cause and effect of an essay definition

A Guide to Writing a Cause and Effect Essay

In your academic career, you’ll write a lot of essays. You’ll write some to inform your readers about a topic and others to analyze an idea. Some will argue for or against a specific position, while others will persuade the reader to take action. Authors use various strategies to achieve each of these goals, and one of the strategies they use to inform readers is the cause and effect essay .

As its name implies, a cause and effect essay explains how certain causes result in specific effects. Knowing how to write an effective cause and effect essay is an important skill for students in just about every academic field to develop. Give your writing extra polish Grammarly helps you communicate confidently Write with Grammarly

What is a cause and effect essay?

A cause and effect essay is a type of expository essay that explores its topic by discussing the issue’s causes and consequences. For example, a cause and effect essay about deforestation’s role in climate change might discuss a few of deforestation’s specific causes, like a demand for wood and the clearing of land for grazing pastures, and then explain how these causes create effects that contribute to climate change. 

As with other types of expository essays, the purpose of a cause and effect essay is to educate the reader. As an expository essay writer, think of yourself as the informed explainer who gives their readers the information they need to think critically about a topic and reach their own conclusions. Your goal isn’t to persuade, argue, or entertain your readers—although there are instances when authors of argumentative and persuasive essays use cause and effect rhetoric in their writing. It’s also possible to write a creative essay using the cause and effect format. However, within the realm of academic essay writing , a cause and effect essay is an expository piece of writing. 

Cause and effect essays are similar to other kinds of expository essays in that they present facts in a clear, logical format. They employ an objective, analytical tone and stay away from flowery and inciting language. This is how they differ from argumentative, persuasive, and descriptive essays. You might use the passive voice more frequently in cause and effect essays than in other kinds of essays, especially in cause and effect essays you write for your science courses. 

How to structure a cause and effect essay

Structurally, a cause and effect essay is similar to other types of essays. It starts with an introduction paragraph where you hook your reader, state your thesis, and give a quick preview of the points you’ll make to support your thesis. 

Following the introduction, each point supporting your thesis has its own section. Each section can be as short as one paragraph or contain a few paragraphs, depending on how much information you need to convey and whether your essay must adhere to a word count or page limit. There are a few different ways to organize your essay’s body paragraphs. You can discuss each cause, section by section, and then discuss each effect afterward (if there is only one effect, include just a single section about it). Alternatively, you can discuss each cause and effect pair individually, giving each pair its own section. 

The best structure for your essay depends on a few factors:

• How many causes you’re including
• How many effects you’re including
• The essay length requirement, if applicable
• How closely related the causes and effects are to each other

For example, if your essay is about a single effect with multiple causes, it might be most logical to discuss all the causes first and then write a section on their shared effect. Or if the causes and effects are more isolated from each other and you need room to explain how they fit into the bigger picture, the logical choice might be to give each cause and effect pair its own section and then tie them together in your essay’s conclusion.

As with other kinds of academic writing, the most logical structure is typically the best approach. If you aren’t sure how to structure your essay, ask your instructor for guidance. 

After writing the body paragraphs, write your essay’s conclusion . This final section summarizes the points you made in the body, underscores your thesis, and brings your essay’s position to a logical conclusion. 

How to write a cause and effect essay

To write a cause and effect essay, follow the same writing process that you follow when you’re doing other kinds of writing. Start with brainstorming your topic and jotting down any insights you have, questions you want to answer, associations you plan to make between topics, and facts you intend to reference. 

After brainstorming , take your notes and create an organized outline . Remember, your essay outline is a guideline for you to follow as you write, not a final script your essay has to follow. List each section as a header in your outline and below it write down the bullet points you plan to cover within that section. Outlining makes it easy to visualize how your final essay will look and to determine where each body paragraph logically fits into the structure. 

Once your outline is finished, it’s time to write! But before you dive into your first draft, nail down your thesis statement , if you haven’t already. This is a concise and informative statement that tells the reader exactly what your essay is about. It goes in your introduction paragraph, and each body paragraph that follows should support this statement. 

With your thesis statement prepared, write your body paragraphs using your notes from your brainstorming session. Remember what kind of essay you’re writing and frame its body paragraphs accordingly—if a supporting paragraph doesn’t clearly show how its subject is a cause leading to a specific effect, reframe it to fit this format. Remember, you’re only on the first draft, and there will be time to revise it later. 

Once you’re finished writing, give your essay time to cool off. Ideally, take about twenty-four hours before you edit it. When you go back and edit, pay close attention to how you’ve presented each cause and effect. Ask yourself the following questions:

• Is the relationship between each cause and associated effect clear?
• Are the causes and effects presented in a logical, coherent manner?
• Does this essay make my position clear?
• Does the essay leave the reader room to draw their own conclusion, or does it attempt to persuade or convince them of my position?

With the answers to these questions in mind, revise your essay to ensure that the content is presented in the clearest, most logical way possible. At this stage, also make sure your essay’s tone is appropriate and that there are not any glaring spelling or grammatical errors. You’ll check for these again when you proofread; the editing stage is primarily for revising your essay’s content. 

With a clean, revised second draft in hand, give it another proofread for grammatical mistakes. Grammarly can help you with this. Once it’s cleaned up, you’re ready to submit your work. 

Example outline of a cause and effect essay

As we mentioned above, there are a few different ways to structure a cause and effect essay. Here is one: 

• Introduction

This format isn’t ideal for every essay, though. In some cases, a format like this makes the content clearer:

When you’re revising your essay, feel free to play around with the format and see which makes more sense for the information you’re writing about. You’ll likely use each of these formats in different essays depending on their specific content. 

Cause and effect essay FAQs

A cause and effect essay is an expository essay that explains the relationships between specific conditions and their consequences, often within the context of a big-picture issue. These conditions are known as “causes,” and their consequences are known as “effects.” 

What is the purpose of a cause and effect essay?

The purpose of a cause and effect essay is to educate the reader about how specific conditions are linked to certain repercussions. 

How do you structure a cause and effect essay?

There are a few different ways to structure a cause and effect essay. Here are two of the most common: 

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Cause and Effect in Composition

Glossary of Grammatical and Rhetorical Terms

• An Introduction to Punctuation
• Ph.D., Rhetoric and English, University of Georgia
• M.A., Modern English and American Literature, University of Leicester
• B.A., English, State University of New York

In composition , cause and effect is a method of paragraph or essay development in which a writer analyzes the reasons for—and/or the consequences of—an action, event, or decision.

