cause of effect essay

Cause and Effect

Wanda M. Waller

Student Learning Outcomes

• Identify causes and effects (cause-and-effect relationships of various events, decisions, or conditions)
• Apply an effective arrangement of introduction, body, and conclusion for a cause-and-effect essay
• Create a cause-and-effect essay

Introduction to Cause and Effect

What is Cause and Effect?

The cause-and-effect essay is a form of argumentation that details the reasons for (causes) and the outcomes of (effects) an event, condition, or decision. The purpose of the cause-and-effect essay is to determine how various phenomena relate. This essay is an attempt to discover either the origins of something, such as an event or a decision, the effects or results that can be properly attributed to it, or both. Sometimes the connection between cause and effect is clear, but often, determining the exact relationship between the two is challenging. For example, a single cause can produce many different effects, or a single effect may have several causes. A cause-effect essay can do one of two things:

• It can analyze the ways in which one or more effects result from a particular cause.
• It can analyze the ways in which one or more causes lead to a particular effect.

In other words, your essay may focus more on the effects of a cause or more on the causes of one effect. Either approach provides a useful means of discussing the possible relationship between the two events. However, in cause-effect essays, it is easy to suggest that because one event preceded another event, the former event caused the latter. Simply because one event follows another one sequentially does not mean that the two actions are related. Similar to argumentation (see  the   chapter on Argument), the cause-and-effect essay attempts to advance knowledge and ideas with reason and support.

What Is Cause and Effect?

Watch the following video on “Homelessness in America” to share your thoughts on possible causes and effects. (You can also watch it directly on YouTube. ) Closed captioning is available and can be enabled using the player controls.

Self-Assessment

What causes are discussed in the video link? What effects?

Identify other causes and effects of homelessness in America.

Structure of a Cause-and-Effect Essay

Organization.

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.

Introduction

The cause-and-effect essay opens with an introduction that provides appropriate background to inform the reader about the topic and establish a clear purpose for exploring the causes and effects. Include information on why your topic is significant, who or what it involves, and where, when, or how often the situation occurs. The introduction includes the thesis statement that states the main cause , main effect, or various causes and effects of a condition or event.

Thesis Statement

The thesis statement explains the main idea of the essay, whether the essay will focus on causes, effects, or both. Your thesis statement can highlight a single cause-and-effect relationship, or it can also show how one event causes multiple effects. You can also explore how a phenomenon has multiple causes.

Body Paragraphs and Supporting Details

Each body paragraph begins with a topic sentence that indicates which cause or effect the paragraph will discuss. Every paragraph explores a different facet of the relationship between the topic and its causes or effects. Link the causes and effects by providing evidence and explaining why the cause or effect has a relationship to the main topic. Include examples, experiences, or personal knowledge to convince your reader that certain causes or effects are creditable. The following words and phrases will assist in linking ideas, moving your essay forward, and improving readability:

Words That Link and Advance Ideas

Because                        Since                            Affects

As a result                    Therefore                     Results in

Due to                          Hence                           Leads to

Consequently                Thus                             Accordingly

The conclusion reinforces the thesis by summarizing the most significant causes or effects from the body paragraphs. It reminds the reader why the topic is important by emphasizing the connections discussed in the cause-effect relationship. Avoid introducing new causes or effects in your conclusion.

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. Contributory causes, for example, are secondary circumstances that produce actions, events, or conditions. However, contributory causes alone cannot cause the action, event, or condition to occur. 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.

Professional Writing Example: “Misinformation and Biases Infect Social Media, Both Intentionally and Accidentally”

Giovanni Luca Ciampaglia and Filippo Menczer

Giovanni Luca Ciampaglia is an Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of South Florida. Filippo Menczer is a Professor of Computer Science and Informatics and the Director of the Center for Complex Networks and Systems Research at Indiana University. This article originally appeared in The Conversation .

Misinformation and Biases Infect Social Media, Both Intentionally and Accidentally

Social media are among the primary sources of news in the U.S. and across the world. Yet users are exposed to content of questionable accuracy, including conspiracy theories , clickbait , hyperpartisan content , pseudoscience,  and even fabricated “fake news” reports .

