CAUSE AND EFFECT MODE OF WRITINGCollege Prep III

Chawanna Chambers, M. Ed.

WHAT IS CAUSE AND EFFECT?Analyzes why something happens, not how.

How it works…One cause One effectOne cause Many effectsMultiple causes One effectMultiple causes Multiple effects

TYPES OF CAUSES Main cause: the most important cause

Contributory Causes: less important

Immediate Cause: closely precedes the effect

Remote cause: less obvious because it involves something in the past or far away.

Causal Chain: an effect can be the cause to another effect, on so on.

ILLOGICAL ASSUMPTIONSAvoid Post Hoc Reasoning:

Do not assume that just because event A precedes event B, event A caused event B. This illogical assumption is called post hoc reasoning. This error leads you to confuse coincidence with causality.

AVOIDING KEYWORD CONFUSION Causal relationship keywords

Because Therefore Consequently As a result

Chronological relationship keywords Subsequently Later Afterward

EXERCISE: THE CASE OF THE HARTFORD ROOF COLLAPSE

“During one winter a number of years ago, an unusually large amount of snow accumulated on the roof of the Civic Center Auditorium in Hartford, Connecticut, and the roof fell in. Newspapers reported that the weight of the snow had caused the collapse, and they were partly right. Other buildings, however, had not been flattened by the snow, so the main cause seemed to lie elsewhere. Insurance investigators eventually decided that the roof design, not the weight of the snow (which was a contributory cause), was the main cause of the collapse.”

THE CAUSE-EFFECT RELATIONSHIPS

MAIN CAUSE

EFFECT

CONTRIBUTORY CAUSE

Roof design

Roof collapse

Weight of snow

IMMEDIATE CAUSE POSSIBLE REMOTE CAUSES

EFFECTWeight of snow

Roof collapse

Roof designRoof materialsImproper maintenanceRepairs not made

CAUSAL CHAIN

CauseEffect

EffectEffect

Effect

(Cause)

(Cause)

(Cause)

AB

CD

E

Can you think of anything that might create a causal chain? Discuss with your tablemates.

PLANNING A CAUSE AND EFFECT ESSAY Purpose and Thesis:

Be sure to identify the relationships among the specific causes and effect you will discuss.

Thesis statement should tell the reader: The points you plan to consider The position you will take Whether you will emphasize causes, effects, or both The cause and/or effect you consider most important The order in which you will treat your points.

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Order and sequence—several possibilities include:

Chronological

Main cause first, and then contributory causes

Contributory causes first, and then main cause.

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Effe

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ORDER CONT…

Negative effects first, then positive

First dismiss events that are not causes, and then discuss actual causes for an effect

Most obvious causes first, and then less obvious causes

TRANSITIONSP

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Ca

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Distinguish causes from effects.

Cause/Reason: for the (simple) reason that being that For in view of (the fact) inasmuch as because (of the fact) seeing that As owing to (the fact) due to (the fact that) in that since forasmuch as

Effect/Result: as a result (of this) Consequently Hence for this reason Thus because (of this) in consequence so that Accordingly as a consequence so much (so) that So Therefore 

STRUCTURING A CAUSE AND EFFECT ESSAY—THESIS STATEMENTS

Finding CausesLess important causeEffectMost important cause

Describing or Predicting EffectsCause First effectSecond effectThird (most important) effect

REFERENCES

Federle, Steven. Cause and Effect Writing. Farfield, 21 July 2011. (Presentation)

Kirszner, Laurie G. and Stephen R. Mandell. Patterns for College Writing: A Rhetorical Reader and Guide. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2010.