A cause-and-effect paragraph or essay can be organized in various ways. For instance, causes and/or effects can be arranged in either chronological order or reverse chronological order. Alternatively, points can be presented in terms of emphasis , from least important to most important, or vice versa.

Examples and Observations

• "If you prove the cause , you at once prove the effect ; and conversely nothing can exist without its cause." (Aristotle, Rhetoric )
• Immediate Causes and Ultimate Causes "Determining causes and effects is usually thought-provoking and quite complex. One reason for this is that there are two types of causes: immediate causes , which are readily apparent because they are closest to the effect, and ultimate causes , which, being somewhat removed, are not so apparent and may perhaps even be hidden. Furthermore, ultimate causes may bring about effects which themselves become immediate causes, thus creating a causal chain . For example, consider the following causal chain: Sally, a computer salesperson, prepared extensively for a meeting with a client (ultimate cause), impressed the client (immediate cause), and made a very large sale (effect). The chain did not stop there: the large sale caused her to be promoted by her employer (effect)." (Alfred Rosa and Paul Eschholz, Models for Writers , 6th ed. St. Martin's Press, 1998)
• Composing a Cause/Effect Essay "For all its conceptual complexity, a cause/effect essay can be organized quite simply. The introduction generally presents the subject(s) and states the purpose of the analysis in a clear thesis . The body of the paper then explores all relevant causes and/or effects, typically progressing from least to most influential or from most to least influential. Finally, the concluding section summarizes the various cause/effect relationships established in the body of the paper and clearly states the conclusions that can be drawn from those relationships." (Kim Flachmann, Michael Flachmann, Kathryn Benander, and Cheryl Smith, The Brief Prose Reader . Prentice Hall, 2003)
• Causes of Child Obesity "Many of today's kids are engaged in sedentary pursuits made possible by a level of technology unthinkable as recently as 25 to 30 years ago. Computer, video, and other virtual games, the ready availability of feature films and games on DVD, plus high-tech advancements in music-listening technology have come down into the range of affordability for parents and even for the kids themselves. These passive pursuits have produced a downside of reduced physical activity for the kids, often with the explicit or implicit consent of the parents. . . . "Other fairly recent developments have also contributed to the alarming rise in child obesity rates. Fast food outlets offering consumables that are both low in price and low in nutritional content have exploded all over the American landscape since the 1960s, especially in suburban areas close to major highway interchanges. Kids on their lunch breaks or after school often congregate in these fast food outlets, consuming food and soft drinks that are high in sugar, carbohydrates, and fat. Many parents, themselves, frequently take their children to these fast food places, thus setting an example the kids can find justification to emulate." (MacKie Shilstone, Mackie Shilstone's Body Plan for Kids . Basic Health Publications, 2009)
• Cause and Effect in Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal" "'A Modest Proposal' is a brilliant example of the use of non-argumentative devices of rhetorical persuasion . The whole essay, of course, rests broadly upon the argument of cause and effect : these causes have produced this situation in Ireland, and this proposal will result in these effects in Ireland. But Swift, within the general framework of this argument, does not employ specific argumentative forms in this essay. The projector chooses rather to assert his reasons and then to amass them by way of proof ." (Charles A. Beaumont, Swift's Classical Rhetoric . Univ. of Georgia Press, 1961)
• Effects of Automobiles "I worry about the private automobile. It is a dirty, noisy, wasteful, and lonely means of travel. It pollutes the air, ruins the safety and sociability of the street, and exercises upon the individual a discipline which takes away far more freedom than it gives him. It causes an enormous amount of land to be unnecessarily abstracted from nature and from plant life and to become devoid of any natural function. It explodes cities, grievously impairs the whole institution of neighborliness, fragmentizes and destroys communities. It has already spelled the end of our cities as real cultural and social communities, and has made impossible the construction of any others in their place. Together with the airplane, it has crowded out other, more civilized and more convenient means of transport, leaving older people, infirm people, poor people and children in a worse situation than they were a hundred years ago." (George F. Kennan, Democracy and the Student Left , 1968)
• Examples and Effects of Entropy "Because of its unnerving irreversibility, entropy has been called the arrow of time. We all understand this instinctively. Children's rooms, left on their own, tend to get messy, not neat. Wood rots, metal rusts, people wrinkle and flowers wither. Even mountains wear down; even the nuclei of atoms decay. In the city we see entropy in the rundown subways and worn-out sidewalks and torn-down buildings, in the increasing disorder of our lives. We know, without asking, what is old. If we were suddenly to see the paint jump back on an old building, we would know that something was wrong. If we saw an egg unscramble itself and jump back into its shell, we would laugh in the same way we laugh as a movie run backward." (K.C. Cole, "The Arrow of Time." The New York Times , March 18, 1982)
• Affect vs. Effect: How to Choose the Right Word
• Understanding General-to-Specific Order in Composition
• Definition and Examples of the Topoi in Rhetoric
• What Is an Annotation in Reading, Research, and Linguistics?
• How to Use Exemplification in Writing
• Polemic: Definition and Examples
• Learn How to Use Extended Definitions in Essays and Speeches
• Understanding Organization in Composition and Speech
• Periodical Essay Definition and Examples
• What Does It Mean to Make a Claim During an Argument?
• Definition and Examples of Formal Essays
• Definition and Examples of Propaganda
• Definition and Examples of Humorous Essays
• Organizational Strategies for Using Chronological Order in Writing
• Definition Examples of Collage Essays

Cause and Effect Essay

Definition of cause and effect essay.

Human beings often try to find root causes of things, happenings and phenomena. This research leads to the discovery of effects, too. It is because human beings always desire to understand reasons for things, and why they happen. A composition written to find out reasons and results is called a cause and effect essay . It makes discovery of the causes of something and resultantly finds out effects.

Signal Words for Cause and Effect Essays

Cause and effect uses special words for causes, effects, and predictions, such as led to, because, cause, reason, explanation, so etc. However, for effects, the words most commonly used are therefore, as a result, consequently, thus, then, and thanks to . For predictions, the most commonly used words are if, when, after, as soon as, may, might, or possible .

Examples of Cause and Effect Essay in Literature

Example #1: why we crave horror movies (by stephen king).

