you work hard and believe in yourself, anything is possible.”

Attention-Grabbing Anecdote Teaching Strategies

One way to help students access their personal stories is through sentence starters, writing prompts, or well-known stories and their themes.

First, instruct students to choose a theme to write about. For example, if we look at the theme of The Boy Who Cried Wolf, something like: we shouldn’t tell lies, or people may not believe us when we tell the truth.

Fairytales and fables are great places for students to find simple themes or moral lessons to explore for this activity.

Once they’ve chosen a theme, encourage the students to recall a time when this theme was at play in their own lives. In the case above, a time when they paid the cost, whether seriously or humorously, for not telling the truth.

This memory will form the basis for a personal anecdote that will form a ‘hook’. Students can practice replicating this process for various essay topics.

It’s essential when writing anecdotes that students attempt to capture their personal voice.

One way to help them achieve this is to instruct them to write as if they were orally telling their story to a friend.

This ‘vocal’ style of writing helps to create intimacy between writer and reader, which is the hallmark of this type of opening.

2: HOW TO START AN ESSAY WITH “THE BOLD PRONOUNCEMENT”

 As the old cliché “Go big or go home!” would have it, making a bold pronouncement at the start of an essay is one surefire way to catch the reader’s attention.

Bold statements exude confidence and assure the reader that this writer has something to say that’s worth hearing. A bold statement placed right at the beginning suggests the writer isn’t going to hedge their bets or perch passively on a fence throughout their essay.

The bold pronouncement technique isn’t only useful for writing a compelling opening sentence, the formula can be used to generate a dramatic title for the essay.

For example, the recent New York Times bestseller ‘Everybody Lies’ by Seth Stephens-Davidowitz is an excellent example of the bold pronouncement in action.

Examples of Bold Pronouncements

• “I will not be just a statistic, I will be the exception. I will not let my age or my background define my future, I will define it myself.”
• “I will not be afraid to speak up and make my voice heard. I will not let anyone silence me or make me feel small. I will stand up for what I believe in and I will make a difference.”
• “I will not be satisfied with just getting by. I will strive for greatness and I will not be content with mediocrity. I will push myself to be the best version of me, and I will not settle for anything less.”

Strategies for Teaching how to write a Bold Pronouncement

Give the students a list of familiar tales; again, Aesop’s Fables make for a good resource.

In groups, have them identify some tales’ underlying themes or morals. For this activity, these can take the place of an essay’s thesis statement.

Then, ask the students to discuss in their groups and collaborate to write a bold pronouncement based on the story. Their pronouncement should be short, pithy, and, most importantly, as bold as bold can be.

3: HOW TO START AN ESSAY WITH “THE ENGAGING FACT”

In our cynical age of ‘ fake news ’, opening an essay with a fact or statistic is a great way for students to give authority to their writing from the very beginning.

Students should choose the statistic or fact carefully, it should be related to their general thesis, and it needs to be noteworthy enough to spark the reader’s curiosity.

This is best accomplished by selecting an unusual or surprising fact or statistic to begin the essay with.

Examples of the Engaging Fact

•  “Did you know that the average teenager spends around 9 hours a day consuming media? That’s more than the time they spend sleeping or in school!”
• “The brain continues to develop until the age of 25, which means that as a teenager, my brain is still going through major changes and growth. This means I have a lot of potential to learn and grow.”
• “The average attention span of a teenager is shorter than that of an adult, meaning that it’s harder for me to focus on one task for an extended time. This is why it is important for me to balance different activities and take regular breaks to keep my mind fresh.”

Strategies for teaching how to write engaging facts

This technique can work well as an extension of the bold pronouncement activity above.

When students have identified each of the fables’ underlying themes, have them do some internet research to identify related facts and statistics.

Students highlight the most interesting of these and consider how they would use them as a hook in writing an essay on the topic.

4: HOW TO START AN ESSAY USING “AN INTERESTING QUOTATION”

This strategy is as straightforward as it sounds. The student begins their essay by quoting an authority or a well-known figure on the essay’s topic or related topic.

This quote provides a springboard into the essay’s subject while ensuring the reader is engaged.

The quotation selected doesn’t have to align with the student’s thesis statement.

In fact, opening with a quotation the student disagrees with can be a great way to generate a debate that grasps the reader’s attention from the outset.

Examples of starting an essay with an interesting quotation.

• “As Albert Einstein once said, ‘Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.’ As a 16-year-old student, I know how it feels to be judged by my ability to climb the “academic tree” and how it feels to be labeled as “stupid”. But just like the fish in Einstein’s quote, I know that my true potential lies in my unique abilities and talents, not in how well I can climb a tree.”
• “Mark Twain once said, ‘Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.’ This quote resonates with me because as a teenager, I often feel pressure to conform to the expectations and opinions of my peers. But this quote reminds me to take a step back and think for myself, rather than blindly following the crowd.”
• “As J.K. Rowling famously said, ‘It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.’ As a 16-year-old student, I often find myself getting lost in my dreams for the future and forgetting to live in the present. But this quote serves as a reminder to me to strive for my goals while also cherishing and living in the here and now.”

Teaching Strategies for starting an essay with an interesting quotation.

To gain practice in this strategy, organize the students into groups and have them generate a list of possible thesis statements for their essays.

Once they have a list of statements, they now need to generate a list of possible quotations related to their hypothetical essay’s central argument .

Several websites are dedicated to curating pertinent quotations from figures of note on an apparently inexhaustible array of topics. These sites are invaluable resources for tracking down interesting quotations for any essay.

5: HOW TO START AN ESSAY BY “POSING A RHETORICAL QUESTION”

What better way to get a reader thinking than to open with a question?

See what I did there?

Beginning an essay with a question not only indicates to the reader the direction the essay is headed in but also challenges them to respond personally to the topic.

Rhetorical questions are asked to make a point and to get the reader thinking rather than to elicit an answer.

One effective way to use a rhetorical question in an introduction is to craft a rhetorical question from the thesis statement and use it as the opening sentence.

The student can then end the opening paragraph with the thesis statement itself.

In this way, the student has presented their thesis statement as the answer to the rhetorical question asked at the outset.

Rhetorical questions also make for valuable transitions between paragraphs.

Examples of starting an essay with a rhetorical question

• “What if instead of judging someone based on their appearance, we judged them based on their character? As a 16-year-old, I see the damage caused by judging someone based on their physical appearance, and it’s time to move away from that and focus on character.”
• “How can we expect to solve the world’s problems if we don’t start with ourselves? As a 16-year-old student, I am starting to see the issues in the world, and I believe that before we can make any progress, we need to start with ourselves.”
• “What would happen if we stopped labelling people by race, religion, or sexual orientation? As a teenager growing up in a diverse world, I see the harm caused by labelling and stereotyping people; it’s time for us to stop and see people for who they truly are.”

