How To Use An Anecdote As An Emotional Appeal In An Essay
Writing an essay, you surely want to make it interesting for those who are supposed to read it. The readers’ interest depends not only on the topic that you choose. It’s also necessary to compose the text in such a way that it will attract attention, keep the readers willing to go on and see the conclusion. One of the means that allow to keep people attracted to your composition is a so-called hook.
Hooks are elements of emotional appeal in an essay. There are several most used types of emotional appeal hooks that can be used in your project:
- anecdote
- interesting quote
- unique statistic information
- rarely illuminated facts
- rhetorical question
- analogy
- etc.
However, you need to remember that each of the mentioned means should be used smartly, with precise knowledge of its role, meaning, and contextual importance. For example, a funny anecdote used as a hook in an essay that is dedicated to a serious topic is a completely wrong choice. At the same time, something with a good sense of humor is a great choice for a reflective essay that depicts an interesting experience from your life.
You also need to remember that such a thing as an anecdote (that has a certain plot and an unexpected ending, as a rule) can be used in a very smart and attractive way. For example, you start it in our introductory paragraph and interrupt at an interesting point. Creating a kind of suspense in such a way, you leave the rest of the short story for the concluding paragraph of the whole essay, keeping your readers willing to find out what happened at the end of the anecdote. As well, if your essay is rather informal, you can use a line from your hook as an epigraph to each paragraph of the text. This trick will keep your readers going on through the text with much more eagerness.
Choosing an anecdote for your paper, always make sure that:
- 1. There is no dark humor in it.
- 2. There are no politically incorrect turns in it.
- 3. It’s just an innocent joke that can be voiced out in class.
- 4. It’s absolutely relevant to the main topic of your project.
- 5. Your teacher allows you using such means of emotional appeal.
- 6. You have an absolutely clear idea of how this hook should be located in the text to perform its main function effectively.
- 7.You are absolutely sure it will be the best possible hook.