1. C AUSE AND E FFECT M ODE OF W RITING College Prep III Chawanna Chambers, M. Ed.

2. W HAT IS C AUSE AND E FFECT ? Analyzes why something happens, not how. How it works… One cause  One effect One cause  Many effects Multiple causes  One effect Multiple causes  Multiple effects

3. T YPES OF C AUSES Main cause: the most important cause Contributory Causes: less important Immediate Cause: closely precedes the effect Remote cause: less obvious because it involves something in the past or far away. Causal Chain: an effect can be the cause to another effect, on so on.

4. I LLOGICAL A SSUMPTIONS Avoid Post Hoc Reasoning: Do not assume that just because event A precedes event B, event A caused event B. This illogical assumption is called post hoc reasoning. This error leads you to confuse coincidence with causality.

5. A VOIDING K EYWORD C ONFUSION Causal relationship keywords Because Therefore Consequently As a result Chronological relationship keywords Subsequently Later Afterward

6. E XERCISE : T HE C ASE OF THE H ARTFORD R OOF C OLLAPSE “During one winter a number of years ago, an unusually large amount of snow accumulated on the roof of the Civic Center Auditorium in Hartford, Connecticut, and the roof fell in. Newspapers reported that the weight of the snow had caused the collapse, and they were partly right. Other buildings, however, had not been flattened by the snow, so the main cause seemed to lie elsewhere. Insurance investigators eventually decided that the roof design, not the weight of the snow (which was a contributory cause), was the main cause of the collapse.”

7. T HE CAUSE - EFFECT R ELATIONSHIPS MAIN CAUSE EFFECT CONTRIBUTORY CAUSE Roof design Roof collapse Weight of snow IMMEDIATE CAUSEPOSSIBLE REMOTE CAUSES EFFECT Weight of snow Roof collapse Roof design Roof materials Improper maintenance Repairs not made

8. C AUSAL C HAIN Cause Effect (Cause) A B C D E Can you think of anything that might create a causal chain? Discuss with your tablemates.

9. P LANNING A C AUSE AND E FFECT E SSAY Purpose and Thesis: Be sure to identify the relationships among the specific causes and effect you will discuss. Thesis statement should tell the reader: The points you plan to consider The position you will take Whether you will emphasize causes, effects, or both The cause and/or effect you consider most important The order in which you will treat your points. Planning a Cause and Effect Essay

10. Order and sequence—several possibilities include: Chronological Main cause first, and then contributory causes Contributory causes first, and then main cause. Planning a Cause and Effect Essay

11. O RDER CONT … Negative effects first, then positive First dismiss events that are not causes, and then discuss actual causes for an effect Most obvious causes first, and then less obvious causes

12. T RANSITIONS Planning a Cause and Effect Essay Distinguish causes from effects. Cause/Reason: for the (simple) reason that being that For in view of (the fact) inasmuch as because (of the fact) seeing that As owing to (the fact) due to (the fact that) in that since forasmuch as Effect/Result: as a result (of this) Consequently Hence for this reason Thus because (of this) in consequence so that Accordingly as a consequence so much (so) that So Therefore

13. S TRUCTURING A C AUSE AND E FFECT E SSAY —T HESIS S TATEMENTS Finding Causes Less important cause Effect Most important cause Describing or Predicting Effects Cause First effect Second effect Third (most important) effect

14. R EFERENCES Federle, Steven. Cause and Effect Writing. Farfield, 21 July 2011. (Presentation) Kirszner, Laurie G. and Stephen R. Mandell. Patterns for College Writing: A Rhetorical Reader and Guide. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2010.