Teaching Students how to start an essay with a rhetorical question

To get some experience posing rhetorical questions, organize your students into small groups, and give each group a list of essay thesis statements suited to their age and abilities.

Task the students to rephrase each of the statements as questions.

For example, if we start with the thesis statement “Health is more important than wealth”, we might reverse engineer a rhetorical question such as “What use is a million dollars to a dying man?”

Mastering how to start an essay with a question is a technique that will become more common as you progress in confidence as a writer.

6: HOW TO START AN ESSAY BY “PRESENTING A CONTRAST”

In this opening, the writer presents a contrast between the image of the subject and its reality. Often, this strategy is an effective opener when widespread misconceptions on the subject are widespread.

For example, if the thesis statement is something like “Wealth doesn’t bring happiness”, the writer might open with a scene describing a lonely, unhappy person surrounded by wealth and opulence.

This scene contrasts a luxurious setting with an impoverished emotional state, insinuating the thrust of the essay’s central thesis.

Examples of Starting an essay by presenting a contrast

• “On one hand, technology has made it easier to stay connected with friends and family than ever before. On the other hand, it has also created a sense of disconnection and loneliness in many people, including myself as a 16-year-old. “
• “While social media has allowed us to express ourselves freely, it has also led to a culture of cyberbullying and online harassment. As a teenager, I have seen social media’s positive and negative effects.”
• “On one hand, the internet has given us access to a wealth of information. On the other hand, it has also made it harder to separate fact from fiction and to distinguish credible sources from fake news. This is becoming increasingly important for me as a 16-year-old student in today’s society.”

Teaching Strategies for presenting a contrast when starting an essay.

For this activity, you can use the same list of thesis statements as in the activity above. In their groups, challenge students to set up a contrasting scene to evoke the essay’s central contention, as in the example above.

The scene of contrast can be a factual one in a documentary or anecdotal style, or a fictionalized account.

Whether the students are using a factual or fictional scene for their contrast, dramatizing it can make it much more persuasive and impactful.

THE END OF THE BEGINNING

These aren’t the only options available for opening essays, but they represent some of the best options available to students struggling to get started with the concept of how to create an essay.

With practice, students will soon be able to select the best strategies for their needs in various contexts.

To reinforce their understanding of different strategies for starting an introduction for an essay, encourage them to pay attention to the different choices writers make each time they begin reading a new nonfiction text.

Just like getting good at essay writing itself, getting good at writing openings requires trial and error and lots and lots of practice.

USEFUL VIDEO TUTORIALS ON WRITING AN ESSAY INTRODUCTION

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How To Write a Good Lead? Tips and Examples of Leads

• August 2, 2022 August 31, 2022

What is a lead, and why do you need one for your piece of writing?

A lead (sometimes pronounced as lede ) is the opening paragraph of a piece of writing that gives readers an overview of what the article or story will be about. A good lead will also  hook readers  in and make them want to keep reading. Humans are naturally curious , so why not use it to your advantage?

The main goal of a lead is to exploit readers’ curiosity by making them wonder what will happen next. You should give a “reading momentum” to your readers, which will push them to read further, and this is what a great lead makes.

Leads are typically used for news writing and journalistic writing. However, you can also use leads in essay writing as well, especially if your essay is relatively short.

So, let’s go deeper into lead writing and check out some tips and examples of good leads.

How long should a lead be?

The length of your lead should be directly proportional to the overall length of your piece. That means that if you’re writing a short article, it can be only one sentence . If your article is longer, you can write several sentences .

Ideally, your lead should be no more than one or two sentences for a short article and no more than three or four sentences for a longer piece.

Most common types of leads

In general, there are two major lead types: summary lead and creative lead .

Summary Lead (traditional lead)

This is the most traditional lead type, and it provides a summary of the article or a news story in as few words as possible.

As you can guess, the summary lead provides a quick summary by answering the 5 Ws: Who, What, When, Where, and Why . We will take a closer look at these elements below.

Creative Lead

A creative lead is typically used in feature or informal writing , and it’s designed to provoke curiosity or set the scene for the story. This can be done in many ways, but some of the most common ones include starting with a thought-provoking question, a quotation, or an anecdote to grab readers’ interest .

Writing Leads: Lead examples

1. the straight news lead.

This type of lead is often used for writing hard news stories and usually answers the five Ws: who, what, when, where, and why. It is often seen in newspaper writing.

Refers to the subject of the story.

Is the main point or event of the story.

Tells when the event happened or will happen.

Scene setting – where the event happened or will happen.

Provides the purpose or reason for the story

This is often referred to as the “just the facts” approach. It can be especially effective for breaking news stories where time is of the essence.

Hundreds of people are homeless after a fire ripped through a local apartment complex last night.

2. The Quotation Lead

You can start writing this lead by featuring a direct quotation from a person or people involved in the story. It is often used in human interest stories or stories about controversial topics.

“I’m disgusted with the way our government is handling this issue,” says John Doe, a local citizen.

3. The Anecdotal Lead

This type of lead tells a brief story or an anecdote related to the main topic of the article or essay. It is often used in human interest stories, as well as in stories about controversial topics.

When Jane Doe was sixteen, she never imagined that she would one day be homeless.

4. The Statistic Lead

This type of lead features a statistic related to the main topic of the article or essay. It is often used in stories about controversial topics or issues.

According to a recent study, nearly 60% of Americans are dissatisfied with the current state of the economy.

5. The Feature Lead

This type of lead is often used in feature stories, which are longer and more in-depth than hard news stories . Feature leads are usually more creative than straight news leads, and they often use literary devices such as similes or metaphors.

This story happened in the city that was a concrete jungle, a never-ending maze of gray and brown.

6. The Question Lead

This type of lead features a question related to the main topic of the article or essay. Questions can be effective in grabbing readers’ attention and making them want to find out the answer .

How many times have you seen a homeless person on the street and wondered what their story is?

7. One Word or Short Phrase Lead

This type of lead features a word or phrase, or short sentence , that is related to the main topic of the article or essay. This can be an effective way to start a story, especially if the word or phrase is interesting, thought-provoking, or unexpected.

“We all want what’s best for our children.”

This is a great lead-in to an article about parenting or education. It’s a universal truth that every parent wants what’s best for their child, so this lead sets up the rest of the article nicely.

8. Staccato Lead

Staccato is a musical term meaning “detached” or “unconnected.” In writing, it means to keep your sentences and thoughts short. This lead focuses on just one main idea per sentence. It’s a great way to add punchiness and vibrancy to your writing, but be careful not to overdo it , or your writing will sound choppy.

The city bustled with activity. People hurried to and fro. Cars honked their horns. No one had expected the tornado to hit so quickly.

9. Zinger Lead

A zinger is a rhetorical device used to make a sudden, sharp, or surprising statemen t. It’s often used for comic effect, but it can also be used to make a serious point. A zinger lead is a great way to grab your reader’s attention and get them hooked on your story.

