The cause and effect essay explains the reasons of

the event or interprets the consequences of the

event.

A cause and effect essay answers the question why. It shows how one
event brought about another. Cause and effect relationships are useful in
writing that is meant to inform, to explain, or persuade

                                                                                                                                                             

A cause/effect essay explains...

•why earthquakes happen and what the
consequences are;
•what happens to a child after parents divorce.
You may open your essay with a well-known
outcome or situation and study what caused such
a result. Another way of starting such an essay is
to describe some event and then analyze its
consequences.

Many students find difficulty in differentiating cause

and effect. If you want to define the cause of
something, ask yourself “why”. Ask yourself “what”
and you will determine the effect.
The preparatory stage of writing this essay
suggests your determining causes and
effects. There may be too many causes for
you to cover in your essay and you are to
choose the main for presenting them in the
scope of your writing. You should explain
to the reader that there are some other
minor reasons not covered in your essay.
It is important to decide whether you are writing
to inform or to persuade the reader and
accordingly choose your writing style.

We advise you to concentrate only on the most

recent and direct causes (effects). Using
supporting information will strengthen your
essay. Feel free to provide the reader with facts,
give examples. You may finish your cause and
effect essay with a call for action.
WHEN YOU WRITE CAUSE AND EFFECT PAPERS:
1. State both cause and effect as clearly as you
can.
2. Be sure to show how the cause and the effect
are related.
3. You can use words that express cause and
effect, such as why, when, because, as a
result, so, and therefore.
Follow these steps when writing a cause and effect
essay
1.Distinguish between cause and effect. To determine
causes, ask, "Why did this happen?" To identify effects, ask,
"What happened because of this?" The following is an
example of one cause producing one effect:

Cause
You are out of gas.

Effect

•Your car won't start.

•Sometimes, many causes contribute to a

single effect or many effects may result from
a single cause.
Causes: Cause:
liked business in high school reduce work hours
salaries in the field are high
have an aunt who is an accountant Effects:
am good with numbers less income
employer is irritated
Effect:
more time to study
choose to major in accounting
more time for family and friends
2. Develop your thesis statement.
State clearly whether you are
discussing causes, effects, or both.
Introduce your main idea, using the
terms "cause" and/or "effect."
3. Find and organize supporting details. Back up your
thesis with relevant and sufficient details that are
organized. You can organize details in the following ways:
•Chronological. Details are arranged in the order in
which the events occurred.
•Order of importance. Details are arranged from least
to most important or vice versa.
•Categorical. Details are arranged by dividing the topic
into parts or categories.
 4. Use appropriate transitions. To blend details
smoothly in cause and effect essays, use the
transitional words and phrases listed below.
For causes:
because, due to, on cause is, another is, since, for, first, second

For Effects:
consequently, as a result, thus, resulted in, one result is, another is,
therefore
When writing your essay, keep the following suggestions in mind:

•Remember your purpose. Decide if your are writing to inform or

persuade.

•Focus on immediate and direct causes (or effects.) Limit yourself

to causes that are close in time and related, as opposed to remote
and indirect causes, which occur later and are related indirectly.

•Strengthen your essay by using supporting evidence. Define terms,

offer facts and statistics, or provide examples, anecdotes, or
personal observations that support your ideas.

•Qualify or limit your statements about cause and effect. Unless

there is clear evidence that one event is related to another, qualify
your statements with phrases such as "It appears that the cause
was" or "It seems likely" or "The evidence may indicate" or
"Available evidence suggests."
To evaluate the effectiveness of a cause and effect essay, ask the
following questions:

What are the causes? What are the effects? Which should be emphasized? Are
there single or multiple causes? Single or multiple effects? Is a chain reaction
involved?
 RECAP

A cause makes a thing happen; an effect is what results when that thing
happens. If you brush your teeth and your teeth get whiter, then brushing
is the cause and whitening is the effect. A cause-and-effect paragraph
helps a reader understand why things happen: the weakening of the
ozone layer, the war in Vietnam, the spike in teenage obesity.
In New York City, fifty percent of all public school teachers leave the profession
within their first five years on the job. While the teachers union and some politicos
have charged that the high attrition rate is due to the salary gap between city
teachers and their brethren in the suburbs, the real problem is student behavior.
There are approximately 1.1 million public school students, and many of them,
especially those in poor neighborhoods, have family problems that make it hard for
them to sit still for five hours a day. These students may come from homes with no
books, where TV sets blare all day, where no parent or older sibling has a college
degree, where generations of kids have found the world of academics foreign,
frustrating, and fruitless. Because many of these students cannot read a menu or
calculate two-digit addition problems, they find long hours in the classroom
tortuous. And while classrooms can absorb one or two of these kids—that is, the
teacher can teach with a minimum of disruption—classrooms with four or more
problem students reach a critical mass. The bad kids tip the good kids, and the
simplest lesson becomes a test of wills between teacher and student. Only the most
patient, most gifted teacher can endure more than a couple of years of these daily
battles. If she wants to keep teaching, she flees for greener pastures —schools
like Bronx Science, Stuyvesant, Midwood—or a school in Westchester. The result is
alarming: perhaps half of the city’s 1000 schools have green-horn teachers with
only a few years experience. Many of these novices don’t know their subjects and
don’t know how to control a room filled with difficult kids. Many soon find non-
teaching jobs. As a result, the teaching profession, at least the way it’s practiced
in New York City, becomes a form of slumming, or something to do until you grow up
—like the Peace Corps or the army.
Choose one of the following topics and write a
cause and effect paragraph:
-Why is Paris Hilton, someone with minimal talent and iffy
looks, so popular?
- What is one cause of weight gain?
- Why do women, despite their frequent denials, love macho
men?
- Why is it preferable (or silly) to marry someone of your own
ethnicity or religion?
- Why hasn’t soccer, the world’s most popular sport, caught on
in Canada?
- How does smoking marijuana affect your mental or physical
health?
- Why does flattery work, even when the person being flattered
knows you are a lying liar?
- Why do men and women cheat?
- Although it is fake, why is professional wrestling so popular?
- Choose your own topic.
 IDEA #1
SUPPORTING
DETAILS

INTRODUCTION
IDEA 1 CONCLUSION

IDEA #2
IDEA 2 SUPPORTING
DETAILS

IDEA 3
IDEA #3
SUPPORTING
DETAILS

http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/essaymap/