NBWU 1042

ACADEMIC WRITING SKILLS

CAUSE AND EFFECT ESSAY

AISHAH AMIRAH ZAINAL ABIDIN
aishahamirah@kuis.edu.my
012-7227458
 ● We all understand cause-effect relationships; for
example, lightning can cause fire. As a student you
know that if you stay up late the night before a test
to watch a movie and do not study, you may not
perform well on the test the following day. A cause-
effect essay tells how one event (the cause) leads to
INTRODUCTION another event (the effect).
● A cause-effect essay can do one of two things:
● It can analyse the ways in which one or more effects result
from a particular cause. (Focus-on-Effects Method)
● It can analyse the ways in which one or more causes lead
to a particular effect. (Focus-on-Causes Method)
 ● In other words, your essay may focus more on the effects of a
cause or more on the causes of one effect. Either approach
provides a useful means of discussing the possible relationship
between the two events.
● It is not a good idea to mix several causes and several effects in an
essay because your focus may become unclear.
● In cause-effect essays, it is easy to suggest that because one event
preceded another event, the former event caused the latter.
INTRODUCTION Simply because one event follows another one sequentially does
not mean that the two actions are related.
● For example, people often complain that as soon as they finish
washing their car, it starts to rain. Obviously, washing a car does
not cause rain.
● Writers need to be sure that the causes and effects they describe
are logically connected.
CAUSE &
EFFECT ESSAY
ORGANISATION
CAUSE &
EFFECT ESSAY
ORGANISATION
 ● We will look at the essay that we have previously read
and identify the organisation.
● What is the cause and effect essay organisation used in
IDENTIFYING the essay?
ESSAY ● What are the Thesis statement of the essay?
ORGANISATION ● What are the cause(s)/effect(s)/topic sentences
mentioned in the essay?
● What is the conclusion used in the essay?
 Focus-on-effect essay

The hook

Connecting information (use

of definition and examples)

Thesis statement
Effect 1 /
Topic sentence 1

READING 1
 Effect 2 /
Topic sentence 2

Effect 3 /
Topic sentence 3

READING 1
prediction
 Focus-on-cause essay

The hook

Connecting information (use

of definition and examples)

Thesis statement
Cause 1/
Topic sentence 1

READING 2
Cause 2/
Topic sentence 2
 Cause 3/
Topic sentence 3

Cause 4/
Topic sentence 4

READING 2
Restatement of
thesis

opinion
 General thesis statement

WRITING THE Specific thesis statement

THESIS Specific thesis statement

STATEMENT
General thesis statement
● The thesis statement can be written as:
● General thesis statement – no specific mention of the causes/effects
in the sentence
● Specific thesis statement – mentioning of the causes/effects in the
sentence
 ● The thesis statement must have a topic + controlling idea

topic controlling idea

WRITING THE
THESIS
STATEMENT controlling idea
topic
EXERCISE
● Based on the thesis statements above, identify the topic and
controlling idea
 ● The topic sentences are usually the first sentence of
the body paragraph.
● It contains the cause/effect of the essay.

WRITING THE ● It must only include ONE cause/effect for each topic
sentences.
TOPIC ● It must be written in one sentence.
SENTENCES ● It will also have a topic and controlling idea.
● In a CAUSE & EFFECT essay, the topic sentence will
usually include the use of transition words to signal its
cause/effect.
TRANSITION
WORDS FOR
CAUSE AND
EFFECT ESSAY
● Based on the readings and the sample thesis
statements and topic sentences:
1. What are the transition words used in the both the
thesis statement and topic sentences?
2. Do you think the transition words used help you to
understand the cause/effect of the essay?
3. What will happen if there is no transition words used
in the cause and effect essay?