I never thought I’d see the day when my dog would be arrested.

10. Delayed Identification Lead

The delayed identification lead, also known as the “mysterious stranger” lead, is a great way to add suspense and intrigue to your story. In this type of lead, you don’t identify the main character or subject of the story until later on. You can use a descriptive pronoun (such as “the man” or “the woman”) if you want to give your reader a hint about who the mystery person is and reveal his or her identity in a later paragraph .

The woman walked into the room and everyone fell silent. She had an aura of power about her, and it was clear that she was not to be messed with.

So as you can see, there are no limitations when it comes to writing a good lead. Just let your creativity flow and choose the lead type that fits your story best.

How to write a lead sentence – tips to keep in mind

• When writing your lead, be sure to use an active voice . This makes your writing sound more lively and engaging. Passive voice often sounds dull and boring.
• Use active verbs . This will also make your writing sound more lively and engaging.
• Active sentences are shorter and easier to read than passive sentences . This is important because you want your readers to actually read what you’ve written, not just skim over it.
• Be concise . Writing leads is all about getting to the point quickly. Don’t try to be too wordy, or you’ll lose your reader’s attention.
• Good leads should be attention-grabbing , but they shouldn’t give away too much. You want to leave your reader wanting more.
• Most readers will make up their minds about your article or essay within the first few sentences. People are lazy, and they rarely read post the first paragraph.

Now that you know all about leads, it’s time to put what you’ve learned into practice. Choose one of the lead types from the list above or invent your own lead type and use it to write a good story.

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Writing a Lead or Lede to an Article

Rules? What rules? Just tell the story effectively and hold the reader

• An Introduction to Punctuation
• Ph.D., Rhetoric and English, University of Georgia
• M.A., Modern English and American Literature, University of Leicester
• B.A., English, State University of New York

A lead  or lede refers to the opening sentences  of a brief composition  or the first paragraph or two of a longer article or essay . Leads introduce the topic or purpose of a paper, and particularly in the case of journalism, need to grab the reader's attention. A lead is a promise of what's to come, a promise that the piece will satisfy what a reader needs to know.

They can take many styles and approaches and be a variety of lengths, but to be successful, leads need to keep the readers reading, or else all the research and reporting that went into the story won't reach anyone. Most often when people talk about leads, it's in professional periodical writing, such as in newspapers and magazines. ​

Opinions Differ on Length

Many ways exist as far as how to write a lead, the styles of which likely differ based on the tone or voice of the piece and intended audience in a story—and even the overall length of the story. A long feature in a magazine can get away with a lead that builds more slowly than an in-the-moment news story about a breaking news event in a daily paper or on a news website.

Some writers note that the first sentence is the most important of a story; some might extend that to the first paragraph. Still, others might emphasize defining the  audience  and message to those people in the first 10 words. Whatever the length, a good lead relates the issue to the readers and shows why it's important for them and how it relates to them. If they're invested from the get-go, they'll keep reading.

Hard News Versus Features

Hard news leads get the who, what, why, where, when, and how in the piece up front, the most important bits of information right up top. They're part of the classic reverse-pyramid news story structure. 

Features can start off in a multitude of ways, such as with an anecdote  or a quotation  or dialogue and will want to get the point of view established right away. Feature stories and news both can set the scene with a narrative description . They also can establish a "face" of the story, for example, to personalize an issue by showing how it's affecting an ordinary person.

Stories with arresting leads might exhibit tension right up front or pose a problem that'll be discussed. They might phrase their first sentence in the form of a question.

Where you put the historical information or the background information depends on the piece, but it can also function in the lead to ground the readers and get them context to the piece right away, to immediately understand the story's importance.

All that said, news and features don't necessarily have hard-and-fast rules about what leads work for either type; the style you take depends on the story you have to tell and how it will be most effectively conveyed.

Creating a Hook

"Newspaper reporters have varied the form of their work, including writing more creative story leads . These leads are often less direct and less 'formulaic' than the traditional news summary lead. Some journalists call these soft or indirect news leads. "The most obvious way to modify a news summary lead is to use only the feature fact or perhaps two of the what, who, where, when, why and how in the lead. By delaying some of the answers to these essential reader questions , the sentences can be short, and the writer can create a 'hook' to catch or entice the reader to continue into the body of the story." (Thomas Rolnicki, C. Dow Tate, and Sherri Taylor, "Scholastic Journalism." Blackwell, 2007)

Using Arresting Detail

"There are editors ...who will try to take an interesting detail out of the story simply because the detail happens to horrify or appall them. 'One of them kept saying that people read this paper at breakfast ,' I was told by Edna [Buchanan], whose own idea of a successful lead is one that might cause a reader who is having breakfast with his wife to 'spit out his coffee, clutch his chest, and say, "My God, Martha! Did you read this!"'" (Calvin Trillin, "Covering the Cops [Edna Buchanan]." "Life Stories: Profiles from The New Yorker ," ed. by David Remnick. Random House, 2000)

Joan Didion and Ron Rosenbaum on Leads

​ Joan Didion : "What's so hard about the first sentence is that you're stuck with it. Everything else is going to flow out of that sentence. And by the time you've laid down the first two sentences, your options are all gone." (Joan Didion, quoted in "The Writer," 1985)

Ron Rosenbaum : "For me, the lead is the most important element. A good lead embodies much of what the story is about—its tone, its focus, its mood. Once I sense that this is a great lead I can really start writing. It is a heuristic : a great lead really leads you toward something." (Ron Rosenbaum in "The New New Journalism: Conversations With America's Best Nonfiction Writers on Their Craft," by Robert S. Boynton. Vintage Books, 2005)

The Myth of the Perfect First Line

"It's a newsroom article of faith that you should begin by struggling for the perfect lead . Once that opening finally comes to you—according to the legend—the rest of the story will flow like lava. "Not likely...Starting with the lead is like starting medical school with brain surgery. We've all been taught that the first sentence is the most important; so it's also the scariest. Instead of writing it, we fuss and fume and procrastinate. Or we waste hours writing and rewriting the first few lines, rather than getting on with the body of the piece... "The first sentence points the way for everything that follows. But writing it before you've sorted out your material, thought about your focus , or stimulated your thinking with some actual writing is a recipe for getting lost. When you're ready to write, what you need is not a finely polished opening sentence, but a clear statement of your theme ." (Jack R. Hart, "A Writer's Coach: An Editor's Guide to Words That Work." Random House, 2006)

• How Feature Writers Use Delayed Ledes
• Learn to Write News Stories
• How to Write a News Article That's Effective
• Avoid the Common Mistakes That Beginning Reporters Make
• What Is the Inverted Pyramid Method of Organization?
• Write an Attention-Grabbing Opening Sentence for an Essay
• How to Write Great Ledes for Feature Stories
• Writing a Compelling, Informative News Lede
• How to Write Feature Stories
• Learn What a Feature Story Is
• 10 Important Steps for Producing a Quality News Story
• Constructing News Stories with the Inverted Pyramid
• Six Tips for Writing News Stories That Will Grab a Reader
• These Are Frequently Used Journalism Terms You Need to Know
• Learning to Edit News Stories Quickly
• How Reporters Can Write Great Follow-up News Stories

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March 7, 2024

Writing an Essay Lead That Pops

How many times have you sampled the first few lines of a book and decided, “Nah, this isn’t for me”? Whether you picked the book up in a store or library, or downloaded free sample online, you probably made a pretty speedy decision about whether it would hold your interest.  

