Consider one of the more provocative or debated aspects of the topic of your essay, and begin your essay with the rhetorical question straight away.
It's also important to be wary of using a surprising fact.
Make sure your sources are accurate and reliable, and always cross-check them to make sure.
However, using a personal anecdote as an attention-grabber in a statement of intent, like one that you would include as part of a college or fellowship application, can set up the entire essay and make it easier to bring your essay full-circle in your conclusion.
Use a personal anecdote that tells the story of a personal struggle, or a unique experience, to convince the reader to learn more about you and how you've grown.
As a general rule, numbers and statistics can be very powerful rhetorical tools.
Because quantifying phenomena is such a challenge, using a statistic, fact, or number immediately draws your readers' attention and impresses upon them your mastery of the topic you're treating.
One advantage of descriptions is their versatility: you can make them as short as one sentence, or you can build suspense by drawing your description out into three or four. Don't be surprised if you feel a little carried away by the world you're constructing -- and know that if you feel that way, chances are your reader will, too.
Use a surprising fact to grab your readers' attention.
Use a personal anecdote as an attention-grabber in a personal essay or statement of intent.
Personal anecdotes may be less effective or useful in a literary essay, where the writer is expected to use the third person throughout the essay and examine the text on a critical, not a personal, level.
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