Hooks (Attention Grabbers)
Thesis Statements, and Counter-Arguments

Sample Prompt:   What is the best restaurant for breakfast?

Sample Thesis (Opinion + Supporting Details):  Coco’s is the best restaurant for breakfast because it has great variety and the quality of the food is excellent.

Sample Hooks (Something to help pull in reader interest.  These can be interesting facts, questions, anecdotes, startling statistics, etc…):

• Fact:  Nutritionists claim that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

• Question:  (Use open ended questions rather than one word or yes/no answers)   What is your favorite restaurant for breakfast?  

• Anecdote:  Driving down the street on a Saturday morning after an early soccer game, my family and I looked for a new and interesting restaurant.  Last week, we found the best one ever.  

• Startling Statistic:  A study of 19,000 Americans called NHANES III found: (1) “Breakfast skippers are more likely to gain weight, because they are more inclined to overcompensate for the loss of key nutrients at breakfast by eating more fat-rich, high-energy foods later in the day.”

Sample Counter-Argument:  Coco’s is not the best restaurant for breakfast because it does not have enough healthy choice options on their menu.

• Now tear it down!  What will your comeback be?  Take a closer look:  oatmeal, fresh fruit, whole grain breads, and egg substitutes are all available on the menu.  Just look at the “sides” section.

Now it’s your turn.  Create a hook, a thesis statement, and a counter-argument (with the comeback) for one of the following topics.  Write at least two of the four different types of hooks.

• Are iPods or Zune players better?

• Do school uniforms change student behavior?

• Are french fries or onion rings better?

• Are horror movies bad for teenagers to watch?

• What is the best mall?

• What is the best restaurant for a special occasion?