THE WRITER’S

WORKSHOP Cause & Effect

YOU WILL … Write a paper explaining the causes and the effects of

the War of 1812

Nelson History Curriculum U.S. History through Reconstruction

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1 The Writer’s Workshop: Cause & Effect

Learning Target: I can write an essay explaining the causes and the effects of the War of 1812.

Directions: Answer the questions below in the space provided.

Think back to when we studied about the War of 1812 …

1. Identify events that created conflict between the United States and Great Britain.

2. Identify the effects of the War of 1812 on the United States.

Historians make sense of an event by considering why the event happened and what resulted

from it. Exploring causes and effects can provide a deeper understanding of historical events

and how they are connected. Read the passage below, then answer the questions that follow:

Yesterday, Marcus came rushing home, hoping to find a letter from Stanford University in his

mailbox. It was there. When he opened the letter, he jumped on the kitchen island and danced

around as his mother shouted, “Get down from there.” He jumped down, hugged her, and gave

her the news. “I’m in. I got in.”

Marcus’s acceptance into Stanford made excited him, but he quickly became nervous. Thoughts

of, “how to pay for Stanford?”, and “Will I get a scholarship?”, and “What if I can’t afford to go

there,” popped into his head. He was excited and nervous all night, and was unable to sleep.

He knows he must do his research on scholarships and continue to work hard to earn money for

college, but his family will be overjoyed with his acceptance and will likely help as much as they

can.

As you review the War of 1812, not all the details your read about will be causes or effects. Ask yourself

one of the following questions to help determine what is a cause and what is an effect …

Flashback

Preview

Determining Causes & Effects

Identify the Situation.

Identify a cause of the situation.

Identify an effect of the situation.

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3 The Writer’s Workshop: Cause & Effect

1. Cause: How did this action or situation contribute to the war?

2. Effect: How did the war lead to this event or situation?

Identifying Causes and Effects

A cause is an action or situation that makes something else happen. What happens is called an effect.

You should use an outline or a graphic organizer like the one below to organize your research.

Cause 1 Cause 2 The Event or Situation

Effect 1 Effect 2

Researching and Organizing

For this essay, you will write about the causes and effects of the War of 1812. Gather information from

Chapter 8 or other credible sources.

Look for three reasons (causes) the War of 1812 (the event of situation) occurred.

Look for three effects of the War of 1812.

Be sure to avoid false cause and effect relationships. Just because some happened before or after,

doesn’t mean it’s the cause or the effect of the event.

When organizing information, it’s best to organize by importance – from most important to least

important. Decide what causes and effects are the most important and the least important, and

organize them accordingly on your graphic organizer or outline.

Use the guide below to help you write a draft of your essay …

Introduction

Think of a creative way to begin. You can start with a quote or interesting fact. You can begin by

describing a scene or telling a story.

Be sure to identify the event you will discuss (The War of 1812).

Identify you will be discussing the causes and the effects.

Body

Present the causes in chronological order or order of importance.

Prewriting

Write a draft

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4 The Writer’s Workshop: Cause & Effect

Explain each cause in its own paragraph, providing support with facts and examples. Be sure to

cite your source.

Present the effects in chronological order or order of importance.

Explain each effect in its own paragraph, providing support with facts and examples. Be sure to

cite your source.

Conclusion

Summarize your ideas about the causes and effects of The War of 1812 by briefly restating the

causes and effects of the war.

Don’t forget to stay on topic

Each paragraph should have a topic sentence, normally the first sentence in the paragraph.

Evaluating: Using the questions below to evaluate your essay …

Does the introduction begin creatively?

Does the introduction identify the event and the causes and effects to be discussed?

Is each cause and effect explained in its own paragraph?

Do facts and examples help to explain each cause and effect and connect it to the event?

Are the causes and effects organized clearly – by chronological order or importance?

Does the conclusion summarize the causes and effects and their importance?

Revising

Make sure the connections between the war and its causes and effects are clear by sharing your paper

with a classmate. If your classmate is confused, add background information. If he or she disagrees with

your conclusions, add evidence or rethink your reasoning.

Proofreading

Some transitional words and phrases need to be set off from the sentence with commas. Here is an

example …

I wanted to know more about the work he did while in Europe. Therefore, I questioned him

about his time in France.

Some transitional words and phrases that show cause and effect relationships include: Because, as a

result, therefore, for, since, so, consequently, for this reason. You can also transition from one

paragraph to the next with transitional sentences at the end of paragraphs.