“I think that we’re all mentally ill: those of us outside the asylums only hide it a little better—and maybe not all that much better, after all. We’ve all known people who talk to themselves, people who sometimes squinch their faces into horrible grimaces when they believe no one is watching, people who have some hysterical fear—of snakes , the dark, the tight place, the long drop … and, of course, those final worms and grubs that are waiting so patiently underground. When we pay our four or five bucks and seat ourselves at tenth-row center in a theater showing a horror movie, we are daring the nightmare. Why? Some of the reasons are simple and obvious. To show that we can, that we are not afraid, that we can ride this roller coaster. Which is not to say that a really good horror movie may not surprise a scream out of us at some point, the way we may scream when the roller coaster twists through a complete 360 or plows through a lake at the bottom of the drop. And horror movies, like roller coasters, have always been the special province of the young; by the time one turns 40 or 50, one’s appetite for double twists or 360-degree loops may be considerably depleted.”

Stephen King tells the reasons people like to watch something horrible or terrible. This passage sheds light on those reasons.

Example #2: Innocents Afield (by Buzz Bissinger)

“We are clinging to the supposed virtues of high school athletics with particular zeal. Everybody knows that pro sports is too far gone (take your pick of recent scandals). Everybody knows that college sports is too far gone (take your pick of recent scandals). But still there’s high school sports, still the classic battle of one rival against the other in shaggy glory, what James Jones described in From Here to Eternity as “the magnificent foolishness of youth as if the whole of life depended on this game.” A half-century later, the depiction of noble sacrifice at the high school level still forms our baseline, gives us hope that something in sports is still unsullied, restores our faith in the family values fad that has overtaken the low-carb diet.”

This passage sheds light on the reasons that school sports are necessary. The whole essay revolves around the games, reasons for the games, and their effects.

Example #3: Black Men and Public Space (by Brent Staples)

“My first victim was a woman—white, well dressed, probably in her early twenties. I came upon her late one evening on a deserted street in Hyde Park, a relatively affluent neighborhood in an otherwise mean, impoverished section of Chicago . As I swung onto the avenue behind her, there seemed to be a discreet, uninflammatory distance between us. Not so. She cast back a worried glance. To her, the youngish black man—a broad six feet two inches with a beard and billowing hair, both hands shoved into the pockets of a bulky military jacket—seemed menacingly close. After a few more quick glimpses, she picked up her pace and was soon running in earnest. Within seconds she disappeared into a cross street.”

This passage describes the cause of a woman’s fear in a narrative , as well as the effect of her fear. As it is part of a long essay, the next passage sheds light on the effects on women.

Function of Cause and Effect Essay

A cause and effect essay explains the real situation to readers. Readers understand what lies behind a happening, and how it effects, or how it will impact, human beings. Mostly, such essays are used for scientific topics. It is because these essays explore the nature of things, and their likely effects on us, or the things around us.

Related posts:

• Elements of an Essay
• Narrative Essay
• Definition Essay
• Descriptive Essay
• Types of Essay
• Analytical Essay
• Argumentative Essay
• Critical Essay
• Expository Essay
• Persuasive Essay
• Process Essay
• Explicatory Essay
• An Essay on Man: Epistle I
• Comparison and Contrast Essay

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Cause and Effect Essay

I. what is a cause and effect essay.

A cause and effect essay is one that shows how two or more events are connected. This type of essay is meant to explain and analyze why something happened or how something occurred. Phrases you may have heard that are similar to cause and effect are action and consequence and chain of events .

II. Examples of a Cause and Effect Essay

Here are some examples of a cause and effect essay.

How heat makes water boil . This essay would explain that heat causes additional energy in the water. The effect of adding heat energy to water is that the water turns to vapor. When the water turns to vapor, it forms bubbles in the liquid water.

Why brushing your teeth causes good health. This essay would offer facts or data that the bacteria in plaque are unhealthy for you. It would then show that brushing your teeth causes your mouth to have less plaque. The essay would outline a two-step cause and effect: Brushing your teeth has the effect of reducing the amount of plaque in your mouth, and reduced amount of plaque has a positive effect on your health.

How the Stamp Act caused anger in the American colonies . This essay would include enough context for the reader to understand the historical time period. It would then present the Stamp Act (A list of unfair taxes) as the cause of colonial anger. The essay would show the effects of the Stamp act by explaining how the colonists protested with violence.

III. Types of Cause and Effect Essays with Topics

Cause and effect essays can be looked at in two broad categories. The first is an essay that examines how multiple causes lead to a single large effect. The second is an essay that shows how one large cause has multiple effects.

a. Multiple causes leading to one effect

Example 1 “Why Gorillas are Endangered”

This essay would examine the causes that combine to create a single effect: a low number of Gorillas. The writer could identify three main causes: loss of habitat, poaching, and war. One paragraph would explain how habitat loss makes it harder for gorillas to find food. A second paragraph would show that people kill gorillas for trophies and food. A third paragraph would state that gorillas are killed by bombs and landmines when people are at war in the area. The essay would conclude by combining the evidence of these three causes, to explain how it endangers gorillas.

Other topics for this type of cause and effect essay are:

• How World War II began
• How to coach a winning team
• What astronauts will do to make Mars inhabitable

b. One cause leading to multiple effects

Example 2 “How Exercise Improves your Health”

An essay of this type would be about how exercise can have several positive effects on your health.

The essay would begin by defining what exercise is, and explain how common exercises are performed. The writer would then focus, one paragraph at a time, on several positive effects of exercise. For instance, there could be a paragraph about how exercise leads to a healthier heart. Evidence to support the connection between exercise and a healthy heart would be included. Another paragraph would show the effect that exercise can have on muscle strength and bone density. A third paragraph would give evidence that exercise causes a reduction in stress. The essay would end by connecting these three effects back to the same single cause: Exercise.

• How a good education improves a person’s life
• Why you should organize your life
• What being a volunteer can teach you

IV. Parts of a cause and effect essay

A thesis is a clear statement about what your essay will show. In the cause of a cause and effect essay, a thesis will include both the cause(s) and the effect(s) that will be explained later in the essay.

• Gorillas are endangered because of poaching, war, and loss of habitat.
• Exercise causes many beneficial changes to your health.

b. Context or starting point

The writer must give the readers enough background information so that they can follow the thesis and understand the value of the information.

• In the cause and effect essay about gorillas being endangered, the writer should include information about where gorillas live, what interactions people have with them, and their population.
• In the essay about exercise, the writer would need to explain about cardiovascular exercise and strength training exercise. The essay would also give a brief explanation of how these activities are performed.

c. An action or event

This is a central part of a cause and effect essay. The action or event needs to be described in such a way that the reader can understand what the action or event caused.

• In an essay about exercise, running may be chosen as an event to describe. The essay would explain how running causes the heart and lungs to work hard.
• An essay about endangered gorillas would need to describe poaching (illegal hunting).

d. The consequence or effect

The effect of the event must be described in a cause and effect essay.