It’s not surprising that there’s so much disinformation published: Spam and online fraud are lucrative for criminals , and government and political propaganda yield both partisan and financial benefits . But the fact that low-credibility content spreads so quickly and easily suggests that people and the algorithms behind social media platforms are vulnerable to manipulation.

Explaining the tools developed at the Observatory on Social Media.

Our research has identified three types of bias that make the social media ecosystem vulnerable to both intentional and accidental misinformation. That is why our Observatory on Social Media at Indiana University is building tools to help people become aware of these biases and protect themselves from outside influences designed to exploit them.

Bias in the brain

Cognitive biases originate in the way the brain processes the information that every person encounters every day. The brain can deal with only a finite amount of information, and too many incoming stimuli can cause information overload . That in itself has serious implications for the quality of information on social media. We have found that steep competition for users’ limited attention means that some ideas go viral despite their low quality — even when people prefer to share high-quality content .

To avoid getting overwhelmed, the brain uses a number of tricks . These methods are usually effective, but may also become biases when applied in the wrong contexts.

One cognitive shortcut happens when a person is deciding whether to share a story that appears on their social media feed. People are very affected by the emotional connotations of a headline , even though that’s not a good indicator of an article’s accuracy. Much more important is who wrote the piece .

To counter this bias, and help people pay more attention to the source of a claim before sharing it, we developed Fakey , a mobile news literacy game (free on Android and iOS ) simulating a typical social media news feed, with a mix of news articles from mainstream and low-credibility sources. Players get more points for sharing news from reliable sources and flagging suspicious content for fact-checking. In the process, they learn to recognize signals of source credibility, such as hyperpartisan claims and emotionally charged headlines.

Bias in society

Another source of bias comes from society. When people connect directly with their peers, the social biases that guide their selection of friends come to influence the information they see.

In fact, in our research we have found that it is possible to determine the political leanings of a Twitter user by simply looking at the partisan preferences of their friends. Our analysis of the structure of these partisan communication networks found social networks are particularly efficient at disseminating information—accurate or not—when they are closely tied together and disconnected from other parts of society .

The tendency to evaluate information more favorably if it comes from within their own social circles creates “ echo chambers ” that are ripe for manipulation, either consciously or unintentionally. This helps explain why so many online conversations devolve into “us versus them” confrontations .

To study how the structure of online social networks makes users vulnerable to disinformation, we built Hoaxy , a system that tracks and visualizes the spread of content from low-credibility sources, and how it competes with fact-checking content. Our analysis of the data collected by Hoaxy during the 2016 U.S. presidential elections shows that Twitter accounts that shared misinformation were almost completely cut off from the corrections made by the fact-checkers.

When we drilled down on the misinformation-spreading accounts, we found a very dense core group of accounts retweeting each other almost exclusively—including several bots. The only times that fact-checking organizations were ever quoted or mentioned by the users in the misinformed group were when questioning their legitimacy or claiming the opposite of what they wrote.

Bias in the machine

The third group of biases arises directly from the algorithms used to determine what people see online. Both social media platforms and search engines employ them. These personalization technologies are designed to select only the most engaging and relevant content for each individual user. But in doing so, it may end up reinforcing the cognitive and social biases of users, thus making them even more vulnerable to manipulation.

For instance, the detailed advertising tools built into many social media platforms let disinformation campaigners exploit confirmation bias by tailoring messages to people who are already inclined to believe them.

Also, if a user often clicks on Facebook links from a particular news source, Facebook will tend to show that person more of that site’s content . This so-called “ filter bubble ” effect may isolate people from diverse perspectives, strengthening confirmation bias.

Our own research shows that social media platforms expose users to a less diverse set of sources than do non-social media sites like Wikipedia. Because this is at the level of a whole platform, not of a single user, we call this the homogeneity bias .

Another important ingredient of social media is information that is trending on the platform, according to what is getting the most clicks. We call this popularity bias , because we have found that an algorithm designed to promote popular content may negatively affect the overall quality of information on the platform. This also feeds into existing cognitive bias, reinforcing what appears to be popular irrespective of its quality.

