TOPIC

WRITING A CAUSE AND EFFECT

PARAGRAPH
 Sometimes called reason and result
paragraph, cause and effect paragraphs
examine an event or situation.
 They explore how this event or situation
came into being (the “cause”) and what is
happening because of this event or
situation (the “effect”).
 In other words, the purpose of these
types of paragraph is to explore the “why”
or “how” of a situation.
 Cause and effect relationship is when
something happens that makes something else
happen. 
 Cause and effect relationships are also found in
stories. For example, if Mae is late to school,
she might lose recess time. In that case, being
late to school is the cause and the effect, or
result, is her losing recess time.
 WHY CAUSE-EFFECT ?

 To understand the relationship of events that

brought about an outcome,( cause)
 To understand the results that come out of an
event,(effect).
 To understand the chain of causes and effects
between some events,( causal chain).
 Cause and effect analyzes why something
happens.
 Some effects are caused by multiple
causes.
 Some causes, in turn, can result in
multiple effects.
 EXAMPLE
 Many elements may contribute to an individual's decision
to leave his or her native country and come to the United
States.

 Causes                                    Effect
Political repression             Immigrants
Desire to join family members come to US
Desire for economic opportunity
Desire for religious freedom
 LIST CAUSES AND EFFECTS

 First look for immediate causes/ effects.

 Then look for remote cause/effects or basic reasons.

 Make separate list of causes/effects.

 List evidence next to each cause/effect.

 TYPE OF CAUSES

 Main cause: the most important cause

 Contributory cause: less important

 Immediate cause: closely precedes the effect.

 Remote cause: less obvious because it involve

something in the past or far away.
 Causal chain: an effect can be the cause to another
effect, on so on.