The human tendency to rush to judgment

Our extremely fast-paced world has trained us to make snap decisions throughout the day, and if, for example, we’re not hooked instantly by an article, book, movie trailer, or song, we’re just a click away from another, more appealing choice. We might move quickly away from someone at a party who begins to bore us and whom we lack the patience to listen to, for even another minute.

Because we have endless choices, we get choosier and choosier about what we’re willing to stick with. These rapid judgments might not be fair, but the “burden of overchoice” in our lives feeds our short attention spans.  

Admissions committee members are human. And the pressure of their job forces them to make very quick decisions about whose applications they will invest more time in and whose will merit only an obligatory but cursory review before being set aside as unworthy of serious consideration. 

Their reality is truly “so many applications, so little time,” which means that when you are applying to b-school , med school , grad school , or college , you have to capture your reader’s attention with the very first lines of your essay – before they are tempted to just give it that cursory read and move on to the next application. Your very first sentence cannot fall flat. It must reel them into your narrative. Every word counts.  

How to hook your essay readers from the beginning

This sounds like a lot of pressure, right? But this is a challenge you can meet successfully. Think of your lead as the beginning of a good fiction story: something is at stake here, something compelling and colorful, something with a punch. Let’s look at a few examples, and you’ll quickly get the point:

“Horns blare as tiny auto rickshaws and bicycle-powered school buses interweave at impossibly close range in the narrow streets of Old Delhi.”

“After a near disaster during my first week as a case manager at a community center for women and children, I discovered that to succeed in my job, I’d have to restrain my anger at how badly things were run in this place.” 

“My aunt’s cancer had already metastasized throughout her body by the time she was finally diagnosed correctly – too late for any effective treatment. At that moment, my interest in a career as a science researcher became much more personal.”

“From the age of seven, when I was struggling with simple math problems but acing my spelling tests and already writing simple stories, I knew I was meant to become a writer.”

Notice that three of these four sample leads are personal anecdotes. They offer no details about the writer’s GPA or technical facts about what they researched in the lab. The first lead is so colorful and dramatic that we instantly want to know more about the person who observed the scene. In every case, the lead begins a story that makes the reader sit up and say, “Ah! This is a dynamic person with a compelling voice!” 

Your goal is to write an essay that introduces you to the admissions committee and makes them want to get to know you better. You’re way ahead of the game when your essay introduction really shines.

Three components of a strong lead

A strong essay opener will include three key elements:

• The theme or agenda of your essay, offering the first few facts about who you are, what you are interested in doing with your life/career/studies, and/or important influences
• Creative details or descriptions
• Energetic writing that will keep the reader engaged through the rest of the essay

Good leads connect where you’ve been to where you’re going 

Let’s look at a few more engaging first lines:

• “It was absolutely pitch black outside when we had to silently leave our home and climb into the back of a truck, beginning our journey to freedom.”
• “Only six months after I launched my start-up, money was flowing… out the window.”
• “Finding a green, scratched 1960s Cadillac in a dump last summer was the moment I realized that mechanical engineering was for me.”

Wouldn’t you want to keep reading to learn the rest of these stories? I would! 

Many clients worry that these kinds of anecdotal introductions are too “soft,” too “personal,” or too “creative.” But the right vibrant anecdote can absolutely do the job of being creative, personal, and strong. A compelling lead draws your reader into your story and make them feel involved in your journey. Descriptive language can go a long way to spice up a straightforward story and help the reader follow you from where you began to where you are headed.

How to write a lead that pops

Now that you have read several great examples of attention-grabbing leads, your mind might already be busy generating ideas for your own essay introduction. Write them down. If you don’t have ideas just yet, though, that’s okay – give yourself some time to think. Make a list of turning-point moments in your life that relate to your educational or professional goals. As we have seen, these experiences can be drawn from anywhere: recent or older work experiences, your cultural or family background, or “aha!” moments. 

An electrical engineering applicant could describe the first time their rural home suddenly went dark and they realized they had found their professional calling. An MBA applicant might have had a very profound and meaningful experience offering basic financial guidance to a struggling working-class individual, prompting their goal of pursuing a career in the nonprofit sector. A law school applicant might have witnessed a courtroom scene during an internship that inspired them to pursue a certain type of law. The possibilities go on and on.

As you make your list of anecdotes, jot down as many small, precise details as you can about each memory or experience. Why was this moment important on your journey toward your dream career or school? How did you feel at that moment? How did it help shape you? What did it teach you? Were there any sensory details (sights, smells, tastes, touch) that were particularly relevant to those moments? 

Then, try starting your essay with the anecdote itself, inviting the reader to share your experience, and add color, personality, and voice.

At the beginning of this post, we pointed out how easy it is to make snap judgments (perhaps unfairly) about a book, article, film, or acquaintance you just met at a party, and to turn your attention away because you weren’t captivated instantly. We end this post asking you to think about all the times you began sampling a book or story and after the first few lines, you simply had to know what was going to happen next. You bought the book or read the story straight through. You want your essay to be one of those proverbial “page-turners” (even if it’s less than one page) that the admissions committee starts reading and can’t put down. You will have earned their full attention, straight through to the end. Once they’re hooked, you can take them anywhere you please.

Still need help finding that “hook” to open your essay? Our admissions pros will guide you to finding that perfect moment. They can help you plan and craft an application that will draw your readers in with a substantive narrative that will inspire them to place your application in the “admit” pile. 

By Judy Gruen, former Accepted admissions consultant. Judy holds a master’s in journalism from Northwestern University. She is also the co-author of Accepted’s first full-length book, MBA Admission for Smarties: The No-Nonsense Guide to Acceptance at Top Business Schools . Want an admissions expert help you get accepted? Click here to get in touch!

Related Resources:

• Five Fatal Flaws to Avoid in Your Grad School Statement of Purpose , a free guide
• Three Must-Have Elements of a Good Statement of Purpose
• Proving Character Traits in Your Essays 

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How to Use Lead Sentences to Improve Your Essay Writing

What are lead sentences and how do you use them to improve your essay writing?

Hi, I’m Tutor Phil, and if you’ve ever watched some of my other videos or read my blog at TutorPhil.com, then you probably have a pretty good idea of how to start writing an essay. You start out with a thesis stated clearly.