All these algorithmic biases can be manipulated by social bots , computer programs that interact with humans through social media accounts. Most social bots, like Twitter’s Big Ben , are harmless. However, some conceal their real nature and are used for malicious intents, such as boosting disinformation or falsely creating the appearance of a grassroots movement , also called “astroturfing.” We found evidence of this type of manipulation in the run-up to the 2010 U.S. midterm election.

To study these manipulation strategies, we developed a tool to detect social bots called Botometer . Botometer uses machine learning to detect bot accounts, by inspecting thousands of different features of Twitter accounts, like the times of its posts, how often it tweets, and the accounts it follows and retweets. It is not perfect, but it has revealed that as many as 15 percent of Twitter accounts show signs of being bots .

Using Botometer in conjunction with Hoaxy, we analyzed the core of the misinformation network during the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign. We found many bots exploiting both the cognitive, confirmation and popularity biases of their victims and Twitter’s algorithmic biases.

These bots are able to construct filter bubbles around vulnerable users, feeding them false claims and misinformation. First, they can attract the attention of human users who support a particular candidate by tweeting that candidate’s hashtags or by mentioning and retweeting the person. Then the bots can amplify false claims smearing opponents by retweeting articles from low-credibility sources that match certain keywords. This activity also makes the algorithm highlight for other users false stories that are being shared widely.

Understanding complex vulnerabilities

Even as our research, and others’, shows how individuals, institutions and even entire societies can be manipulated on social media, there are many questions left to answer. It’s especially important to discover how these different biases interact with each other, potentially creating more complex vulnerabilities.

Tools like ours offer internet users more information about disinformation, and therefore some degree of protection from its harms. The solutions will not likely be only technological , though there will probably be some technical aspects to them. But they must take into account the cognitive and social aspects of the problem.

Editor’s note: This article was updated on Jan. 10, 2019, to replace a link to a study that had been retracted. The text of the article is still accurate, and remains unchanged.

Misinformation and Biases Infect Social Media, Both Intentionally and Accidentally by Giovanni Luca Ciampaglia and Filippo Menczer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License .

Discussion Questions

• What are the major causes that make social media vulnerable to misinformation?
• What are the major effects?
• Do the examples used in the essay show a causal relationship to the topic? Explain your answers using specific details from the essay.
• Are the examples used in the essay convincing or persuasive? Explain.
• Do the authors expose new ideas or knowledge on this topic? Explain why or why not.

Student Writing Example

Effects of video game addiction.

Video game addiction is a serious problem in many parts of the world today and deserves more attention. It is no secret that children and adults in many countries throughout the world, including Japan, China, and the United States, play video games every day. Most players are able to limit their usage in ways that do not interfere with their daily lives, but many others have developed an addiction to playing video games and suffer detrimental effects.

An addiction can be described in several ways, but generally speaking, addictions involve unhealthy attractions to substances or activities that ultimately disrupt the ability of a person to keep up with regular daily responsibilities. Video game addiction typically involves playing games uncontrollably for many hours at a time—some people will play only four hours at a time while others cannot stop for over twenty-four hours.

Regardless of the severity of the addiction, many of the same effects will be experienced by all.

One common effect of video game addiction is isolation and withdrawal from social experiences. Video game players often hide in their homes or in Internet cafés for days at a time—only reemerging for the most pressing tasks and necessities. The effect of this isolation can lead to a breakdown of communication skills and often a loss in socialization. While it is true that many games, especially massive multiplayer online games, involve a very real form of e-based communication and coordination with others, and these virtual interactions often result in real communities that can be healthy for the players, these communities and forms of communication rarely translate to the types of valuable social interaction that humans need to maintain typical social functioning. As a result, the social networking in these online games often gives the users the impression that they are interacting socially, while their true social lives and personal relations may suffer.

Another unfortunate product of the isolation that often accompanies video game addiction is the disruption of the user’s career. While many players manage to enjoy video games and still hold their jobs without problems, others experience challenges at their workplace. Some may only experience warnings or demerits as a result of poorer performance, or others may end up losing their jobs altogether. Playing video games for extended periods of time often involves sleep deprivation, and this tends to carry over to the workplace, reducing production and causing habitual tardiness.

