How to Write a
Cause-Effect Essay
Showing Why Something Happens
Are there kinds of causes?
Would a dog just rub
the thief’s leg?
• There are different
types of causes.
• What we first see are
often the superficial,
contributing reasons.
• Hiding just out of sight
us the more basic and
fundamental causes.
• We call the single and
most important one the
primary cause.
What is the first cause?
• To figure out what’s
going on in cause and
effect relationships,
we especially must
discover the single
primary cause.
• For example, if you are
to write on why room
mates fight, you have
to sort out a lot of
minor reasons from the
major cause.
What are the cell mates
arguing about?
What are contributing causes?
What are the house mates
arguing about?
• Off hand, we know that
roommates argue over
– Sloppiness
– Bad music
– Staying up all night
• But these are not the
basic reason at all!
• They are superficial
and symptomatic of a
much deeper, more
fundamental reason
why roommates fight.
What is the real cause?
• A basic cause of the
roommates arguing can
be their differences:
– One’s messy; the
other is neat.
– One likes Snoop Dog;
the other, Mozart.
– One’s a morning
person; the other is
up all night.
• And that might be it—
but can there still be
something even deeper
as to why people fight?
Do we already know that
the couple will fight?
What is sufficient cause?
How old are we when
we see our differences?
• The differences
between roommates
are legally called
sufficient cause.
• Sufficient cause means
it was enough to make
something happen.
• Yet it may not be the
primary cause.
• Roomies can cooperate
even with differences.
• What about toleration?
What is the deep reason?
• So maybe two people
aren’t getting along
just because they don’t
want to
– Cooperate
– Compromise
– Adjust
• Example Thesis:
Roomies can co-exist if
they can adjust to each
other’s differences.
What are the house mates
arguing about?
Can we write on effects?
What is the effect
of caffeine?
• Of course, not every
cause-effect essay is
about the causes.
• In fact, some may center
on the effects of a single
cause.
• Example Topic:
What are the results of
air pollution?
• Example Thesis:
Air pollution negatively
effects plants, animals,
and humans.
What kind of essay is it?
• In five-paragraph
essays, we usually write
about either the
causes or the effects,
not both.
• It’s not so much a
cause and effect essay
as a cause or effect
essay.
• Then state it in the
first paragraph if the
essay is about causes
or effects.
Why will the parents
quit drugs?
What should be avoided?
Is there also
noise pollution?
• Don’t lose focus by
covering too many
parts of an issue.
• You can’t cover all of
the effects of air
pollution: just pick
three important ones
to write about.
• For example, use air
pollution’s effect on
plants, animals, and
humans.
What is in the introduction?
•
1.
2.
3.
4.
The introductory
paragraph includes:
General background
information on the
topic.
A lead-in to the
thesis.
The basic cause with
contributing causes.
Or a series of
effects of a cause.
Do introductions vary
this much?
The Body
• Begins with the first cause and
follows the chain down to the last.
• Or lists the effects in their order.
• Uses transition words to analyze the
process rather than describe it.
• Remember, we’re telling WHY.
The Conclusion
• Rewords the thesis and basis for the
effects
• Describes the primary cause or
results
• Speculates on the best solution to
the problem, as with toleration
solving roommate feuds.