And how is a lead sentence related to a thesis? Put simply, a lead sentence is a sentence that opens and summarizes an essay, a section of an essay, or a paragraph perfectly.

I’d like to give you three examples of lead sentences – one for an entire essay, one for a section, and one for a paragraph.

Let’s say your professor wants you to write an essay about a movie. And you pick the movie “Titanic.”

Example of a Lead Sentence that Opens an Essay

Your lead sentence for the essay about the movie could be something like:

“Titanic is a very sad movie because it focuses on a relationship that ends tragically.”

This is a perfect lead sentence for this essay. At the same time this is also a perfect thesis.

What makes it good? Two parts. First, you state what exactly your main point is – and it’s that the movie is very sad. And second, you state why you believe the movie is sad – because it focuses on a relationship that ends tragically.

This makes a perfect lead sentence for an entire essay.

Example of a Lead Sentence for a Section of an Essay

Now, what could be an interesting section of this essay? Remember – a section can contain many paragraphs. That’s why I differentiate between a section and a paragraph.

One section of the paper could focus just on the cinematography. And it could start with this lead sentence:

“Emotional ups and downs in the relationship between the main characters are masterfully conveyed through camera movement.”

And this entire section would be devoted to just that – camera movement that conveys emotions between the main characters.

Example of a Lead Sentence that Opens an Essay Paragraph

Now, let’s zoom in even further and ask ourselves – what could make an interesting paragraph in this section?

Well, one paragraph could be devoted to camera movement during a certain scene – for example, when the ship begins to sink. And our lead sentence could be:

“Camera movement in the final scene helps intensify the main characters’ anguish.”

Please note that in each case, whether the lead sentence opens the entire essay or just a paragraph, its job is to summarize the contents perfectly.

Lead sentences really help you focus on the subject matter of what comes after them because they force your brain to concentrate on the subject matter of the essay, the section, or the paragraph.

They also allow your reader to get a good idea of what’s to come in the paragraph.

This is the structure of a body paragraph with a lead sentence:

Here’s an example of a body paragraph with a lead sentence:

“Lead sentences are necessary in body paragraphs because they contain the main idea to be explained and illustrated in the paragraph. If the main idea is not clearly introduced, then the explanation lacks reference. In other words, the reader may follow the explanation without being clear on what this is an explanation of. To include examples or illustrations without providing a clear general idea first is also counterproductive. When the reader gets to an example, she may not understand what the example is supposed to illustrate without a general idea introduced in the lead sentence. For example, this paragraph is a perfect illustration of how to introduce a point in the beginning of a paragraph and support it with explanations and examples.”

Here’s a video of three examples of beautiful lead sentences and how they can vary in length and complexity:

How to Write a Thesis Statement – Tutorial with Examples

6 simple ways to improve sentence structure in your essays, essay writing for beginners: 6-step guide with examples, 10 solid essay writing tips to help you improve quickly, how to expand an essay – 4 tips to increase the word count.

Tutor Phil is an e-learning professional who helps adult learners finish their degrees by teaching them academic writing skills.

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8 Types of Leads that Pull in Readers

Award-winning writer Kathy Widenhouse has helped hundreds of nonprofits and writers produce successful content and has gained 600K+ views for her writing tutorials. She is the author of 9 books. See more of Kathy’s content here.

Oh, the angst of writing that first sentence … the first paragraph … the first section: your lead.

But along with those nerves, there’s good news: certain types of leads work really well. The best have earned their rep for a simple reason. They get results. That is, they move readers into your content.

And you needn’t master an infinite number of types of leads in order to pull in engage a reader. Just a handful will do it. Whether you’re writing an article, a piece of copywriting, a blog post, a book’s back cover blurb – when y ou write an engaging lead , you draw in the reader so she keeps reading. Here are eight kinds of leads that work consistently well. Use them to save time as you write and to pull in readers over and over again.

8 all-star types of leads that pull in readers

One of the most traditional types of leads, reporters use this option in news reports because it provides a quick summary of what to expect in the rest of the article. It uses as few words as possible while answering the six essential questions of journalism: who, what, where, when, why , and how .

This format, often called an “Inverted Pyramid,” offers a synopsis of the story at the top with details to follow. In fact, this kind of lead is so common that it’s also called a Summary News Lead Style or referred to as Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF). A summary lead pulls in readers because it provides a quick and dirty abstract of the rest of the piece of content. Example: When it comes to writing a lead, there’s good news: all different types of leads work, but here are eight that work consistently well. Use them to save time as you write and to pull in readers over and over again.

2. Anecdote

An anecdote is an itty-bitty story that makes a point. That means your anecdotal lead has a main character with a problem or conflict and an outcome – and the outcome connects to the main idea of your subsequent content. Like other short storie s, an anecdotal lead is big on specifics, details, and sensory images. Anecdotes pull in readers because people like reading stories about other people.

Example: As a new freelancer, I understood right away the importance of the first few words of a piece. But everybody called it different things. My writing instructor (a former journalist) called it a lede. The copywriting gurus called it a hook. The writing manuals called it a lead and college professors called it an introduction. Out of all the possibilities and different types of leads, I simply wanted to know how to write the thing.

3. Descriptive lead

Setting the scene: a descriptive lead paints a picture of a person, place, or event. Open your content with vivid details that tap into the five senses to capture your reader’s attention.

Example: My fingers were frozen at the keyboard. Tick, tick, tick … the minutes clicked by, but my screen remained empty. I was assigned an article about writing an effective lead, but I had no idea where to begin.

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Edna Buchanan once explained that a good lead should make a reader sitting at breakfast with his wife, “spit out his coffee, clutch his chest and say, ‘My god, Martha. Did you read this?’” She was referring to a zinger -- a single word, phrase, punch statement, enticing fact, teaser, or intriguing detail that is so irresistible that the reader simply MUST know more.

Example:   Just 50% of users keep reading beyond an article’s halfway point, according to a study by Chartbeat. Will yours be one of them? Choose a lead that makes it so.

5. Comparison

You can open with an example of an issue, event, or object that is familiar to your target reader – one that has a clear similarity to your content’s main point. A comparison makes your main idea relatable. It provides a point of reference to your reader in a recognizable or comfortable form. It's a good idea to present the comparison but then also spell out the connection for your reader.

On the other hand, avoid using a contrast – a comparison that is in direct opposition to your point. Doing so confuses your reader.

Example: Just as different platforms can share your content in different forms – in an image on Pinterest or in a tight, pithy snippet on Twitter, for example – different types of leads can pull in different readers, depending upon your target audience.

Let an expert grab your reader’s attention for you. Write a lead using a quote from an authority, celebrity, historical figure, or specialist.

• Be sure the quote directly addresses the point of your content.
• Identify the expert, even if it’s someone you think everyone should know. Summarize the person’s notoriety or credentials with a short phrase. For historical figures, provide birth and death dates.
• Cite the quotation’s source.

