Cause and Effect Essays
The cause and effect essay will help you develop logical arguments that establish causal chains. For example, if you’re arguing about why cigarettes are detrimental to health, you can’t just say cigarettes cause lung cancer and move on to the next subject. You must respond to that statement and tell the reader why cigarettes cause lung cancer
That said, the most questions to answer for this type of essay are what and why . The central theme of your essay will be a clearly articulated “why” (cause) followed by an effectively argued “what” (effect). When writing this essay, your are establishing relationships - how one thing affects another thing.
Let’s look at a simple example:
By drinking enough martinis, I will soon destroy my liver.
Cause (why): By drinking enough martinis
Effect (what): I will soon destroy my liver
So, your plan of development could be based on reasons “why” drinking martinis destroys the liver. You must prove that the cause leads to the effect.
Don’t be fooled by a post hoc fallacy. The American Heritage Dictionary defines post hoc as “in or of the form of an argument in which one event is asserted to be the cause of a later event simply by the virtue of having happened earlier.” Remember, the cause must yield the effect. You MUST back up your claim with a good argument and research.
Most causal questions will not produce simple answers. The “true” cause of a phenomenon, even when it seems obvious, is often hotly debated. Your task is not to prove something conclusively, but to find and assess possible causes, then make an intelligent, logical, and persuasive case (an effective argument) for one cause or a combination of causes. Writing a causal analysis involves discovering why things happen; think about linking one event to another in a causal chain and determining how those causes could lead to the effect you've chosen. As you think about possible causes, continue to ask “why?” to get to the root causes of your phenomenon.
A strong paper avoids analyzing causes that are highly exaggerated, over-simplified, prejudiced, or obvious. When crafting your claim, also remember that definite statements of causation are rare in the real world.
Cause/effect paragraphs generally follow basic paragraph format. That is, they begin with a topic sentence and this sentence is followed by specific supporting details.
Look at this example:
In recent decades, cities have grown so large that now about 50% of the Earth's population lives in urban areas. There are several reasons for this occurrence. First, the increasing industrialization of the nineteenth century resulted in the creation of many factory jobs, which tended to be located in cities. These jobs, with their promise of a better material life, attracted many people from rural areas. Second, there were many schools established to educate the children of the new factory laborers. The promise of a better education persuaded many families to leave farming communities and move to the cities.
Finally, as the cities grew, people established places of leisure, entertainment, and culture, such as sports stadiums, theaters, and museums. For many people, these facilities made city life appear more interesting than life on the farm, and therefore drew them away from rural communities.
Notice how each supporting sentence is a cause that explains the effect mentioned in the topic sentence. In the chart below are the main ideas of the above paragraph, to help you understand the relationships better:
EFFECT
(Topic Sentence)
CAUSES
(Supporting Sentences)
Factory jobs attracted people. Cities have grown very large.
[There are several reasons for this.]
(Cities have grown very large.)
(Cities have grown very large.)
Better schools attracted families to move
to the city.
Places of leisure, entertainment, and culture
made city life appear more interesting.