Cause and Effect Essay
Cause and Effect Essays
• A cause-effect essay serves one of two
purposes
– 1. It shows the effects of a thing or event
– 2. It explains the causes of a thing or event
• Cause effect essays deal with the action/result
relationship. They explain why things happen
(causes) and what happens as a result
(effects).
Cause and Effect Essays:
Basic Structure
There are two types of Cause and Effect Essays.
1. A cause with multiple effects
– Ex) Effects of watching too much TV
• The cause is watching too much TV – explain the effects
2. An effect with multiple causes.
– Ex) Causes of air pollution (multiple factors leading to
air pollution)
• Air pollution is the effect
3. Each of the Causes or Effects listed in the thesis
statement will correspond to a paragraph in the
body of the essay.
Multiple causes-->effect
Uncontrolled
factory gases
Burning of
low-quality
coal for
heating
Exhaust gases
from cars
Air
pollution
Multiple causes-->effect
• Topic: Causes of air pollution
– (Air pollution is the effect)
I.
Intro
I.
Thesis Statement: Air pollution is caused by the following
factors: exhaust gases from cars, uncontrolled factory
releases, and burning of low-quality coal for heating.
II. Body
I.
Exhaust gases from cars. (Explain how this causes air
pollution)
II. Uncontrolled factory releases. (Explain how this causes
air pollution)
III. Burning of low-quality coal. (Explain how this causes air
pollution)
III. Conclusion
Cause-->Multiple effects
Communication
problems
Eating disorders
Obesity
Watching
too
much TV
Cause-->Multiple effects
• Topic : Effects on society of watching too much TV
I. Intro
I.
Thesis: Watching too much TV is one of the major
sociological issues of this century, which has many
effects on the physiology and psychology of people.
II. Body
I.
Eating disorders (Explain how watching too much tv
causes eating disorders)
II. Communication problems
III. Obesity
III. Conclusion
Getting Started:
1. What is the very first step in the writing process?
Brainstorming
2. Take a couple minutes to come up with as many
cause and effect topics as possible.
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Sample topics
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The positive effects of quitting a harmful habit
Causes of teenage depression
The effect of a parent, teacher, or friend on a
child’s life
The effects of cramming for an exam
The effects of peer pressure
Why some students cheat
The effects of growing up with a personal
computer
The effects of poverty on an individual
Why more and more students are taking online
classes
The effects of racial, sexual, or religious
discrimination
Why people exercise
Why people have pets
The effects of computers on our everyday lives
The environmental effects of bottled water
The effects of pressures on students to get good
grades
The effects of a coach or teammate on a student’s
life
The effects of not keeping a personal budget
The causes of noise pollution
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The effects of noise pollution
Why so few students read newspapers
The effects of moving to a new town or city
Why sales of DVDs are declining
Why growing numbers of people shop online
The effects of the steady increase in the cost of
going to college
Why students drop out of high school or college
Why so many people eat junk food
Why many children run away from home
The long-term effects of unemployment on a
person
The influence of a book or a movie on a person’s
life
The effects of music downloading on the music
industry
Choosing a topic…
• Once you have done some brainstorming, take a look
at 1 or 2 of the topics you like most.
• Remember, try not to choose topics that are too broad
or too narrow.
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Too broad: The Causes of Poverty
Better: The Causes of Poverty in the Dominican Republic
Too narrow: The effects of taking English 322
Better: The effects of becoming a good writer
Better: The effects of learning a foreign language
• In partners, discuss the topics you have selected and
come up with a list of ALL the possible causes or
effects for your topics.
Narrowing down your topic.
Now that you have a list, narrow down or group your causes or
effects into 3 main categories.
Effects of Air pollution in Mexico
City
• Necessity to stay indoors
• More sitting in front of the tv
• Destruction of wildlife
• Negative world attention
• Decrease in tourism
• Allergies
• Emphysema
• Headaches
• Poor visibilty
• Shorter life span
• Runny eyes and nose
• Lower quality of life
Effects of Air pollution in Mexico
City
• Health problems
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Runny eyes and nose
Shorter life span
Headaches and emphysema
allergies
• Lifestyle changes
– More sitting in front of tv
– Necessity to stay indoors
– Lower quality of life
• Economic issues
– Negative world attention
– Decrease in tourism
Create a Thesis Statement
• Definition of your issue followed by its causes
or effects.
Ex: A recession, which is a nationwide lull in
business activity, would be detrimental to
American society in the following ways: it
would A, it would B and it would C.
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Thesis Statement Examples
• Principal reasons for worker dissatisfaction in
the field of customer service are low wages,
hostile environment conditions, and boredom.
• The beneficial effects of annual active family
vacations include reduced stress, increased
fitness, and improved family relationships.
Support your Thesis and Topic
Sentences with Details
• Research your topic.
• Use specific details, facts, and statistics to
support your causes and effects and to create
a strong argument.
• Be sure to properly cite all of your information
using APA citation.
Avoid generalizations
Generalization: The reason why Americans are
overweight is that they love fast food.
• Not ALL Americans are overweight and not ALL
Americans love fast foods.
Better: One of the main reasons behind the obesity
epidemic in the United States is the prevalence of
Fast Food in the American diet. According to a
survey by the Food and Drug Administration, 90
percent of Americans report eating Fast Food at
least once a week.
Use the 3rd Person
Avoid using I or you
Incorrect: I believe that the death penalty is wrong
because it is a form of murder.
The removal of the “I believe that” makes the
sentence more forceful. The purpose of a cause and
effect paper is to be as convincing as possible and to
convince readers to accept the cause and effect as
plausible.
Correct: The death penalty is wrong because it is a form of
murder.
Incorrect: You can’t give the government the power to
determine who lives or dies.
Who is “You?” This pronoun is not referring to anybody
in particular, and therefore, the sentence sounds
confusing.
Correct: The government should not have the power to
determine who lives or dies.
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Avoid Negative Statements and Bias
• Avoid biased statements or make negative
statements to the reader
Too Negative: The American public is too blind to see that
the death penalty is wrong. Voter ignorance is one
contributing factor that allows policies like the death
penalty to come into law.
Better: More death penalty education is needed to provide
the voting public with the information they need to make
informed decisions.
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SIGNAL WORDS
Transition words
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As a result,
Cause
As a consequence,
For
Consequently,
Because
So,
Because of
Since
Since
As
As,
To Result from
Because
To be the result of
Due to
Due to
The effect of
If… then
The consequence of
As a result of
Leads to
As a consequence of
Therefore
Thus
One reason why ...
One of the most important reasons why ...
The main reasons why ...
There are other reasons, too, ...
Effect
As a result
As a consequence
Therefore
Thus
Consequently
Hence
So
The result in
To cause
To have an effect on
To Affect
The cause of
The reason for
Important Questions to Ask
• Have I assumed only one cause when many causes may be
appropriate?
• Have I incorrectly assumed a causal relationship between two
events that immediately follow each other?
• Did I distinguish between long-term and short-term causes
and effects. A short-term cause or effect is a single,
immediately identifiable event; a long-term cause or effect
may be less easy to pinpoint but in the long run more
important?
• Did I distinguish between primary (most important) and
secondary (ancillary) effects?
The Cause and Effect Essay. Mount Hebron High School. 27 May 2008 <http://www.howard.k12.md.us/mth/english_dept/advcomp/eng_effect.html>.
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