• In the essay about exercise, the effect of running is a healthier heart and lungs.
• In the essay about gorillas, the effect of poaching is that there are fewer wild gorillas left to breed.

V. Tips for writing a strong cause and effect essay

A. clearly identify the causes and effects for the reader.

A strong cause and effect essay identifies the cause(s) and effect(s) for the reader. Remember that a cause is the reason; it explains why something happened. Meanwhile, an effect is what happened or the result.

a. Determine the type of cause and effect essay

The topic of a cause and effect essay must be a single idea. Once you have chosen the single idea, you should determine if it is more useful to analyze it as a cause or as an effect (See Part III above).

Look at the table below. In the column on the left, we have essays with a single cause and multiple effects. In the column on the right, we have essays with multiple causes creating a single effect.

As you can see, topics can be looked at from either standpoint, but an essay normally only focuses on one. It can become confusing to write and read an essay that covers multiple effects and multiple causes! So, be sure that you know the central topic and which type of essay structure you are using.

c. Explain and analyze instead of just listing effects and causes

A strong cause and effect essay does more than just list information. It also analyzes how the information fits together, and explains the important parts to the reader. The explanation is often combined with the ‘effect’ part of the essay. This part of the essay is the evidence or reasoning that allows the reader to connect the cause with the effect clearly.

Incomplete:  Listing information without explanation

Exercise, like running, is good for your heart and lungs. A healthy cardiovascular system is important for your health, so running is good for you.

Complete: Explaining the cause (running) and effect (health) sequence connecting the information

Exercise, like running, is good for your heart and lungs. This is because running makes the heart and lungs work hard. The hard work of running makes them become stronger. A stronger heart and lungs means a healthier cardiovascular system. Therefore, running is good for you.

Incomplete: Listing information without explanation

Poaching kills too many gorillas. Because of poachers, there are fewer gorillas in the wild, and they become endangered.

Complete: Explaining the effect (fewer gorillas will be born) of poaching (cause)

Poaching kills too many gorillas. Poaching removes not only the gorilla, but future generations as well. Gorillas have an average of three babies in their lifetime. Because of poachers, there are fewer gorillas in the wild. Even worse, there will be fewer gorillas born in the future.

List of Terms

• Alliteration
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• Circumlocution
• Cliffhanger
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• Connotation
• Deus ex machina
• Deuteragonist
• Doppelganger
• Double Entendre
• Dramatic irony
• Equivocation
• Extended Metaphor
• Figures of Speech
• Flash-forward
• Foreshadowing
• Intertextuality
• Juxtaposition
• Literary Device
• Malapropism
• Onomatopoeia
• Parallelism
• Pathetic Fallacy
• Personification
• Point of View
• Polysyndeton
• Protagonist
• Red Herring
• Rhetorical Device
• Rhetorical Question
• Science Fiction
• Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
• Synesthesia
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• Understatement
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Cause & Effect Essay

Cause and effect is a rhetorical style that discusses which events lead to specific results. You may find that you are assigned to write a cause and effect essay for a writing class, but you might also encounter cause and effect assignments in other disciplines. For example, you may be asked to write about the causes for the decline of a particular company in your business class, or you may be asked to write about the causes of the rise in obesity rates in the United States for your nursing class.

A cause and effect essay is structured around the goal of discovering and discussing events that lead to certain results. When writing a cause and effect essay, you should be sure that you have researched the specific causes and are confident that you’re demonstrating why they lead to particular results. You may either concentrate on all causes, effects or a combination of both.

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• Ultimate Guide to Craft Compelling Cause and Effect Essay
• Mastering The Art of Academic Essay Writing With Examples

Cause and effect essays are among the most usual essay types that students get to write at college. While the initial idea of writing a cause and effect essay may seem pretty simple, all you need to do is list the causes of a problem followed by the solutions. However, it is much easier said than done because essentially cause and effect essays are slightly tricky and require enormous brainstorming.

Table of Contents

• What is a cause and effect essay
• How to structure the cause and effect essay
• Hook of a cause and effect essay
• Background brief of a cause and effect essay
• Thesis statement of a cause and effect essay
• Outline of a cause and effect essay
• Body of a cause and effect essay
• Conclusion of a cause and effect essay

Besides the research you put in, the format of a cause and effect essay is as important. You need to ensure that you are presenting the essay in a standardized format to meet your academic goals and fetch some extra credits. Now the question is, what is a standardized format for writing a cause and effect essay? Well, this is your complete guide to cause and effect essays explaining each step in detail along with examples. So, let us get started.

What is a cause and effect essay?

A cause-and-effect essay is a type of expository essay that focuses on identifying the various causes and effects of a topic (problem) and explaining the detailed relationships between them. This type of academic writing basically focuses on the relationship between the causes (reasons) and effects (results) of a problematic scenario or trend. This is the reason, it is also called the reasons and results essay.

These types of essays are meant to explain why it happened and how it happened. For a better understanding of the concept, let’s have a look at some of the examples of what possibly could be the topics for different cause and effect essays.

• Discuss the various causes and effects of global warming on the earth.
• Elaborate on the different causes and effects of air pollution on the environment.
• Shed light on the causes and effects of social media addiction.

Now from the above examples, you got a clear idea of what exactly cause and effect essays look like. Hence, it is now time to understand the structure of writing a good cause and effect essay. That being the case, the next section will shed light on the structure of writing an impressive cause and effect essay.

How to structure the cause and effect essay?

The right structure of an essay is a key element that leads to writing an impressive essay. In the context of a cause and effect essay, the structuring is even more important because it allows your readers to clearly understand and easily navigate through the main ideas of your essay. Besides, right structuring also accounts for scores in essay writing. Hence, it is really essential to structure your essay in an effective way. To continue, like every other essay, the structure of the cause and effect essay also contains three main sections;

• Introduction
• Body paragraphs

However, the difference lies between the ideas and opinions you present in the essay and the way you present them in the essay. Hence, the further sections will effectively guide on how to write an introduction , thesis statement, outline, body paragraphs, and conclusion of a cause and effect essay. So, let’s move ahead further and start with the introduction of an essay.

How to write the introduction of a cause and effect essay?

Be it in essays, journals, articles, or research papers, the introduction of any form of writing is its make or break point. Hence, it is essential to grab the readers' attention right from the beginning. To elaborate, in the introduction, you will introduce the bigger circle of your essay i.e. the main topic of the essay which will assist your readers in understanding the context and the purpose of your essay writing. In the context of a cause and effect essay, the introduction will introduce the readers to the main topic first before moving ahead in explaining the different causes and effects and their correlation to the main topic.