Video game addiction may result in a decline in overall health and hygiene. Players who interact with video games for such significant amounts of time can go an entire day without eating and even longer without basic hygiene tasks, such as using the restroom or bathing. The effects of this behavior pose significant danger to their overall health.

The causes of video game addiction are complex and can vary greatly, but the effects have the potential to be severe. Playing video games can and should be a fun activity for all to enjoy. But just like everything else, the amount of time one spends playing video games needs to be balanced with personal and social responsibilities.

• What are the major causes discussed in this essay?
• Do the examples used in the essay show a causal relationship to the topic? Explain your answer using specific details from the essay.
• Does the writer expose new ideas or knowledge on this topic? Why or why not?

What societal or personal issues/experiences have you observed and considered possible causes or effects?

What organizational structure would be best for the topic you are considering?

What is the relationship between your causes and effects?

• Contributory causes
• 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.

Reflective Response

Reflect on your writing process for the cause-and-effect essay. What was the most challenging? What was the easiest?

Additional Chapter Sources

“The 10 Most Homeless Cities in America” by Nicholas Johnson was posted on YouTube on March 20, 2020. Licensed under a YouTube standard license .

“Misinformation and Biases Infect Social Media, Both Intentionally and Accidentally” by Giovanni Luca Ciampaglia and Filippo Menczer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License .

A cause is something that produces an action, event, or condition.

An effect is what results from an action, event, or condition.

The primary cause that produces an action, event, or condition. The main clause requires critical evaluation as it may or may not be immediately obvious.

Contributory Causes are secondary circumstances that produce actions, events, or conditions. However, contributory causes alone cannot cause the action, event, or condition to occur.

Cause and Effect Copyright © 2022 by Wanda M. Waller is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Writing - part 1

Writing Cause and Effect Essays

Intermediate

One of the most common tasks on important tests is writing cause and effect essays or paragraphs. Here are some tips to help you write a cause and effect essay.

• Remember that causes come first, effects follow.
• Learn multiple forms (also known as equivalencies) so that you can vary your writing style.
• Use an effective hook to catch the reader's attention.
• Always use examples to provide evidence.
• Use linking language such as conjunctive adverbs, or listing words to organize your paragraphs.
• Use a hamburger essay form (introduction, three body paragraphs, conclusion) for cause and effect essays.
• Begin by brainstorming (example below). Next, write a quick outline using ideas created by brainstorming.
• Use your outline as a map to writing your essay. It may take a few minutes to develop an outline, but having an outline results in a much clearer essay.

Step 1: Brainstorming

Brainstorm your essay. Brainstorming is used to create as many ideas as possible. Don't worry whether your ideas are good or bad, just come up with as many as possible. Here is some brainstorming for essays on four different topics:

Step 2: Write an Outline

It's important to create a map of your essay. There's no need to write out full sentences, just take ideas from your brainstorming and use them to fill out the outline. Next, come up with a hook and a topic sentence for your introductory paragraph. Here's an example:

Introduction:

Statistic about obesity

Topic sentence: 

Obesity has become the number one threat to good health in developed countries.

Body I - Causes

Cause 1: Price

Cause 2: Advertising

Cause 3: Time

Body II  - Effects

Effect 1: Poor health

Effect 2: Less time for family, more time for work

Effect 3: Stress

Body III - Possible Changes

Change 1: Education

Change 2: Don't eat at chains

Change 3: Choose fruit and vegetables

Step 3: Use Forms for Showing Cause and Effect

The final step is to write your essay or paragraph. Use the following language formulas for showing cause and effect in your essays and paragraphs. Make sure to use a variety of sentences including compound and complex sentences.

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• Rhetorical Patterns - Cause and Effect
• Academic Departments
• Languages & Literature Department
• Rhetorical Patterns

The Rhetorical Patterns -  Organizing Essays for Different Rhetorical Situations

The following pages will provide you with several effective ways of organizing information in your essays. Oftentimes, when you know who your audience is and what your purpose is for writing (which is called your rhetorical situation), you can begin to consider the organization of what is going to be in your paper, how you will introduce your paper, and what to write for your conclusion. The following rhetorical patterns will help you answer these questions.   