Example: “Your opening has to be good,” said prolific suspense writer Lawrence Block in POP! Stand Out In Any Crowd. “Or the rest of the story won’t have a chance because nobody’ll stick around to read it.” And there are a handful of openings – types of leads – you can use that compel readers to keep reading.

7. Question

How do you respond when you read a question? Mentally, you answer. Or you want more information. An effective question lead raises curiosity about a problem and implies there’s a solution.

For this type of lead to work, two things must happen:

• The question must be specific. (“Want to know how to write a lead?” Yeah, nothing specific there.)
• The subsequent content provides a useful answer.

Example: How do you respond when a piece of content opens with a question? With an answer in your mind. Which is why question leads can be so effective.

8. Direct address

If you think second person writing is consigned solely to direct mail, ads, and other copywriting content, think again. A direct appeal using “you” language engages readers from the get-go. It’s like talking one-on-one with your reader so that your lead becomes a conversation , giving the reader a feeling of back-and-forth. It’s a persuasive writing technique that makes blog posts, web copy, social media, email campaigns, books, and articles more accessible – and more desirable to read.

Example: You needn’t to master an infinite number of types of leads in order to write well. Whether you’re writing an article, a piece of copywriting, a blog post, a book’s back cover blurb – when you write an engaging lead, you draw in the reader so she keeps reading. 

Other types of leads you can try

“A large number of other approaches exist,” say our friends at Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab (OWL ). “Writers should not feel boxed in by formulas.”

Among those are the ...

• Single-item lead: this summary lead variation focuses on just one or two pieces of information from among journalism’s 6 questions – who, what, where, when, why, and how.
• Delayed Identification lead: the central person or topic is not identified immediately, but initially with descriptive title (“the fifth grader teacher” or “the annual event”) and clarified further down.
• Analysis: this lead is appropriate when readers already know basic facts and are seeking an explanation or deeper understanding.

Whether it is the first sentence, first paragraph, or first section, the lead ushers your reader into the rest of your content. More than one lead can work for your piece. Experiment. You can even write a couple … and then choose the one that works best for your work.

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Reading Worksheets, Spelling, Grammar, Comprehension, Lesson Plans

How to Write an Introduction: Lead Types

About this worksheet:.

Learn how to use each type of lead in an essay introduction. Students will become familiar with writing attention grabbing leads after practicing with this helpful writing introductions worksheet. This activity includes learning about factoid, personal story, metaphor, surprise statement, and description leads.

Types and Examples of Essays: The Complete List

Essays are concise pieces of writing that present information in a comprehensible, straightforward manner. The traditional structure of an essay begins with an introduction, uses topic sentences, and concludes with a conclusion that restates the thesis.

Table of Contents

Diverse essay types demand different writing abilities, such as the ability to inject the figurative language into a personal essay to make it come to life or to critically analyze a complex issue in an analytical essay in order to find a solution.

The length and format of essays also vary, with some spanning pages and others neatly fitting into just a few paragraphs. Before you are required to write these types of essays, familiarize yourself with them. You will become a skilled essayist once you comprehend how they differ and how they are similar.

In this article, we provide you with a list of the most prevalent essay types.

Types of Essays with Examples

Understanding the different types of essays that make up the majority of your high school, college, and university assignments is a smart place to start when considering how to write one.

Essays can be categorized into a wide variety, but the four main types of essays are argumentative, expository, narrative, and descriptive essays. Let us take a detailed look at these four main types of essays with examples.

4 Major Types of Essay with Examples

The four primary methods/ types of essays that are typically required in academic settings are as follows (according to Purdue Online Writing Lab), and the majority of the essays you will ever write in your life will roughly fit into one of these categories:

The majority of the essays you will ever have to write in your existence will come under one of these four categories, which are the norm in academia.

These are four different ways to convey an essay’s idea rather than four unique essay genres. Of the nine conventional rhetorical modes, which also include techniques like classification and process analysis, these four are the most frequently employed.

1. Expository Essays

These are most likely the types of essays you may encounter and the standard essay style needed for exams.

When writing an expository essay, you will go deeper into a subject or issue to develop an idea, analyze supporting data, and then organize an “exposition” on the concept.

Depending on the writer’s objectives, expository essays can take a variety of forms including:

• Descriptive or Definition Essays
• Procedure or “How-To” Essays
• Comparison Essays
• Cause-and-Effect Essays
• Problem/Solution Essays
• Examples of Expository Essays

Watching The Thinderstoem

Over the open ocean, I observed a thunderstorm. Only thick, heavy clouds and a roiling tide could be seen at the start, and everything was quiet. I was standing on my balcony looking out toward the horizon when I heard a quiet thunderclap. The clouds began to shut over the following few minutes and reflected lightning lit up the undulating ocean. The sun was obscured by the thunderheads, casting shadows across the scene. For a very long period, there was calm.

I turned to look up just as the first thunderclap struck clearly. It shone against the sky and the water, and when I blink, I can see its outline in perfectly reversed colors. Thereafter, more. Thunder appeared to be struggling to keep up as it rumbled and stalled. Suddenly, the clouds appeared to be tearing apart, and patches of dazzling blue gleamed above the gloomy water.

I then looked down and observed the waves. Every bolt was met with a brief period of surface-spreading light. I could hear the waves smashing as they became more violent, rising high.

Then the rain started. It deluged the sea and soaked the sand all at once and in sheets. I could only see the lightning as bursts of light since the fog was so thick. The rain was so intense that it drowned out the thunder. Everything was rhythmic light and shadow, quiet and sound, and all five senses were combined into one experience.

It abruptly came to a standstill. The storm broke out. Clouds began to separate like curtains. Still falling, but much more subtly now. With the exception of one signature, it appeared as though there had never been a storm. A nearly ferociously vivid rainbow covered the sky and the lake. The horizon was once again visible.

Click here for an in-depth understanding of exploratory essays and how to write them ?????

2. Argumentative Essays

These essays are comparable to expository essays, but they are typically far more in-depth and support their arguments with well-researched qualitative and quantitative data (acquired via primary or secondary sources). An argumentative essay’s goal is to establish a viewpoint or position on a subject by offering justifications and proof.

An argumentative essay is typically written for a higher-level audience, such as high school or university. This implies that you will have to conduct some research, make some notes, and probably refer to your lecture notes.

• Examples of Argumentative Essays

Having chocolate milk in class?

I disagree that chocolate milk should no longer be served in school cafeterias. Do people believe that chocolate milk's sugar content is unhealthy, according to Chocolate Milk in School Cafeterias? They want to remove it from the dining halls. This is not a smart move.

The options available to children purchasing lunches in the cafeteria are limited. They could be limited to a single main course or veggie. They can then select chocolate milk in place of white milk. They might eat extra potato chips, cookies, donuts, and other junk food if they are unable to make a decision. Many kids just purchase junk food for lunch.

