Cause and effect: Explaining why What are the causes of high dropout rate in the public schools? What are the causes and effects of students’ poor showing on standardized science and math tests?

Cause and effect Cause and effect are inseparably linked and together make up causation Cause probes the reasons why actions, events, attitudes, and conditions exist Effect examines their consequences What re the reasons why so many couples are divorcing? What are the effects of violence in schools?

Patterns in causal analysis Single cause produces several effects E.g. What are the effects of poor language skills? Multiple cause – single effect Cause/effect causal chain Multiple cause – multiple effect Plot the pattern of cause and effect in common every day events. Causes of being late for class Effects of doing poorly on tests

Reasoning Errors in Causal Analysis Ignoring multiple causes Mistaking chronology for causation Don’t assume that just because one event followed another that the first necessarily caused the second (superstitions)

Exercise: Establish the causes of the following problems Bad study habits Environmental pollution Concentrate on the effects Marrying later in life

Cause/effect List causes/effects for selected topics and organize them into patterns Reasons that relationships fail Causes and effects of violence at sporting events Causes/effects of some family crisis in your life Causes/effects of sleep deprivation Causes/effect of road rage The effect of some friend, public figure, or writer in your life Pick three potential topics for cause and effect essay and freewrite on them