Narration   |   Description   |   Process   |   Exemplification   |   Classification   |   Comparison and Contrast Cause and Effect   |   Persuasion and Argument

Cause and Effect

Definition:   Cause and effect is a logical system that organizes evidence to show how something happened. 

Description:  A cause and effect paper answers the question, “How did this happen?” Effective cause and effect analyses can be written on personal topics, perhaps by asking yourself why you happened to do something. Although many undergraduate cause and effect papers may examine larger topics and subjects, be cautious about addressing causes and effects that are global and historical; rather, work toward a logical and coherent analysis of a more manageable subject. To discover all of the causes and all of the effects forma large topic might require much more time than a single semester and much more room than five or six paragraphs. 

Conventions:  Although your writing might stem from a hunch about what caused something to happen, definitely avoid presenting your analysis as a hunch. Your readers will probably look for certain problems of logic in your writing. These problems are called logical fallacies, and most academic readers are well aware of them, and might primarily be looking for them. 

Your readers will also wonder about whether you have explained your causes sufficiently and whether you included all of the important causes. Remember that some causes are things out in the future, promises that someone will do something for now. For example, the primary cause for robbing a bank, said famed bank robber Willie Sutton, was because that was where the money was. Make sure that you present a lucid and cogent pattern of evidence to support your causal chain. For the benefit of your readers, make sure that you provide a clear thesis in the introduction and make certain that your paper works to support the thesis.

Strategies:   Your first thought should be whether your ideas about cause and effect are compatible with your assignment. Have you selected a manageable subject? Be wary of complex problems because it is often very difficult to find their causes. Many things happen for more than one reason. However, when you have selected your subject, thin first about the chronology: what happened before the effect that might have caused it? If you can think of more than one cause, then write them down and assign them values: which one was more of a cause than the other? Noted philosopher Kenneth Burke provides us with a system of five questions that help us determine the causality of events and things. You might begin the process of finding causes by posing certain questions: 

• What kind of thing am I trying to explain here?
• What type of person would do such a thing? Would a rational or an irrational person do it? 
• Where and when did this thing take place, and did the location and time have anything to do with the thing happening? 
• Was anything needed in order to accomplish the thing?
• What would be someone’s motivations to do this thing? 

Use these heuristics in order to help you find causes as you initially consider your subject. Finally, if you can find an answer to each of the five questions, then you probably will be able to find a logical explanation that helps you to avoid logical fallacies. 

Organization:   In your introduction, provide the assertion (the statement that your paper will prove). For instance, “My hometown wasted its tax money when it built that exercise trail two years ago.” Then, in the subsequent body paragraphs, provide topic sentences that summarize the logical step that each paragraph will make. “There was a gym that nobody used already.” Then, after each topic sentence, fill the paragraph with detailed, specific, and relevant facts that prove each paragraph’s claim. Give the reasoning in each of the paragraphs, and if you can think of any reasons why your readers would think otherwise, deal with those reasons by refuting them or making clear the logical superiority of your reasoning. Use signal words or transitions to connect sentences in the body paragraphs and to connect together the paragraphs. Finally, when you have reached the conclusion and you have proved your thesis, summarize the major points that support your assertion. 

What are logical fallacies?  Fallacies are problems within logic. For instance, if you thought that driving a car would always be difficult because the first time you drove a car it was extremely difficult, you would have made a logical fallacy, that of considering that all future events would be similar to one primary event. The following are several of the major categories of fallacies:

