“It is very rare that simple ordinary people like John and myself get ancestral halls for the summer. » This is the first sentence of Charlotte Perkins Gilman's short story, "The Yellow Wallpaper." Students are often familiar with the hooks of fiction texts, but then do not become familiar with those of nonfiction texts. In fiction, the characters must be introduced, the mystery must be created, and the plot must be introduced. Whatever text follows, the opening line should have a powerful impact on the reader. The reader's interest should be piqued by the hook of an essay, and the reader should be hooked before they even know it. “Write your opening sentence as if it were a shot!” - and you will immediately grab your reader's attention. Make it loud enough, and as the gun smoke clears, the reader will continue reading with the gunshot still ringing in their ears. (Christopher Jackson 2009). Jackson uses this analogy brilliantly to describe the effect a successful hook should have on the reader, just like a gunshot would have on your ears. The opening line should be broad enough to arouse budding curiosity even in a reader who is unfamiliar with the topic of the article. One student’s essay began, “Imagine being trapped by your own destiny…”. This hook leaves the possibility for various audiences to develop their interest while making the reader think. Rapper Jaamal West is a CEO with over a decade of experience in the music industry and he described a rule used in the music writing industry. This is called the 80/20 rule, which states that the chorus only makes up 20% of the parts of a song but is responsible for 80% of the results. This rule can also be applied to the process of writing essays and literature, and prove...... middle of paper .......shtml>.Guare, Kathryn. “Writing Craft: The Challenge of Writing an Opening Line.” Alliance of Independent Authors (2014): n. page. Internet. March 19, 2014. .Jackson, Christopher. “The most important sentence: how to write a killer opening.” Fuel Your Writing (2006): n. page. Internet. March 19, 2014. .JG Ferguson Publishing Company, ed. Focus on careers: advertising and marketing. Np: Ferguson, 2004. Print. Marshall, Patrick. “Advertising overload.” CQ Presse 2014: n. page. Online QC Researcher. Internet. March 18, 2014. Ohio Career Information System. University of Oregon, 2014. Web. March 19, 2014. West, Jaamal. “Write a great hook.” The Official Rap Handbook. Learntorap.com, 2014. Web. March 19. 2014. .