Compared to Coke or Gatorade, chocolate milk is preferable. When bringing a lunch, children must purchase a beverage; instead of purchasing milk, these children might bring a sugary beverage.

Even though chocolate milk contains some sugar, it is still preferable to other beverages. It still has vitamins and minerals, so that's a plus. Although some kids just don't like white milk, I believe it is preferable for youngsters to at least drink some milk than none at all. The American Heart Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics both say this, and I agree!

For an in-depth understanding of argumentative essays, click here. ??????

3. Descriptive Essays

As the title suggests, the focus of this essay is language in general, specifically adjectives, similes, and metaphors. The goal of these essays is to describe the topic you are requested to write about as vividly as you can. You will need to include an introduction, body, and conclusion, just like in an expository essay.

A descriptive essay, however, differs from other types of writing since it requires you to describe a specific object in great detail. The other types of essays may include description, but they typically require a little more, such as an argument, whereas a descriptive essay only provides a detailed description of something, with the thing being described serving as the main focus rather than an argument.

• Examples of Descriptive Essays

Parents' view of university education in my country

Teenagers in my nation do not work because they are too busy studying. For teenagers, playing the character of a student and a good student is paramount. Making your parents proud is crucial, as is competing for top colleges and employment.

Families and parents believe that it is crucial for kids to study very hard, very long, and without breaks in order to achieve the best grades possible. Only a small percentage of the population in my country can attend university since there are so few open spots.

Therefore, the pupils who perform best in school are the ones who attend universities. The top employment goes to students who attend the best universities. Choosing the right university will allow you to unwind.

It's crucial to make your parents happy. In the 1950s, while our nation was at war, our parents struggled mightily to rise above it. The nation was empty. Like in Japan, parents here put in long hours at work, and pupils here are expected to work hard. The family is honored for their labors. Top marks are crucial, so parents may be proud of their son's diligence.

Click here for more on descriptive essays ?????

4. Narrative Essays|

Again, a narrative essay is a more personal piece of writing where your point of view is made apparent to the reader, contrary to what the title might imply. These articles may take the form of stories or be referred to as “creative non-fiction.” In these essays, the first-person pronoun “I” is frequently used.

Narrative essays, which are frequently the closest thing to works of journalism, must also have a distinct introduction, body, and conclusion that are filled with brief language. You are probably well on your way to being a successful journalist if you are able to write a compelling narrative essay.

• Examples of Narrative Essays

Thinking in a Systems Approach

A child's death is always tragic. Only a few hours after giving birth, one of my sisters lost her first two children, twins. I learned from how my family members handled this incident that even those who were raised with the same ideas and ideals might have very diverse perspectives on the world.

My sibling was delivered early. We weren't shocked to find that her first pregnancy would not proceed to term because she arrived a month early than she should have. However, the fact that the infants would arrive two months early rather than just one upset us.

We had little expectation that they would live a long life because their prospects of survival were slim. My role in the situation was quite limited because I lived several hundred km apart, but I worried and wept with everyone else. The full extent of my sorrow for my sister and the rest of my family did not reach me until a few years later when I saw my sister at a family reunion.

That's when I realized how much hope, disappointment, and grief those two little girls' incredibly brief lives had brought to our family. At that point, I genuinely felt sad for both my sister and myself.

At about the same time, I realized that our collective perspectives on the incident varied. My mother was at one extreme and I was at the other, creating a type of polarization.

I'm a devoted Mormon, as is my mother. We both hold the same beliefs about God, including that we were all in God's presence before coming to Earth, that God has a plan for our salvation, and that if we live righteously, we can return to God. We also hold to the doctrine of foreordination, which holds that God assigns particular individuals to particular jobs on Earth.

I eventually realized that our differences stemmed from what I like to refer to as system orientation. We both practice religion, however, my mother exclusively practices religion, whilst I also practice science. She believes that religion is the only rational and consistent explanation for everything, particularly the loss of a baby.

In my worldview, which integrates religion and science, God may exist, but he need not be in charge of everything. Many events, such as infant deaths, take place within his plan without being specifically mentioned in it. Understanding and respecting my mother's viewpoints as well as my own and feeling better about them are made possible by looking at it in this way.

Click here for an in-depth look at narrative essays ?????

There are 4 main types of essays

The 7 Other Types of Essays

Using one of these four rhetorical devices may be required of you when writing an essay. You might be required to write an argumentative essay on whether or not a new college policy should be implemented.

You would convey your stance by using persuasive writing tactics in your essay, such as by outlining your opinion of the proposed legislation and how it is likely to affect society.

You can better grasp the texts you work with by having a better understanding of the four primary forms of writing. When reading an essay, try to determine the writing style the author is using by focusing on the essay’s structure, tone, vocabulary, and method of presenting the main idea.

Here we analyze the 4 types of essays available:

Personal essays

Your emphasis in a personal essay is on something that has affected you personally. It may be a current issue, a historical occurrence, or a more comprehensive examination of how many situations and events have molded you into the person you are now.

Personal essays frequently use narrative writing strategies. However, depending on the subject matter and thesis of the essay, authors may also use expository or descriptive tactics. Argumentative, comical, and college application essays are just a few examples of different genres of writing that can overlap with personal essays.

Political essays

Some of the most well-known political essays may be familiar to you from what you studied in history class. These essays are works by eminent philosophers from the past and the present that address society and ideal forms of government.

In a political essay, the author discusses the current situation and suggests solutions, occasionally using historical examples of situations or solutions that are analogous to the current one. Political essays typically fall under the categories of informative or persuasive writing.

Compare-and-contrast essays

Essays that compare and contrast two things are probably one of the essay types that students write the most. In this style of essay, the author contrasts and compares two subjects in order to highlight the main distinctions and similarities between them.

The content of compare-and-contrast essays is typically revealed through the similarities the author draws, making them expository writing assignments. When comparisons are used to persuade the reader to adopt a particular perspective, they can also be considered persuasive writing pieces.

College (application) essays

Essays you write in college may not always qualify as college essays. Actually, you’ll write all of your college essays before you enroll in a college unless you later go to graduate school or another type of specialized academic program.

A concise personal essay that emphasizes your personality traits and life experiences that make you the perfect fit for the college to which you are applying is known as a college application essay or personal statement.

Analytical essays

Essays that analyze a topic in-depth focus on its essential elements and draw conclusions after carefully analyzing these elements. An analytical essay regarding a book’s topics or an argumentative essay’s ideas can be required of you. The purpose of analytical essays, which are examples of expository writing, is to present facts by interpreting content.

An analytical essay does not attempt to persuade the reader to adopt a particular viewpoint. Instead, the author gives a piece of media, such as a short story or movie, and analyzes its theme by going over the various ways it conveys that theme.

Argumentative essays

As the name implies, you argue in an argumentative essay.

