Cause and Effects How to tell the difference between coincidence and consequence How to create a logical bridge between causes and effects How to decide which causes and effects are the most relevant to your arguments

Cause and effect is one of the most effective ways you can structure your ACT test body paragraphs. If you can show that the proposal you support (the cause) will bring about positive changes (the effects), you will have succeeded in your goal of demonstrating you know how to write a persuasive essay. Building a shopping center will improve the local economy. Cause Effect Hiring more police officers will help keep our streets safer.

To establish a cause and effect relationship, you must prove that the cause is what brought about the effect. In other words, you must prove that one thing made the other happen. Sometimes, two things may happen at the same time that have no connection. That is not a cause and effect relationship; that is simply a COINCIDENCE. To write effective paragraphs, your evidence should be CAUSAL, not COINCIDENTIAL.

In the next three slides, try to determine if the relationships described are CAUSE AND EFFECT or COINCIDENTIAL.

Halley’s Comet’s tail passed through the earth in 1910, during the funeral of Edward VII. Halley’s Comet is a bad omen. Therefore, Halley’s Comet was a sign that World War I would soon be starting.

Some people cannot go to college because they cannot afford it. Therefore, more people will go to college if we provide more need-based scholarships.

I flipped a fair coin twenty-five times. Twenty-five times in a row it came up heads. Therefore, the odds are that, next time I flip the coin, it will come up heads.

Notice how different the last example would be if you changed just one word: I flipped a TRICK coin twenty-five times. Twenty-five times in a row it came up heads. Therefore, the odds are that, next time I flip the coin, it will come up heads. If the coin is fair, getting 25 heads in a row is a coincidence (assuming no other cheating is going on). A trick coin, however, gives you cause to believe that you can guess the effect (the toss will be heads).

So it’s vital that you distinguish between cause and effect and coincidence. Once you have an idea that is causal, then you have to show for your readers how you got from the cause to the effect. You have to build a bridge.

Building a bridge is a lot like moving your armies from one country to another. In the example below, how would you move the army at Munich to Spain? Note to Carlos and Joe: this is a trick question! See next slide!

How many of you got it right?

When you building a bridge between cause and effect, your reader expects you to do it in the most efficient way possible. Notice that there are two equally efficient ways of getting to Spain. Sometimes you can build a bridge in more than one way.

In the next three slides, we will practice building a connection between cause and effect. The first one is done for you.

Building a Cause/Effect Bridge Cause: Hiring more tutors for BMCC’s tutoring center. Effect: BMCC students do better in their classes.

Building a Cause/Effect Bridge Cause: Hiring more tutors for BMCC’s Tutoring Center. Effect: BMCC students do better in their classes. First, begin by thinking about what your cause, exactly as it is worded, implies. In this case, the implication is that there are not enough tutors in the tutoring center.

Building a Cause/Effect Bridge Cause: Hiring more tutors for BMCC’s Tutoring Center. Right now, the Tutoring Center does not have enough tutors to help all BMCC students. Effect: BMCC students do better in their classes. So write that down! That is how you help your reader better understand why your cause is important.

Building a Cause/Effect Bridge Cause: Hiring more tutors for BMCC’s Tutoring Center. Right now, the Tutoring Center does not have enough tutors to help all BMCC students. Effect: BMCC students do better in their classes. Now think to yourself: “What happens when a Tutoring Center doesn’t have enough tutors to help everyone?

Building a Cause/Effect Bridge Cause: Hiring more tutors for BMCC’s Tutoring Center. Right now, the Tutoring Center does not have enough tutors to help all BMCC students. That means that some students who need help and are willing to work hard are not getting the help they need. Effect: BMCC students do better in their classes.

Building a Cause/Effect Bridge Cause: Hiring more tutors for BMCC’s Tutoring Center. Right now, the Tutoring Center does not have enough tutors to help all BMCC students. That means that some students who need help and are willing to work hard are not getting the help they need. Effect: BMCC students do better in their classes. Now imagine what would happen if BMCC hired more tutors. What would change?

Building a Cause/Effect Bridge Cause: Hiring more tutors for BMCC’s Tutoring Center. Right now, the Tutoring Center does not have enough tutors to help all BMCC students. That means that some students who need help and are willing to work hard are not getting the help they need. If BMCC hired more tutors, more hard-working students would get the extra help they need. Effect: BMCC students do better in their classes.

Building a Cause/Effect Bridge Cause: Hiring more tutors for BMCC’s Tutoring Center. Right now, the Tutoring Center does not have enough tutors to help all BMCC students. That means that some students who need help and are willing to work hard are not getting the help they need. If BMCC hired more tutors, more hard-working students would get the extra help they need. Effect: BMCC students do better in their classes. Congrats! You’ve bridged the gap between cause and effect!

The cause/effect example argument we created is an outline for an ALMOST complete ACT paragraph. The only thing it is lacking is specific examples to prove that the assertions we are making are true. We claim, for instance, that there are too few tutors. How do we know? What kind of evidence can we provide to back up that claim? Brainstorm now!

In the tutoring example, there are other implications we could have explored. For instance, the cause also implies that tutoring helps students do better in class. You may think that’s obvious, but your reader might not! Explaining HOW tutoring helps students could be a second cause/effect argument to make on behalf of the proposal to hire more tutors.

Following this slide are are two cause/effect statements Following this slide are are two cause/effect statements. Build a bridge between both of them.

Cause: Building a park in an abandoned lot. Effect: Improve the community as a whole.

Cause: Requiring all students to take a credit-management course. Effect: More students will graduate with less debt.

The last important part of cause/effect arguments to keep in mind is how to select WHICH causes and effects lead to the best argument.

Take a look at this board.

If Germany wants to win a supply center, where should it attack?

If Germany had more than one season, there may be more than one solution. But there is one OBVIOUS solution!

Go for the most obvious cause/effect arguments Which arguments will affect the most people? Which will raise/save the most money? Which will save the most time, or use time most effectively? Which best support the values of our society (careful! Make sure these really are universal values!]? Which best advance our society?

For each of the following slides, determine which of the three cause/effect arguments is the most obvious to support the criterion.

Criterion: Helping the most people in the community. Cause: Building handball and basketball courts. Effect: Give the community a place to come together. Cause: Building handball and basketball courts. Effect: Give high school basketball players a place to practice after school. Cause: Building handball and basketball courts. Effect: Improve the local economy. Joe and Carlos. The first is the best. The second only affects a small portion of the population, and the third would be very hard to prove and would probably seem like a stretch even in a best-case scenario.

Criterion: Giving the most graduating seniors a great send-off. Cause: Sponsoring a spring-break trip to Florida. Effect: Many students have never been to Florida. Cause: Sponsoring a spring-break trip to Florida. Effect: There are many cultural events and museums. Cause: Sponsoring a spring-break trip to Florida. Effect: A trip to Florida with their friends and other college students would be a dream come true for seniors. Joe and Carlos. The third is the best. The first is not a complete effect, since it doesn’t address why, of all the places they could go, they would choose Florida, and the second does not speak to why most college students go to Florida for Spring Break.

So now let’s put it all together So now let’s put it all together. On the following slide is a criterion and a cause. Come up with the BEST effect, build a bridge between cause and effect, and then write a complete paragraph, including specific examples, that fully develops a cause/effect argument you could use on an ACT test.

Criterion: Help more BMCC students graduate. Cause: Expand the Co-op and Career Services Center. (P.S. If you don’t know Co-op and Career Services, ask! They can be very helpful to you!)