For example, let’s say you are writing about the cause and effects of global warming. In the introduction, you will introduce your readers to the concept of global warming in detail before heading to its cause and effect. This introduction will assist your readers in comprehending the main reason why the essay topic needs to be discussed. However, in the introduction as well, there are 5 major aspects that need to be discussed.

• Background information
• Thesis statement

The further section will deliberately explain how to write all the 5 elements that will assist you in writing an essay. Besides, in the context of a cause and effect essay, the same example describing each element will be provided for your better understanding.

Introduction element: Hook of a cause and effect essay

A hook is a surprising element that engages your audience in your essay right from its beginning. Talking contextually, in a cause and effect essay, the hook can be statistical data or a claim that will clearly reflect the urgency of the discussion of your chosen topic. Let’s have a look at the sample hook in our taken example topic.

Sample hook

By the end of 2022, the temperature of the earth’s surface was around 0.98 Celsius degrees warmer than the average of the 20th century. Besides, the current global temperature has been consistently high on record("Topic: Global climate change", 2022).

In this hook, you might have noticed that we have given statistical data that directly points toward global warming. This will engage the readers right away and will encourage them to go through your essay till the end. Next, comes the background information.

Introduction element: Background brief of a cause and effect essay

Background information is necessary for an essay to brief the readers about the concept that will be discussed throughout the essay. In the case of a cause and effect essay, providing background information is even more important because the cause and effect of a topic will only be impactful when your readers would have good knowledge about the topic.

Let’s look at the background brief in the case of our sample essay topic for a better understanding of the background brief.

Sample Background Information

Global warming has been a concerning issue for a long time now. It has various effects on the environment that needs the attention of today’s generation. The number of cyclones, droughts, floods, and other natural disasters is increasing at a rampant pace. Besides, the main cause behind all these natural disasters is global warming.

After effectively providing the background information, using 2 to 3 lines, you will explain the purpose of writing an essay. This will allow you to draw the importance of the topic in the minds of the reader. To explain, you will answer the question, “Why is this topic important?”. After defining the purpose the next paragraph of your essay will talk about the thesis statement.

Introduction element: The thesis statement of a cause and effect essay

A thesis statement defines the topic in a summary that will be discussed in the essay. In terms of the cause and effect essay, in the thesis statement, you can narrow down the topic and let your audience know that this essay will provide different causes and effects briefly. Although every essay has a different thesis statement, the thesis statement of the cause and effect essay should follow the 3Cs formula explained below.

• Contentious: It is essential to know that your thesis statement should never contain any obvious facts. It should be contentious enough to intrigue the minds of readers and keep them indulged in the essay.
• Concise: The thesis statement of your essay should be concise so that your readers get a clear understanding of the central idea of the topic whose causes and effects would be discussed in the whole essay.
• Coherent: Lastly, there should be cohesion between your thesis statement and your body paragraphs describing different causes and effects of the essay.

In terms of our example, below given will be the thesis statement of your essay.

Sample thesis

Global warming can be understood as a direct consequence of various primary and secondary causes which could be either natural or man-made. Subsequently, the consequences of global warming can be quite detrimental to the planet and could result in some alarming effects.

If you want to learn more about thesis statements, you can go through our comprehensive guide on how to write a thesis statement .

Introduction element: Outline of a cause and effect essay

An outline is one of the most vital parts of the essay as it acts as the road map of your essay. To elaborate, the outline of an essay will briefly define all the aspects that your essay will cover and in what sequence of paragraphs it will be covered.

The outline of the essay allows the readers to understand how different cause-and-effect relationships will take place in the essay. Moreover, it will also allow you to survey and analyze the information before presenting it to your audience.

While writing an outline of the essay, you should note that your outline statement should clearly highlight the different cause and effect aspects that you will discuss in your essay.

Sample Outline

Firstly, the essay will talk about the main causes that are increasing the temperature all over the globe. Secondly, the effects that are caused by global warming will be discussed in the essay. Lastly, some of the solutions that will assist in dealing with the rising temperature of the earth will be provided in the essay.

How to write the body of a cause and effect essay?

There are two types of ways in which you can structure the body paragraph of your cause and effect essay i.e. block method and the chain method. In the block method, the writer first explains all the causes in the initial paragraphs and then explains the effect of each cause followed by a transition paragraph that will form the cohesion. Whereas, in the chain method, each cause is followed by its effect immediately.

To elaborate, each body paragraph of the cause and effect essay will start with a topic sentence that can either describe the main idea of the cause or the effect that will be discussed in the rest of the essay. After that, you will explain the topic sentence which can be a cause or the effect with the evidence (if possible) to support your topic sentence.

Moreover, if you do not have evidence, you will critically analyze and explain how your causes or effects fit in the bigger picture of your chosen topic of the subject. Lastly, the body paragraph will contain a cohesion line that will form a connection between the current paragraph and the beginning of the next paragraph.

In the case of our example, we will use the chain method and our body paragraph would be like this:

Sample Body Paragraph

There are different causes of global warming for which mankind is responsible. Deforestation is the major cause of rising global warming on the earth because plants are a major source of oxygen for all living organisms on the earth. Besides, they consume carbon dioxide which assists in maintaining the balance of the earth and evening things out. However, humans are recklessly cutting trees which have to lead to an imbalance in the environment. 13 million hectares of forest have been cut down and are converted for other uses(Deforestation Facts and Statistics,2022). This environmental imbalance is causing a rise in the temperature thus enhancing global warming. Not only this, there are many natural causes of global warming as well.

How to write the conclusion of a cause and effect essay?

The essay's conclusion should always consist of restating the main idea of causes and effects discussed in the whole essay. However, a notable fact while writing a conclusion is that you should never provide new information whether factual or literary in the conclusion paragraph.

You eventually have to present the thesis statement once again with the central idea around which your cause and effect essay revolved throughout. Along with this, you can also provide future implications directed toward tackling the effects of the different causes discussed in the essay. In the case of our example, the conclusion would be:

Sample Conclusion

To conclude, global warming is a concerning issue and the rising temperature is an alarm that needs our utmost attention right now. Hence, it is essential to know about the various causes of global warming and the impacts that it is bringing to the earth. So that we can take effective solutions to counter the situation in an effective manner.