Be sure to include transitions, so your essay easily flows from one paragraph to the next. Also, check

your paper for spelling and grammatical mistakes.

Proofreading and Publishing

Evaluate and Revise

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5 The Writer’s Workshop: Cause & Effect

Publishing

Get together with a classmate and share your causes and effects, comparing your lists to see whether

you have identified different causes or effects. You can use this information to help finalize your essay.

Make all necessary changes and corrections to your paper and write your final draft. Be sure it’s

organized and error free. If you hand-write your essay, be sure to be neat and legible. If you type, be

sure to use a standard font and size.

Students’ explanations of causes or effects should …

Begin creatively

Cleary identify the topic

Accurately explain the causes and effects of the War of 1812

Provide a paragraph and support for each cause or effect

Following chronological order or order of importance

End with a clear summary

Use correct grammar, punctuation, spelling, and capitalization

Complete your Essay

Rubric

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6 The Writer’s Workshop: Cause & Effect

The War of 1812: American Finds Itself

The lyrics of the Star Spangled Banner, “and our flag was

still there,” have continued to echo throughout our

history because of the War of 1812. The United States

stood tall following the war, which was due to ongoing

conflict with Great Britain. This conflict, and the effects of

the war, helped establish America’s place on the world

stage.

The War of 1812 was an unavoidable conflict

between the United States and Great Britain.

While many Americans resisted war, the War

Hawks of Congress advocated conflict. Conflict

with Great Britain, such as their interference with

American Shipping, aid to Native Americans, and

impressment of American sailors, brought the U.S. into

war with the British for the second time. However, this

war would prove to be a turning point for our nation.

Following the war, in which both sides claimed

victory, the United States had much to

celebrate. Americans felt an increased sense of

national pride, its manufacturing was boosted,

and the Native American resistance was weakened. As

was the case 36 years earlier, it was British actions that

strengthened a nation.

First, prior to the War of 1812, the British were interfering

with American shipping. Great Britain passed laws to

prevent trade and their navy captured many American

merchant ships. This action had an adverse effect on the

American economy. In addition, the British navy targeted

American ships while searching for British navy runaways.

At times, Americans were captured and forced into

service. This practice was known as impressment. Despite

American protests, the British did not stop this practice. Lastly, Great Britain gave aid to Native

Americans of the Western frontier, helping them fight against American settlers in an attempt

to stop the expansion of the U.S. These actions gave the War Hawks a loud voice in Congress,

which declared war for the first time in 1812.

ANNOTATED CAUSE & EFFECT ESSAY

The first paragraph contains a

creative opening sentence.

The first paragraph includes the

topic.

The first paragraph contains a

thesis statement.

The second paragraph gives us

an overview of the causes to be

discussed later in the paper.

The third paragraph gives us an

overview of the effects to be

discussed in the paper.

The fourth paragraph includes a

detailed account of the causes

of the war. It also includes

transitional words such as first

and lastly.

Topic Sentence

Topic Sentence

Transitional Sentence

Transitional Sentence

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7 The Writer’s Workshop: Cause & Effect

Even though it was the first time Congress had declared

war on a foreign country, it was not the first time the

United States would come out of war as a strong and

independent nation. Even though it wasn’t the decisive

victory of the American Revolution, the U.S. benefited

from the War of 1812.

Before the War, Americans identified mostly with regions

or states. Following the war, Americans were patriotic and

proud to call themselves, American. The national pride

was aided by the boost American businesses received

from the war. In the absence of British goods, Americans

realized they had relied too heavily on foreign goods and

began to ramp up their own manufacturing to meet the

demand. Now Americans could be proud of the products

they made, while enjoying the new profits. Finally, this

feeling of national pride had Americans sights set on the

West. The withdraw of the British army from the

Northwest Territory, which weakened Native American

resistance, allowed the U.S. to focus its efforts on

expanding the nation into new territories.

The War of 1812 helped America find its identity and

make itself self-sufficient. The impressment of sailors,

interference with shipping, and aid to Native Americans by

the British may have provoked war, but in the end, the

U.S. discovered its pride, economy, and future.

The fifth paragraph creates a

smooth transition from the

causes to the effects of the war.

The sixth paragraph includes a

detailed account of the effects

of the war.

In the concluding paragraph,

the causes and effects of the

war are restated without being

redundant.

Transitional Paragraph