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Chapter 9 Writer’s Workshop (pp. 239–245)
Cause-Effect Essay
Below is the final version of one student’s cause-effect essay. With a partner, discuss how clearly the
writer presents the causes and effects of the Dust Bowl.
Writing Model
Causes and Effects of the Dust Bowl
In the 1930s, immense clouds of dust swept over the midwestern
United States. One “black blizzard” blew for thirty-six hours, moving
Introduction with
interesting facts that grab
the reader’s attention
millions of tons of soil. Roofs collapsed from the weight of the dust,
and the worst of the storms blew to the East Coast. The dust clouds
of the 1930s were drastically different from any previous storms.
The area that was most affected—parts of Colorado, Kansas, Texas,
and Oklahoma—became known as the “Dust Bowl.” The dust storms
Presents two causes and
three effects in thesis
Copyright © by William H. Sadlier, Inc. Permission to duplicate classroom quantities granted to users of Grammar for Writing.
were caused by a combination of environmental factors and human
actions. In turn, the storms caused many people to leave their
homes, suffer through the dust, and finally change how they farmed
in order to prevent similar natural disasters.
The climate and conditions of the Great Plains partly caused
Uses cause-effect
organization in body
the dust storms of the 1930s. The Dust Bowl area is naturally dry
and windy. Normally, fewer than twenty inches of rain falls per
Cause 1: Environmental
factors
year. This is not enough water for forests or many trees to survive.
Instead, the natural vegetation of the land is tough, thick grass that
does not need much water. The grass can survive even in years of
drought, which are fairly common. Between 1931 and 1937, the land
experienced one of these natural droughts. However, this one was
the worst on record. It played a major part in creating the Dust Bowl.
Though the drought of the 1930s made the dust storms possible,
Cause 2: Human actions
human actions made them much more severe than any previous
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Writing Model
Continued
storms. In the 1800s, railroads were built across the United States.
Also, the Homestead Act of 1862 gave free land to anyone who would
settle on the prairie for five years. As a result of the railroads and
Cause-effect transition
the Homestead Act, many farmers moved from the east to the Great
Plains and began planting. More than thirty million acres of land
Historical facts that include
statistics
were plowed and turned into farmlands between 1909 and 1932.
While plowing so much land seemed smart and profitable at the
time, it tore up the tough grass that normally held the soil in place.
In years of drought, the grass’s roots kept the soil from being blown
away by the strong prairie winds. However, in the dry years of the
mid-1930s, there was nothing to protect the soil. The natural climate
made the soil dry, but farming methods caused the black blizzards.
Transition from causes of
the Dust Bowl to effects
Many tried to move out of the Dust Bowl. Travel was difficult because
people did not have much money to pay for food or for places to
Effect 1: People leave the
area.
stay. If a family’s car broke down they were stranded. In 1936, Tom
Priam’s family camped along Route 66 for two weeks before meeting
someone willing to fix their car. Alice Priam wrote that things
seemed “hopeless. Even if we could turn around we have nowhere
Quotation from person who
experienced the Dust Bowl
to go. California seems so far away.” Two out of five people who left
the Dust Bowl tried to go to California, but those who made it often
found that there were not enough jobs for everyone.
The dust also affected farmers who were able to stay on their
Effect 2: Life of people who
stayed
land. Since the storms came regularly for almost seven years,
people never had time to recover. Keeping a house free of dust was
impossible. Soil and sand got into people’s clothes, beds, and food.
Specific examples of how
dust affected people’s lives
Many became ill from breathing in so much dust. Crops and farm
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Copyright © by William H. Sadlier, Inc. Permission to duplicate classroom quantities granted to users of Grammar for Writing.
Due to the drought and the storms, some farmers lost everything.
Writing Model
Continued
animals also suffered. Because of the Great Depression—another
disaster of the time period—farmers who did manage to grow a small
crop could not sell it for a decent price. Whether they chose to live
in the dust or tried to escape from it, residents of the Dust Bowl
suffered from the storms.
Because the dust storms affected such a large number of people,
Effect 3: New federal
programs
the national government created programs to help solve the problem.
Under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Soil Conservation Service
was created in 1935. Millions of acres were bought and then left
alone so the prairie grasses could grow back. Laws were passed so
ranches could only keep a certain number of animals. The government
also paid farmers to use techniques that were better for the land.
debris from a fall harvest would help keep the soil in place over the
Two specific examples of
farming techniques that
changed
Copyright © by William H. Sadlier, Inc. Permission to duplicate classroom quantities granted to users of Grammar for Writing.
For example, farmers were asked not to plow until spring because
winter. Another plan was to change the direction of the rows of crops
on hilly land. If rows of crops go lengthwise across a hill, more rain
is captured by the soil. These and other changes in farming helped
protect the soil and made another Dust Bowl less likely to happen.
The dust storms of the 1930s were devastating. In the worst of
the storms, the black clouds blotted out the sun. In March 1935, a
single storm destroyed five million acres of wheat. In addition, the
Restates thesis and
concisely sums up the
causes and effects in the
conclusion
storms forced two million Americans to abandon their homes. The
environment of the Great Plains, along with human farming methods,
caused the terrible storms. As a result, the government and residents
of the Dust Bowl took action to solve the problem. Although humans
could not change the climate of the Dust Bowl, adjustments in
farming methods prevented such a disaster from happening again.
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