1. Barry was never sure about what he wanted to do after high school. He thought about joining the Armed Forces or getting a job. He never thought about going to college because he didn't have a career plan in mind. His friends told him to go to college and take a career exploration course. This course helped Barry decide what he wanted to do with his life. All students who enter college should take a career exploration course. What type of opening device does the writer use to grab the reader's attention?
A.a relevant quote
b. a description
c. an anecdote
d. an opposing viewpoint
2. There are several reasons that creating a plan for studying will benefit the student. First, knowing what to study and how much material needs to be covered will help the student create a schedule. This schedule will keep the student from having to cram too much information in too short a time. Second, the student also needs to plan where he or she should study. Being in a quiet place without distractions will help the study session be productive. To get the most out of studying for an exam, a schedule and a plan can help. Which sentence is the topic sentence?
A. This schedule will keep the student from having to cram too much information in too short a time.
B. Being in a quiet place without distractions will help the study session be productive.
C. There are several reasons that creating a plan for studying will benefit the student.
D. First, knowing what to study and how much material needs to be covered will help create a schedule.

Usually, the first sentence in an essay is an opening statement that works as a hook, meaning it attempts to grab the reader’s attention to keep them reading. An anecdotal hook, such as the one used in this example, refers to a short story related to the topic.

On the other hand, a topic sentence is the most important one in a paragraph, as it helps organize the information by summarizing the main idea. It is usually the first sentence, but not necessarily.