To conclude, we are sure that the above guide has cleared all your doubts about the cause and effect essay. So, what are you waiting for? Use effective guidance and share it with your friends as well. So, you pass with flying colors and with HD grades in your assessments.

Recommended Readings

How to Write an Argumentative Essay

How to Write a Narrative Essay

What is the basic rule of cause and effect essay?

Cause and effect essays follow a simple rule of beginning with a topic sentence and then it’s followed by supporting details. Just assume, that your topic sentence talks about an effect, then the supporting details will describe its causes.

Can I use personal experiences in a cause and effect essay?

Yes, incorporating personal experiences can add depth and authenticity to your essay, especially when illustrating the effects of specific causes. However, ensure that your personal anecdotes support the main thesis and contribute to the overall understanding of the topic.

Copyright © 2023 CrowJack. All Rights Reserved

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Learning Objectives

• Determine the purpose and structure of cause and effect in writing
• Understand how to write a cause and effect essay

The Purpose of Cause and Effect in Writing

It is often considered human nature to ask “why?” and “how?” We may want to know how our child got sick so we can better prevent it from happening in the future, or why our colleague received a pay raise because we want one as well. We want to know how much money we will save over the long term if we buy a hybrid car. These examples identify only a few of the relationships we think about in our lives, but each shows the importance of understanding cause and effect.

A cause is something that produces an event or condition; an effect is what results from an event or condition. The purpose of the  cause and effect essay is to determine how various phenomena relate in terms of origins and results. Sometimes the connection between cause and effect is clear, but often determining the exact relationship between the two is very difficult. For example, the following effects of a cold may be easily identifiable: a sore throat, runny nose, and a cough. But determining the cause of the sickness can be far more difficult. A number of causes are possible, and to complicate matters, these possible causes could have combined to cause the sickness. That is, more than one cause may be responsible for any given effect. Therefore, cause and effect discussions are often complicated and frequently lead to debates and arguments.

The Structure of a Cause and Effect Essay

The cause and effect essay opens with a general introduction to the topic, which then leads to a thesis that states the main cause, main effect, or various causes and effects of a condition or event.

The cause and effect essay can be organized in one of the following two primary ways:

• Start with the cause and then talk about the effects.
• Start with the effect and then talk about the causes.

For example, if your essay is on childhood obesity, you could start by talking about the effect of childhood obesity and then discuss the cause, or you could start the same essay by talking about the cause of childhood obesity and then move to the effect. Regardless of which structure you choose, be sure to explain each element of the essay completely. Explaining complex relationships requires the full use of evidence, such as scientific studies, expert testimony, statistics, and anecdotes.

Because cause and effect essays determine how phenomena are linked, they make frequent use of words and phrases that denote such linkage. See below Phrases of Causation for examples of such terms.

Phrases of Causation

• as a result
• consequently

The conclusion should wrap up the discussion and reinforce the thesis, leaving the reader with a clear understanding of the relationship that was analyzed.

Self-Practice Exercise 4.8

H5P:  Cause and Effect Writing Practice

Exercise Preamble

In this exercise, we will think through the steps of a cause and effect essay. This can be tricky. We’ll start by choosing a topic. You want to pick something you know enough about to make claims about the relationships between cause and effect. For this in-class exercise, there’s no need to do external research, but remember that in a more formal assignment, you’ll want to have good sources for all your claims and to avoid speculation.

Some areas where cause and effect thinking is common include:

• Health and nutrition

For example, you might write a cause and effect essay about whether violent video games cause children to act out, or whether universal basic income programs cause people to live more stable lives. Choose something you can argue from a position of confidence.

Set a timer and freewrite for five minutes about the topic you have chosen.

Can you identify a potential thesis statement from your freewriting? Remember: The cause and effect essay opens with a general introduction to the topic, which then leads to a thesis that states the main cause, main effect, or various causes and effects of a condition or event. In other words, you don’t need to claim the only cause or effect — we know that ideas are complex.

Organizing Your Draft

Which makes the most sense for what you are trying to argue in your thesis statement?

Using point form, sketch out the structure of your essay: how many paragraphs, what will each one focus on, and how will you support it?

Writing a Cause and Effect Essay

Choose an event or condition that you think has an interesting cause and effect relationship. Introduce your topic in an engaging way. End your introduction with a thesis that states the main cause, the main effect, or both.

Organize your essay by starting with either the cause then effect structure, or the effect then cause structure. Within each section, you should clearly explain and support the causes and effects using a full range of evidence. If you are writing about multiple causes or multiple effects, you may choose to sequence either in order of importance. In other words, order the causes from least to most important (or vice versa), or order the effects from least important to most important (or vice versa).

Use the phrases of causation when trying to forge connections between various events or conditions. This will help organize your ideas and orient the reader. End your essay with a conclusion that summarizes your main points and reinforces your thesis. See  Appendix 1: Readings: Examples of Essays  to read a sample cause and effect essay.

Key Takeaways

• The purpose of the cause and effect essay is to determine how various phenomena are related.
• The thesis states what the writer sees as the main cause, main effect, or various causes and effects of a condition or event.
• The cause and effect essay can be organized in one of these two primary ways:
• Start with the cause and then talk about the effect.
• Start with the effect and then talk about the cause.
• Strong evidence is particularly important in the cause and effect essay due to the complexity of determining connections between phenomena.
• Phrases of causation are helpful to signal links between various elements in the essay.

Essay 1: Expository essay (15%)

In week 7, you will need to submit an expository essay on one of the following topics. Consider these topics as you work through the rest of this chapter and the next. You will need to choose one topic from one of the rhetorical modes below and write a 750- to 900-word essay. You will need to produce a logically organized essay with a thesis statement, well developed and logically organized paragraphs (with topic sentences), and an introduction and conclusion. You will need to support your ideas using one to three sources and include an APA reference list and citations as outlined in the JIBC APA Style Guide. You need to also demonstrate appropriate use of grammar and correct spelling. Remember, your essay should not just be a story; it should demonstrate logical organization and idea development.

Choose any one of the exercises you have completed for Self-Practice 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7, 4.8, or 4.9 and develop it into your Expository Essay. Consult with your instructor or your classmates if you are having a hard time deciding which activity to develop further.

You need to submit this assignment to your instructor for marking . (15%)

ENGL Resources Copyright © by Tara Horkoff. All Rights Reserved.

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10.8 Cause and Effect

Learning objectives.

• Determine the purpose and structure of cause and effect in writing.
• Understand how to write a cause-and-effect essay.

