1. Cause & Effect
Asking Why

2. The Method Doorbell example
“immediate cause” – the event that occurs right before another
“remote cause” – the underlying, more basic reason to the event. Usually this is not apparent to an observer.
Unlike process analysis, that also deals with happenings, the method of cause and effect deals with “why” certain things happen, instead of “how”.

4. The Process
Your subject can be either impersonal or something very personal to you
“What caused the governmental shutdown?”
“Why did my relationship fail?”
Through this process, you might discover a truth you’ve never thought of before.

5. Before listing causes & effects, think about what your purpose is.
Most of the time you’re organizing this, you’ll want to explain what did or might occur, discovering & laying out the connections as clearly & accurately as you can.
You’ll want to go further, though, and argue for one interpretation over others.

6. Once you have an idea of your subject and your purpose, you can draft a “tentative” thesis statement (don’t stress, it will most likely be a completely different one in your final draft!)
It will be hypothetical at this stage, because you still need to gather evidence and sort out the causes & effects.

7. Causal Relations
The biggest difficulty you will encounter while writing such an essay is figuring out what causes what. This is called a causal chain – one event triggers another, and in turn will trigger another, and another, and so on.
Example: preparing for a business meeting
Some causes are harder to find, or more complicated
Example: why was a certain battle lost?
Don’t ignore chronological order.

8. When you’re seeking remote causes, look only as far back as necessary.
When you see a number of causes, weigh them and see the importance. Which do you find matter most? Some are major and some are minor.
Example: hard times for small town; factories
When you’re seeking remote causes, look only as far back as necessary.
What caused the shutdown? A dispute between union and management. What caused the dispute? Announced firings. What was the cause of these firings? Loss of sales to a competitor.

9. A paper showing effects works in the opposite direction
A paper showing effects works in the opposite direction. It starts with the factory closing and progresses to the impact on the town: unemployment, closing of stores, people packing up and moving away.

10. Be Careful!! Don’t confuse coincidence with cause.
“Post hoc” – Assuming that because A happened before B, A must have caused B.
Eating a donut before losing a pound; lucky pants
Don’t oversimplify causes by failing to recognize their full number and complexity.
Loss of profits for music industry; school shootings.
You can avoid these by looking for evidence before you write, and giving it careful thought.

11. Discovery of Causes (by Kenneth Burke):
These questions are meant to help you find causes of actions and events.
1. What act am I trying to explain?
2. What is the character, personality, or mental state of whoever acted?
3. In what scene or location did the act take place, and in what circumstances?
4. What instruments or means did the person use?
5. For what purpose did the person act?

12. Explain why a neighborhood liquor store burned down:
The Pentad
Explain why a neighborhood liquor store burned down:
Act: Was it deliberately set, or an accident?
Actors: If it was arson, who set it?
Scene: Was it near a church? Mental hospital? A fireworks factory?
Agent: Was it caused by faulty electrical wiring? A cigarette butt?
Purpose: If it was arson, was it to collect insurance? To punish drinkers? To get revenge?

13. Final word (before our checklist) 
Don’t worry if there are questions left unanswered – this is meant to generate material for you to pursue.
While stating your belief of causes and effects, don’t be afraid to mention a well-considered guess. I’m not going to inspect and research what you’ve found and grade you on this basis. I just want a coherent and reasonable account.

14. Checklist: Subject Thesis Completeness Causal relations
Accuracy & fairness
Clarity and conciseness