Hook Writing Practice

Name:

Date:

📚 Part 1: Understand Hooks

WALT: We are learning to recognise and write engaging hooks for persuasive speeches.

Success criteria: I can identify four hook types, explain how they engage an audience, and write hooks connected to a topic.

A hook is the opening sentence of a speech. Its job is to grab attention and make the audience want to listen.

Statistic hook: Uses surprising or relevant data. “Every minute, one million plastic bottles are purchased worldwide.”

Anecdote hook: Tells a brief, vivid personal story. “Last week, I watched a student throw away a perfectly good lunch because it ‘wasn’t cool enough’.”

Question hook: Asks a provocative question. “What would you do if your online life suddenly disappeared?”

Bold statement hook: Makes a strong, debatable claim. “Fast fashion is the biggest scam teenagers have ever fallen for.”

Reading support: Read the examples aloud, use a ruler or coloured overlay to track each line, or discuss each hook with a partner.

1. “Imagine waking up one morning to find your school underwater.” What type of hook is this?

Type: ____________________________________________

2. “Seventy percent of teens say they feel anxious without their phones.” What type of hook is this?

Type: ____________________________________________

3. “School uniforms are outdated and do more harm than good.” What type of hook is this?

Type: ____________________________________________

4. “When I was ten, I watched my cousin get bullied for wearing second-hand clothes.” What type of hook is this?

Type: ____________________________________________

✏️ Part 2: Improve Weak Hooks

Rewrite each weak hook to make it more specific, vivid, surprising, or debatable. You may use any hook type.

5. Social media is a big part of life.

6. Climate change is happening.

7. Fast fashion is bad.

8. Animal testing is a problem.

Challenge: Make one rewritten hook use a statistic and another use a bold statement.

🎤 Part 3: Write and Reflect

Choose two topics. Write one engaging hook for each and label the hook type.

Topics: Social media and wellbeing; School uniforms; Climate change; Animal testing; Voting age; Fast fashion.

9. Topic: ____________________________________________

Hook:

Type: ____________________________________________

10. Topic: ____________________________________________

Hook:

Type: ____________________________________________

11. Write your strongest hook from today. Explain briefly why it would engage an audience.

Extension: Write a second version of your strongest hook using a different hook type. Compare which version would be more effective for a Year 11 audience.