The Purpose of Cause and Effect in Writing

It is often considered human nature to ask, “why?” and “how?” We want to know how our child got sick so we can better prevent it from happening in the future, or why our colleague a pay raise because we want one as well. We want to know how much money we will save over the long term if we buy a hybrid car. These examples identify only a few of the relationships we think about in our lives, but each shows the importance of understanding cause and effect.

A cause is something that produces an event or condition; an effect is what results from an event or condition. The purpose of the cause-and-effect essay is to determine how various phenomena relate in terms of origins and results. Sometimes the connection between cause and effect is clear, but often determining the exact relationship between the two is very difficult. For example, the following effects of a cold may be easily identifiable: a sore throat, runny nose, and a cough. But determining the cause of the sickness can be far more difficult. A number of causes are possible, and to complicate matters, these possible causes could have combined to cause the sickness. That is, more than one cause may be responsible for any given effect. Therefore, cause-and-effect discussions are often complicated and frequently lead to debates and arguments.

Use the complex nature of cause and effect to your advantage. Often it is not necessary, or even possible, to find the exact cause of an event or to name the exact effect. So, when formulating a thesis, you can claim one of a number of causes or effects to be the primary, or main, cause or effect. As soon as you claim that one cause or one effect is more crucial than the others, you have developed a thesis.

Consider the causes and effects in the following thesis statements. List a cause and effect for each one on your own sheet of paper.

• The growing childhood obesity epidemic is a result of technology.
• Much of the wildlife is dying because of the oil spill.
• The town continued programs that it could no longer afford, so it went bankrupt.
• More young people became politically active as use of the Internet spread throughout society.
• While many experts believed the rise in violence was due to the poor economy, it was really due to the summer-long heat wave.

Write three cause-and-effect thesis statements of your own for each of the following five broad topics.

• Health and nutrition

The Structure of a Cause-and-Effect Essay

The cause-and-effect essay opens with a general introduction to the topic, which then leads to a thesis that states the main cause, main effect, or various causes and effects of a condition or event.

The cause-and-effect essay can be organized in one of the following two primary ways:

• Start with the cause and then talk about the effects.
• Start with the effect and then talk about the causes.

For example, if your essay were on childhood obesity, you could start by talking about the effect of childhood obesity and then discuss the cause or you could start the same essay by talking about the cause of childhood obesity and then move to the effect.

Regardless of which structure you choose, be sure to explain each element of the essay fully and completely. Explaining complex relationships requires the full use of evidence, such as scientific studies, expert testimony, statistics, and anecdotes.

Because cause-and-effect essays determine how phenomena are linked, they make frequent use of certain words and phrases that denote such linkage. See Table 10.4 “Phrases of Causation” for examples of such terms.

Table 10.4 Phrases of Causation

The conclusion should wrap up the discussion and reinforce the thesis, leaving the reader with a clear understanding of the relationship that was analyzed.

Be careful of resorting to empty speculation. In writing, speculation amounts to unsubstantiated guessing. Writers are particularly prone to such trappings in cause-and-effect arguments due to the complex nature of finding links between phenomena. Be sure to have clear evidence to support the claims that you make.

Look at some of the cause-and-effect relationships from Note 10.83 “Exercise 2” . Outline the links you listed. Outline one using a cause-then-effect structure. Outline the other using the effect-then-cause structure.

Writing a Cause-and-Effect Essay

Choose an event or condition that you think has an interesting cause-and-effect relationship. Introduce your topic in an engaging way. End your introduction with a thesis that states the main cause, the main effect, or both.

Organize your essay by starting with either the cause-then-effect structure or the effect-then-cause structure. Within each section, you should clearly explain and support the causes and effects using a full range of evidence. If you are writing about multiple causes or multiple effects, you may choose to sequence either in terms of order of importance. In other words, order the causes from least to most important (or vice versa), or order the effects from least important to most important (or vice versa).

Use the phrases of causation when trying to forge connections between various events or conditions. This will help organize your ideas and orient the reader. End your essay with a conclusion that summarizes your main points and reinforces your thesis. See Chapter 15 “Readings: Examples of Essays” to read a sample cause-and-effect essay.

Choose one of the ideas you outlined in Note 10.85 “Exercise 3” and write a full cause-and-effect essay. Be sure to include an engaging introduction, a clear thesis, strong evidence and examples, and a thoughtful conclusion.

Key Takeaways

• The purpose of the cause-and-effect essay is to determine how various phenomena are related.
• The thesis states what the writer sees as the main cause, main effect, or various causes and effects of a condition or event.

The cause-and-effect essay can be organized in one of these two primary ways:

• Start with the cause and then talk about the effect.
• Start with the effect and then talk about the cause.
• Strong evidence is particularly important in the cause-and-effect essay due to the complexity of determining connections between phenomena.
• Phrases of causation are helpful in signaling links between various elements in the essay.

Writing for Success Copyright © 2015 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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4.3: Cause and Effect

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The Purpose of Cause and Effect in Writing

It is often considered human nature to ask, “why?” and “how?” We want to know how our child got sick so we can better prevent it from happening in the future, or why our colleague received a pay raise because we want one as well. We want to know how much money we will save over the long term if we buy a hybrid car. These examples identify only a few of the relationships we think about in our lives, but each shows the importance of understanding cause and effect.

A cause is something that produces an event or condition; an effect is what results from an event or condition. The purpose of the cause-and-effect essay is to determine how various phenomena relate in terms of origins and results. Sometimes the connection between cause and effect is clear, but often determining the exact relationship between the two is very difficult. For example, the following effects of a cold may be easily identifiable: a sore throat, runny nose, and a cough. But determining the cause of the sickness can be far more difficult. A number of causes are possible, and to complicate matters, these possible causes could have combined to cause the sickness. That is, more than one cause may be responsible for any given effect. Therefore, cause-and-effect discussions are often complicated and frequently lead to debates and arguments. Indeed, you can use the complex nature of cause and effect to your advantage. Often it is not necessary, or even possible, to find the exact cause of an event or to name the exact effect. So, when formulating a thesis, you can claim one of a number of causes or effects to be the primary, or main, cause or effect. As soon as you claim that one cause or one effect is more crucial than the others, you have developed a thesis.

Consider the causes and effects in the following thesis statements. List a cause and effect for each one on your own sheet of paper.

• The growing childhood obesity epidemic is a result of technology.
• Much of the wildlife is dying because of the oil spill.
• The town continued programs that it could no longer afford, so it went bankrupt.
• More young people became politically active as use of the Internet spread throughout society.
• While many experts believed the rise in violence was due to the poor economy, it was really due to the summer-long heat wave.

