cause effect essay2
TRANSCRIPT
Writing the Cause/Effect EssayCausal Analysis or Expository
Writing
Karen S. Wright
We’re Going to Do What???
Our Lives are Filled with Causes and Effects
Why does a kite fly?
Why a does zebra look like a horse?
Cause and Effect Can Be as Complex as Questioning. . . .
Or Cause and Effect Can Seem . . . .
As Natural As a Mother’s LoveBECAUSE
WHY
What Causes Homes to Go Into Foreclosure?
• Unemployment•Upside down mortgages•Loss of property value for a sale•Unsafe lending
Basic Pattern for Cause (Reason) and Effect (Result)
Cause Produces Effect
Jobs ProduceMoney
Sometimes There isMore Than One Cause
Cause 1
Cause 2
Cause 3
Effect
Be sure to give examples for each cause and effect-- explain the reasons and the results by drawing a picture with words. Explain why something happens.
Car exhaustFactory releases =
Air PollutionEnergy from coal
Sometimes there are several effects for one cause.
Cause
Effect 1
Effect 3
Effect 2
Effect 4
If a person is a couch potato (the cause),what are the Effects
(results)?
eye strainInactivityObesitylack of motivation
(Being a Couch potato produces. . .)
How Do We Write a Cause/Effect Essay
The Cause/Effect Relationship
Find a topic with a clear relationship between the cause and effect.Determine whether the events can be repeated Every time A is present, B occurred.
Brainstorm and put your information into a graph or web so you can clearly see your thinking.
Decide the Cause/EffectRelationship
•Ask yourself— “Why did this event happen?”Event=effectWhy=causes
To make your essay clear. . .
Focus More On the Cause or Effect
•What causes lung cancer?
OR
•What effects can happen from cigarette smoking?
Check You Logic
Make sure you don’t confuse an effect for a cause.Consider all causes and effects and choose the best for your essay.
Use a Logical Order When You Write
Use chronological order: What happened first, then second, etc.
ORUse least obvious to most obvious.
ORUse the least important to the most important.
Special Transitional Words to HelpWords that show cause and effect:
as a result consequentlytherefore since
becausebecause of
due to . . . so. . . Other words to show certainty:unquestionably perhaps
possiblyinevitably certainlyprobablyWords of importance:
above all primarilyfirst
initially lastfinally
What Topic Do Want to Sink YOUR Teeth Into?
Effects of air pollutionCauses of air pollutionEffects of being an athleteEffects of smokingEffects of alcoholismCauses of anorexiaEffects of too much TV