Cause and Effect Writing

1. Cause and Effect Writing English 1 Prof. Federle

2. Cause and Effect analyzes why something happens. • Some effects are caused by multiple causes. • Some causes, in turn, can result in multiple effects.

3. 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. Avoiding Post Hoc Reasoning: • Do not assume that just because even A precedes event B, event A caused even B. This illogical assumption is called post hoc reasoning. This error leads you to confuse coincidence with causality.

5. Do not confuse words like because, therefore and consequently(indicating a causal relationship), with words like subsequently, later, and afterward (chronological relationship words)

6. Exercise: Global Warming • 1) Listen to the following report, originally presented on NPR’s news program, “Morning Edition” on February 17, 2006. • 2) as you listen, answer the questions as they appear on the screen. • 3) Afterwards, we will brainstorm the possible chain of cause and effect contributing to this issue.

7. NOTE TAKING WORKSHEETStudy: Greenland Ice Sheet Melting Faster Than Thought February 17, 2006 from National Public Radio’s Morning Edition • Why are researchers interested in Greenland’s icecap? • What are two opposing processes mentioned by Rignot that might either cause the icecap to melt, or to replenish it? What is actually happening? • According to Harris, how fast is Greenland now losing ice? What is the effect? • According to Rignot, what was the previous time scale for the loss of ice from Greenland? What is it now?

8. NOTE TAKING WORKSHEETStudy: Greenland Ice Sheet Melting Faster Than Thought February 17, 2006 from National Public Radio’s Morning Edition • According to Konrad Steffan, what process is causing the acceleration of the loss of Greenland ice? Describe it. How fast is the glacier moving now? • According to Steffan, what are the effects of this rapid melting? What problems might these effects, in turn, cause? • According to Steffan, are these processes fully understood? Does he feel that the data is certain?

9. 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.

10. Planning a Cause and Effect Essay • 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

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

12. Transitions! • Transitions are essential to this type of essay to distinguish causes from effects. • For a useful list of cause and effect transitions, see page 43. Planning a Cause and Effect Essay

13. Structuring a Cause and Effect Essay • Finding Causes • Less important cause > effect> most important cause • Describing or Predicting Effects • Cause > first effect> second effect > third (most important) effect> conclusion (with possible prediction of additional effects).

14. Revising a Cause and Effect Essay • See checklist on page 312 Editing a Cause and Effect Essay • Avoid redundant phrases like “the reason is because” examples p 313 • Use Affect and Effect correctly. Examples p 313 • Editing checklist on page 314