Question

Read the following introductory paragraph, which is missing a hook:

Although dog bite deaths are rare, they are horrifying and cause a public outcry. In the last few decades, most of the outrage has been directed at pit bulls. In an effort to reduce human fatalities due to dog attacks, many cities have passed laws banning pit bulls. Unfortunately, these efforts to protect the public have not and will not work. Cities should not pass laws banning pit bulls because breed specific legislation generally causes more harm than good to both people and dogs.

Which option below makes the most effective hook?


Mark Twain said, “It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog.”


Pit bulls scare people. Scared people over react. That’s what they are doing now, over reacting.


The Centers for Disease Control, or CDC, is the government agency responsible for compiling statistics on dog bites of humans. Universities, veterinary associations, and humane and dog breed organizations also track and analyze dog attacks.


Thousands of years ago, man and dog came out of the wilderness together. Now some cities want to cast some of our best friends back into the darkness, because sometimes dogs bite, and sometimes they kill.

Answer 1

Option 4.

It’s vivid and emotionally engaging, connects the long human–dog bond to the current controversy, and sets up the thesis that banning certain dogs is a harmful overreaction. The Mark Twain line is clever but clichéd; the CDC sentence is dry and factual; option 2 is informal and off-putting.