1. Personal Narrative Hooks
using The Lion King as a sample

2. THESIS: “I had to be courageous in the elephant graveyard.”
We are imagining that we are Nala and need to write a personal narrative essay

3. What is a hook?
Hooking your reader means getting the reader excited and pulling them into your writing like a fisherman catching and reeling in a fish.

4. Hook your reader! Choose a strategy:
Begin with a famous quote or song lyric. (Reminder: Be sure to reference who said or wrote the words.
Compare your topic to an unlike thing using a simile or metaphor.
Give a startling statistic or fact. (Reminder: Be sure to take from a reliable source and reference)
Begin with a zoomed in detailed description.
Use an exclamation or onomatopoeia PLUS a question.

5. Sample introduction using a song lyric:
“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Stand a little taller.” Those lyrics by Kelly Clarkson played over and over in my head as I ran. I had to be courageous as Simba and I were chased through the elephant graveyard.
Yeah, I saw you dancing around in your seat!

6. Examples from Ms. Carter’s homeroom using a simile or metaphor
The elephant graveyard was as scary as death itself!
The hyenas were as ugly and stupid as zombies.
Did you imagine every scary movie you’ve seen too!

7. using a zoomed in description
The elephant skull was huge and dusty, with flaky, dry skin.
EUGH! I want to read more!

8. Using an exclamation or onomatopoeia (sound affects) PLUS a question
“ HA HA HA!!! Have you ever heard a laugh that made you shiver or cringe?”
Muah ha ha!

9. YOUR INTODUCTION (paragraph 1) FOR YOUR PERSONAL NARRATIVE (3-4 sentences total)
1-2 sentence hook
A connector sentence that explains the hook and makes it flow into your thesis.
A thesis statement. In this case, our thesis is simple: “I had to be courageous when…”
EXAMPLE:
“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Stand a little taller.” Those lyrics by Kelly Clarkson played over and over in my head as I ran. I had to be courageous as Simba and I were chased through the elephant graveyard.