Cause and Effect

In recent decades, cities have grown so large that now about 50% of the Earth's population lives in urban areas. There are several reasons for this occurrence. First, the increasing industrialization of the nineteenth century resulted in the creation of many factory jobs, which tended to be located in cities. These jobs, with their promise of a better material life, attracted many people from rural areas. Second, there were many schools established to educate the children of the new factory laborers. The promise of a better education persuaded many families to leave farming communities and move to the cities. Finally, as the cities grew, people established places of leisure, entertainment, and culture, such as sports stadiums, theaters, and museums. For many people, these facilities made city life appear more interesting than life on the farm, and therefore drew them away from rural communities.

Flu can cause many complications Flu can cause many complications. The most common complication is a bacterial infection. Then problems can occur with inflamed sinuses, bronchi, muscles, or ears. Finally, nonbacterial disease, which are less common but still very serious, can also occur.

1.What are cause and effect? A cause and effect essay, also called a causal analysis, analyzes(1) why an event or phenomenon happens(its causes), (2) what happens because of the event or phenomenon(its effects), or (3) both causes and effects. Losing your car keys(the cause) is why you are late for class (the effect).

2.Cause-effect writing has a clear purpose A cause-effect writing has a clear purpose: to explain causes or effects or both. In deciding whether to consider causes, effects,or both, it is important to distinguish the causes from the effects.

In recent decades, cities have grown so large that now about 50% of the Earth's population lives in urban areas. There are several reasons for this occurrence. First, the increasing industrialization of the nineteenth century resulted in the creation of many factory jobs, which tended to be located in cities. These jobs, with their promise of a better material life, attracted many people from rural areas. Second, there were many schools established to educate the children of the new factory laborers. The promise of a better education persuaded many families to leave farming communities and move to the cities. Finally, as the cities grew, people established places of leisure, entertainment, and culture, such as sports stadiums, theaters, and museums. For many people, these facilities made city life appear more interesting than life on the farm, and therefore drew them away from rural communities.

EFFECT (Topic Sentence)  Cities have grown very large. CAUSE (Supporting Sentences) 1.Factory jobs attracted people. 2.Better schools attracted families to move to the city. 3.Places of leisure, entertainment, and culture made city life appear more interesting. To identify causes and effects, think of causes as why something happened and effects as the results of the thing that happened.

Identify causes and effects The heavy traffic;late to work. Lose changes made to a computer file; there is a power failure. Exercise; the heart strengthened, blood pressure and stress reduced, helps lose weight. Drunk driving and speeding; accidents and deaths on the highway. Pruning and feeding roses regularly;produce more blooms.

The heavy traffic made me late to work. There is a power failure so I lost changes made to a computer file. Exercise strengthens the heart, reduces blood pressure and stress, and helps you lose weight. Drunk driving and speeding are the two biggest reasons for accidents and deaths on the highway. Pruning and feeding roses regularly will produce more blooms.

Your phone frequently rings once and then stops ringing List one or more possible causes for each of the following events or phenomena you are notified by the airline that the flight you had planned to take tonight has been canceled Your phone frequently rings once and then stops ringing Your best friend keeps saying: “I am too busy to get together with you.”

List one or more possible effects for each of the following events You leave your bag containing your wallet on the bus You decide to change your major A close relative becomes very ill

3.Patterns of Cause and Effect A single cause with a single effect: The heavy traffic made me late to work. The earthquake cracked the plaster on my wall.

A single cause with multiple effects: The storm damaged crops, flooded roads, and caused schools to be closed. Exercise strengthens the heart, reduces blood pressure and stress, and helps you lose weight.

Multiple causes with a single effect: Pruning and feeding roses regularly will produce more blooms. High blood pressure, stress, obesity, and lack of exercise all contribute to heart disease.

Multiple causes with multiple effects: Drunk driving and speeding are the two biggest reasons for accidents and deaths on the highway. An unstable economy, lack of food and clothing, and a complete mistrust of the government led to riots in the capital and strikes in all the factories. Once you clearly separate causes and effects, you can decide whether to focus on causes, effects, or both.

4. Writing format Cause/effect paragraphs generally follow basic paragraph format. That is, they begin with a topic sentence and this sentence is followed by specific supporting details.

A.Cause/effect paragraph has a clear topic sentence/thesis statement Identifies the topic Make it clear whether your paragraph focuses on causes, effects, or both.

Identify topics and focuses My attending college has resulted in a major change in my home life. One of the major effects of eating too much sugar is a high incidence of tooth decay. I want to learn English for lots of reasons. An unstable economy, lack of food and clothing, and a complete mistrust of the government led to riots in the capital and strikes in all the factories.

w My attending college has resulted in a major change in my home life w   My attending college has resulted in a major change in my home life. (A single cause with multiple effects: focus on effects) w   One of the major effects of eating too much sugar is a high incidence of tooth decay. (A single cause with a single effect: focus on effect) w   I want to learn English for lots of reasons. (focus on causes, a single effect with multiple causes) An unstable economy, lack of food and clothing, and a complete mistrust of the government led to riots in the capital and strikes in all the factories. (Multiple causes with multiple effects: focus on effects)

B.Cause/effect paragraph follows a logical organization two basic ways of organizing paragraphs to state an effect and devote the rest of the paragraph to examining the causes. to state a cause and then mention or predict the effects. two basic orders of organizing causes/effects chronological order :present causes or effects in the order in which they happened. most-to-least or least-to-most order:sequence the causes or effects according to their importance.

In recent decades, cities have grown so large that now about 50% of the Earth's population lives in urban areas. There are several reasons for this occurrence. First, the increasing industrialization of the nineteenth century resulted in the creation of many factory jobs, which tended to be located in cities. These jobs, with their promise of a better material life, attracted many people from rural areas. Second, there were many schools established to educate the children of the new factory laborers. The promise of a better education persuaded many families to leave farming communities and move to the cities. Finally, as the cities grew, people established places of leisure, entertainment, and culture, such as sports stadiums, theaters, and museums. For many people, these facilities made city life appear more interesting than life on the farm, and therefore drew them away from rural communities.

One of the major effects of eating too much sugar is a high incidence of tooth decay. When we eat something with sugar in it, particularly refined sugar, enzymes in the saliva in the mouth begin to work immediately to change that sugar into a type of carbohydrate. As one eats, particles of the sugary food get lodged between the teeth and around the gums. As the food changes its chemical composition, the resultant carbohydrate produces bacteria that begin to eat away at the enamel on the outside of our teeth. This is actually the decaying of the tooth. Now, if this process happens each time we eat sugar, we can see that eating excessive amount of sugar causes more and more tooth decay.

C.Cause/effect writing explains each cause or effect fully detailed and understandable way Examples facts descriptions comparisons statistics Anecdote Suppose you are writing to explain why you are attending college.

D. Use transitions in cause/effect writing To express causes:because; since; one reason is; for; first; second; …because of + noun phrase; due to + noun phrase; one cause; another cause; To express result: consequently; as a result ; thus ; one result is ; another effect is ; therefore ; so; for this reason ;a more important result;

(A=cause, B=effect) B results from A. A results in B. B is a result of A The reasons are as follows

E. Conclusion Reminder of thesis Final statement

1.Definition 2.Purpose 3.Pattern 4.Writing format A.topic sentence B.supporting sentences -organization -orders of presenting causes/effects - state each cause/effect fully C.conclusion The use of transitions

Suggested topics 1.the effects of moving to another city 2.events that have improved or damaged your self-assurance lately 3.Discuss major problems caused by overpopulation in our daily life in China. 4.Discuss major reasons why private cars are gaining popularity in China.