aka Cause and Effect Essays

Causal Argument  Try to show how one event brings about another.  Can become problematic, especially when trying to explain human behavior  Does something “force” someone to give up his/her freewill?  Causal arguments can be used to predict consequences

Causes  Main causes  Contributory causes—less important  Main causes may not come to light until AFTER an event is analyzed (ex. of roof collapse due to snow)  Know whether something is immediate or remote

Causal Chain  A causes B, B causes C, C causes D (etc.)  EX of Causal Chain to show decline of salmon runs  Smolts [baby salmon] use the river to reach the ocean  Dams restrict the flow of the river  Before the dam, smolts made it to the ocean in 6-20 days; now it is days  Smolts must make it to the ocean due to physiological changes  Lengthened migration time kills the smolts

Introduction  Clearly define the event you are analyzing  Ex. If you are writing about causes of World War II, then clearly define World War II.  If you are writing about the effects of social media on the family, then clearly define both social media and the state of the family. Your thesis statement will list a causal relationship between these two things.

Intro. Con’t and Thesis Statement  Make sure your introduction clearly defines the event.  Your thesis statement should be your last sentence of the introduction.  The thesis statement should define the causal relationship about the event.

Body Paragraphs  Remember, causes and effects are completely different. Make sure you write about them in the proper place.  Ex. The causes of WWII are completely different than the effects of WWII.

Sample Layout--Causes  Introdcution/Thesis  Cause 1 (Topic Sentence)  Proof (research—needs citations! It can be several sentences with many citations)  Draw your conclusions— “This shows…” This proves…”  Concluding sentence  Cause 2 (Topic Sentence)  Proof  Conclusions

Layout Continued  Cause 3 (Topic Sentence)  Proof (research)  Conclusions

Sample Layout--Effects  Introduction—define event  Thesis statement  Effect 1—topic sentence  Proof—(research with citations!)  Conclusions—(This shows, this proves, etc. Avoid “I” or “you” in these sentences.  Concluding sentence

Layout—cont.  Effect 2—(Topic sentence)  Proof (research)  Conclusions  Effect 3—(Topic sentence)  Proof—(research)  Conclusions

Conclusions  Your conclusion needs to restate your thesis in different words.  Then, you need to state the significance of this research/paper/event.  Ex. “The lessons to be learned from __________ (stated event) are numerous: (list them).  “The importance of looking at the causes/ effects of ___________event is __________  Give a concluding statement that sums up your argument.  Avoid “you” or “I think”.

You may…….  Write about both causes and effects

Works Cited  Double spaced  Hanging indent  No extra spaces between entries  Included as the last page of your paper

Writing  Do not use “you” or “I”  Proofread and correct your errors!  Write a long enough conclusion.  Suggestion: after you write your paper, go back and add two-three sentences to your intro.

Citations  Make sure they follow the correct format!  This sentence “has research embedded in it because my teacher does not like stand alone quotes” (Smith 82).  Cite the author of your source if you have one. If it is a database, you will not have page numbers, so they will look like this (Smith).

Citations con’t  Ex. Source with no author:  “Reintroduction of Wolves to Yellowstone”  Citations will be (“Reintroduction”).  Make sure you use quotation marks around titles.