You specifically make an argument for or against a certain viewpoint. For instance, your task might be to advocate for or against your school’s rule prohibiting students from enrolling in more than two AP courses annually and to back up your arguments with facts.

You might use statistics showing a correlation between a student’s enrollment in AP courses and their typical AP test results or the amount of homework an AP course requires to support your argument that it’s a good idea.

Argumentative essays that are well-written don’t rely on emotional appeal. Instead, they use evidence—statistics, facts, and logic—to persuade readers of the validity of their ideas. Argumentative essays are typical examples of persuasive writing.

Humorous essays

As the name suggests, this sort of essay aims to make the reader laugh and be entertained. A comical essay could describe an amusing incident in the author’s life or it might be a political essay that makes political commentary through satire. A humorous essay is one that is both entertaining and academic.

Essays that are humorous frequently rely more on tactics used in narrative writing, such as metaphors and descriptive language, than they do on other essay-writing strategies. Hilarious essays frequently take the form of descriptive articles that employ hyperbole, irreverence, or quirky language to communicate a humorous perspective on the subject matter.

We hope by reading to this point, you now know how to write an essay that gets all the accolades and grades you deserve.

What are you waiting for now that you are aware of the various essay types and how to compose them? Start working on your essay right away.

How to Write Expository Essays (and Elements)

How to Write a Compelling Argumentative Essay

How to Write a Descriptive Essay (Types and Tips)

Narrative Essays: Examples and How to Write them

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What Is a Lead-in Statement?

Danny djeljosevic.

In writing, a lead-in statement is the opening of an essay or other piece of writing. This statement is part of the introductory paragraph and the first thing the audience reads and is thus meant to keep the reader’s attention.

Explore this article

An effective lead-in statement not only captures the reader’s attention, but also allows the writer to naturally segue into the topic of the paper. Typically, the lead-in statement will relate to the topic at hand.

There is no one way to write a lead-in statement. This opening sentence can be creative like an interesting anecdote, a surprising fact that the reader may not know or a relevant mention of a famous person. There are more conventional ways of writing a lead-in statement, such as writing a very brief history of the topic or simply stating what the paper is about.

Despite the number of options in writing a lead-in statement, there are several measures not to take in writing the opening. For example, opening with a definition from the dictionary may not effectively catch the reader’s attention. While stating the topic is a viable option, it is not recommended to state it as some variant of “The topic of this essay is...”

About the Author

Danny Djeljosevic is a freelance writer and blogger living in San Diego, Calif. He pursues a variety of interests including writing (blogs, prose, screenplays and comic books), criticism and filmmaking. Djeljosevic has a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Florida.

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There’s a New Covid Variant. What Will That Mean for Spring and Summer?

Experts are closely watching KP.2, now the leading variant.

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By Dani Blum

For most of this year, the JN.1 variant of the coronavirus accounted for an overwhelming majority of Covid cases . But now, an offshoot variant called KP.2 is taking off. The variant, which made up just one percent of cases in the United States in mid-March, now makes up over a quarter.

KP.2 belongs to a subset of Covid variants that scientists have cheekily nicknamed “FLiRT,” drawn from the letters in the names of their mutations. They are descendants of JN.1, and KP.2 is “very, very close” to JN.1, said Dr. David Ho, a virologist at Columbia University. But Dr. Ho has conducted early lab tests in cells that suggest that slight differences in KP.2’s spike protein might make it better at evading our immune defenses and slightly more infectious than JN.1.

While cases currently don’t appear to be on the rise, researchers and physicians are closely watching whether the variant will drive a summer surge.

“I don’t think anybody’s expecting things to change abruptly, necessarily,” said Dr. Marc Sala, co-director of the Northwestern Medicine Comprehensive Covid-19 Center in Chicago. But KP.2 will most likely “be our new norm,’” he said. Here’s what to know.

The current spread of Covid

Experts said it would take several weeks to see whether KP.2 might lead to a rise in Covid cases, and noted that we have only a limited understanding of how the virus is spreading. Since the public health emergency ended , there is less robust data available on cases, and doctors said fewer people were using Covid tests.

But what we do know is reassuring: Despite the shift in variants, data from the C.D.C. suggests there are only “minimal ” levels of the virus circulating in wastewater nationally, and emergency department visits and hospitalizations fell between early March and late April.

“I don’t want to say that we already know everything about KP.2,” said Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, the chief of research and development at the Veterans Affairs St. Louis Healthcare System. “But at this time, I’m not seeing any major indications of anything ominous.”

Protection from vaccines and past infections

Experts said that even if you had JN.1, you may still get reinfected with KP.2 — particularly if it’s been several months or longer since your last bout of Covid.

KP.2 could infect even people who got the most updated vaccine, Dr. Ho said, since that shot targets XBB.1.5, a variant that is notably different from JN.1 and its descendants. An early version of a paper released in April by researchers in Japan suggested that KP.2 might be more adept than JN.1 at infecting people who received the most recent Covid vaccine. (The research has not yet been peer-reviewed or published.) A spokesperson for the C.D.C. said the agency was continuing to monitor how vaccines perform against KP.2.

Still, the shot does provide some protection, especially against severe disease, doctors said, as do previous infections. At this point, there isn’t reason to believe that KP.2 would cause more severe illness than other strains, the C.D.C. spokesperson said. But people who are 65 and older, pregnant or immunocompromised remain at higher risk of serious complications from Covid.

Those groups, in particular, may want to get the updated vaccine if they haven’t yet, said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease specialist at the University of California, San Francisco. The C.D.C. has recommended t hat people 65 and older who already received one dose of the updated vaccine get an additional shot at least four months later.

“Even though it’s the lowest level of deaths and hospitalizations we’ve seen, I’m still taking care of sick people with Covid,” he said. “And they all have one unifying theme, which is that they’re older and they didn’t get the latest shot.”

The latest on symptoms and long Covid

Doctors said that the symptoms of both KP.2 and JN.1 — which now makes up around 16 percent of cases — are most likely similar to those seen with other variants . These include sore throat, runny nose, coughing, head and body aches, fever, congestion, fatigue and in severe cases, shortness of breath. Fewer people lose their sense of taste and smell now than did at the start of the pandemic, but some people will still experience those symptoms.

Dr. Chin-Hong said that patients were often surprised that diarrhea, nausea and vomiting could be Covid symptoms as well, and that they sometimes confused those issues as signs that they had norovirus .

For many people who’ve already had Covid, a reinfection is often as mild or milder than their first case. While new cases of long Covid are less common now than they were at the start of the pandemic, repeat infections do raise the risk of developing long Covid, said Fikadu Tafesse, a virologist at Oregon Health & Science University. But researchers are still trying to determine by how much — one of many issues scientists are trying to untangle as the pandemic continues to evolve.

“That’s the nature of the virus,” Dr. Tafesse said. “It keeps mutating.”

Dani Blum is a health reporter for The Times. More about Dani Blum