Write three cause-and-effect thesis statements of your own for each of the following five broad topics.

• Health and nutrition

The Structure of a Cause-and-Effect Essay

The cause-and-effect essay opens with a general introduction to the topic, which then leads to a thesis that states the main cause, main effect, or various causes and effects of a condition or event.

The cause-and-effect essay can be organized in one of the following two primary ways:

• Start with the cause and then talk about the effects.
• Start with the effect and then talk about the causes.

For example, if your essay were on childhood obesity, you could start by talking about the effect of childhood obesity and then discuss the cause, or you could start the same essay by talking about the cause of childhood obesity and then move to the effect.

Regardless of which structure you choose, be sure to explain each element of the essay fully and completely. Explaining complex relationships requires the full use of evidence, such as scientific studies, expert testimony, statistics, and anecdotes. Be careful of resorting to empty speculation. In writing, speculation amounts to unsubstantiated guessing. Writers are particularly prone to such trappings in cause-and-effect arguments due to the complex nature of finding links between phenomena. Be sure to have clear evidence to support the claims that you make.

Because cause-and-effect essays determine how phenomena are linked, they make frequent use of certain words and phrases that denote such linkage. See Table of Phrases of Causation for examples of such terms.

The conclusion should wrap up the discussion and reinforce the thesis, leaving the reader with a clear understanding of the relationship that was analyzed.

Look at some of the cause-and-effect relationships from Exercise 2. Outline the links you listed. Outline one using a cause-then-effect structure. Outline the other using the effect-then-cause structure.

Choose a local issue or topic that concerns you. Examine both the causes and effects of this issue or topic, and write a paragraph that outlines these using the components of a cause and effect essay.

Contributors and Attributions

Adapted from Successful College Composition (Crowther et al.) . Sourced from LibreTexts , licensed under CC BY-NC-SA .

Adapted from Let's Get Writing (Browning, DeVries, Boylan, Kurtz and Burton) . Sourced from LibreTexts , licensed under CC BY-NC-SA .

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

5.8 Cause and Effect

Learning objectives.

• Determine the purpose and structure of cause and effect in writing.
• Understand how to write a cause-and-effect essay.

The Purpose of Cause and Effect in Writing

It is often considered human nature to ask, “Why?” and “How?” We want to know how our child got sick so we can better prevent it from happening or why our colleague got a pay raise because we also want one. We want to know how much money we will save over the long term if we buy a hybrid car. These examples identify only a few of the relationships we think about in our lives, but each shows the importance of understanding cause and effect.

A cause is something that produces an event or condition; an effect is what results from an event or condition. The purpose of the cause-and-effect essay is to determine how various phenomena relate in terms of origins and results. Sometimes, the connection between cause and effect is clear, but often, determining the exact relationship between the two is very difficult. For example, the following effects of a cold may be easily identifiable: a sore throat, runny nose, and a cough. However, determining the cause of the sickness can be far more difficult. A number of causes are possible, and to complicate matters, these possible causes could have combined to cause the sickness. That is, more than one cause may be responsible for any given effect. Therefore, cause-and-effect discussions are often complicated and frequently lead to debates and arguments.

Consider the causes and effects in the following thesis statements. List a cause and effect for each one on your own sheet of paper.

• The growing childhood obesity epidemic is a result of technology.
• Much of the wildlife is dying because of the oil spill.
• The town continued programs that it could no longer afford, so it went bankrupt.
• More young people became politically active as use of the Internet spread throughout society.
• While many experts believed the rise in violence was due to the poor economy, it was really due to the summer-long heat wave.

Write three cause-and-effect thesis statements of your own for each of the following five broad topics.

• Health and nutrition

The Structure of a Cause-and-Effect Essay

The cause-and-effect essay opens with a general introduction to the topic, which then leads to a thesis that states the main cause, main effect, or various causes and effects of a condition or event.

The cause-and-effect essay can be organized in one of the following two primary ways:

• Start with the cause and then talk about the effects.
• Start with the effect and then talk about the causes.

For example, if your essay were on childhood obesity, you could start by talking about the effect of childhood obesity and then discuss the cause, or you could start the same essay by talking about the cause of childhood obesity and then move to the effect.

Regardless of which structure you choose, be sure to explain each element of the essay fully and completely. Explaining complex relationships requires the full use of evidence, such as scientific studies, expert testimony, statistics, and anecdotes.

Because cause-and-effect essays determine how phenomena are linked, they make frequent use of certain words and phrases that denote such linkage. See Table 5.8 “Phrases of Causation” below for examples of such terms.

Table 5.8 Phrases of Causation

The conclusion should wrap up the discussion and reinforce the thesis, leaving the reader with a clear understanding of the relationship that was analyzed.

Look at some of the cause-and-effect relationships from Exercise 2 . Outline the links you listed. Outline one using a cause-then-effect structure. Outline the other using the effect-then-cause structure.

Writing a Cause-and-Effect Essay

Choose an event or condition that you think has an interesting cause-and-effect relationship. Introduce your topic in an engaging way. End your introduction with a thesis that states the main cause, the main effect, or both.

Organize your essay by starting with either the cause-then-effect structure or the effect-then-cause structure. Within each section, you should clearly explain and support the causes and effects using a full range of evidence. If you are writing about multiple causes or multiple effects, you may choose to sequence them in terms of order of importance. In other words, order the causes from least to most important (or vice versa), or order the effects from least important to most important (or vice versa).

Use the phrases of causation when trying to forge connections between various events or conditions. This will help organize your ideas and orient the reader. End your essay with a conclusion that summarizes your main points and reinforces your thesis. See  Appendix B: Examples of Essays to read a sample cause-and-effect essay.

Choose one of the ideas you outlined in Exercise 2 and write a full cause-and-effect essay. Be sure to include an engaging introduction, a clear thesis, strong evidence and examples, and a thoughtful conclusion.

Key Takeaways

• The purpose of the cause-and-effect essay is to determine how various phenomena are related.
• The thesis states what the writer sees as the main cause, main effect, or various causes and effects of a condition or event.

The cause-and-effect essay can be organized in one of these two primary ways:

• Start with the cause and then talk about the effect.
• Start with the effect and then talk about the cause.
• Strong evidence is particularly important in the cause-and-effect essay due to the complexity of determining connections between phenomena.
• Phrases of causation are helpful in signalling links between various elements in the essay.

Putting the Pieces Together Copyright © 2020 by Andrew M. Stracuzzi and André Cormier is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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