• Just because the cause came before the effect does not mean that it caused the effect, otherwise known as Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc.   This may sound really obvious to you; but there are often hidden causes, some of them that precede causes, for certain effects. Make sure that you can say that your cause came before your effect. For example, let’s say that one night there was a tremendous thunder storm with high winds, and the next morning, you walked over to your neighbor’s house and saw that her roof had a large hole in it with a tree over the hole. It seems that there is a relationship between the awful windy thunderstorm and the hole in the roof of your neighbor’s house; however, you might not be aware that a storm, which happened a week ago, knocked the tree down, which caused the hole in the roof. There may have also been some construction work and an accident happened during the construction work; the tree’s falling might just be a fluke accident that happened after the damage had already been done. Even if the tree fell and caused the hole, the real cause of the fall might have been the tree’s rotted trunk. Be aware that sometimes what we see as obvious logical cause and effect might have earlier or other factors that might explain the effect more logically. Post hoc ergo propter hoc is a difficult fallacy to spot sometimes.
• Just because there seems to be a logical relationship does not mean that the one thing is the cause of an effect.   If something happens, and you can find a cause, is the cause related to the effect? In order to test this condition, interrogate the cause and effect relationship backwards and forwards. Let’s say that Paula works for a large retail chain, Walmart, and she sleeps in late almost every morning, causing her to arrive at work late by a few minutes virtually every day. Finally, one day, her supervisor, Jillian, takes her aside and explains to Paula that because of her lateness, she is being fired. Paula rushes to the store manager’s office and explains that Jillian is firing her not because Paula came in late but because Jillian hates her. Paula has failed to achieve precondition #2, the store manager tells her, because Jillian has not fired several employees that she hates. The manager tells Paula that there must be another cause for her termination. You see, even though Jillian might hate Paula, Jillian may hate many other employees, and if she has not fired them also, the logical relationship that Paula is trying to establish is possible but not credible enough to be logical.  
• Lack of a plausible explanation or questionable cause.  This fallacy is guided by the idea that just because you see something and see something else that must be the cause, you may just not be able to see the true cause of the effect.  There might be events and effects that seem to have a cause; however, that cause may only be something that is another effect of something causing both things to happen. Similarly, if you see a dog run out to greet you every morning that it is sunny, you might want to ascribe the dog’s presence to the weather; however, the sunny weather might actually cause the dog’s owner to awake earlier than normal, and she might let the dog out earlier than normal. You see, the sun does have some possible relationship with the dog’s presence, but the actual cause is getting up earlier than normal, which is the direct cause. 
• Begging the question.  This fallacy revolves around the logical inferences that could be made about the logical relationship but are not. Begging the question fallacies often involve bringing up information and not acting on its possible ramifications to the logical relationship. For instance, recently, a political candidate said that people putting their money into Social Security should be allowed to direct their money into other investments and earn ten percent returns a year in the stock market. The promise was that people could earn a much better return in the stock market than they could by having the government hold their retirement money for them. For some people, it would seem obvious that not everyone putting money into the stock market will earn profits, especially exceptional return rates of ten percent a year. This statement “begs the question” of what will happen if the stock market collapses, the stock market gives less than ten percent, or if people lose all their retirement money. 
• Ignoring the question.  This fallacy is similar to begging the question in the sense that once information that tends to contradict the logical relationship is brought into the logic, the information is simply ignored. Normally, ignoring the question fallacies are much easier to detect than begging the questions fallacies because the contradiction created by some information supporting the logical relationship is usually made obvious by the person establishing the logical relationship. We can use the social security scenario from above for this fallacy. If the candidate had stated that the stock market was always liable to be a place where investments were lost, and he still advocated putting social security funds into the stock market, he would have ignored the question of what would be done for retirees when their social security accounts were diminished or wiped out by stock market losses.
• Circular logic.  Circular logic involves using the effect’s presence simply to justify the cause’s existence. If someone says that the reason you should give me money is because you have money and I need money, you can see that there is no other justification for the cause (my needing your money) except that the effect is present (i.e., you have money). Circular logic has what can be called perfect internal logic: everything makes sense because it is involved in the logical relationship. When you look for reasons to support the logic from outside the logical relationship, the relationship normally disintegrates and becomes illogical. 

How do I begin drafting my introduction?

When you introduce your cause and effect paper, you will want to fully understand what your primary audience will need to know about your subject before you begin discussing the causes for your effect. Consider the following questions when you begin developing the content of your introduction:

• Will your audience need to know the history, background, or context for the effect? 
• Are there people involved with the cause and/or effect that should be discussed? 
• What is your position to discuss this topic?
• What kind of statement can you make, information you can provide, or rhetorical question you can ask to begin your introduction so that your audience will be both interested and willing to read about your ideas about the cause or causes for the effect?

Your first sentence is often the most crucial sentence when you are writing for an audience already inclined toward a belief or opinion about your subject, especially a belief or an opinion that is different from what you are going to propose. 

What about my thesis statement?

Your thesis statement should end your introduction. You could also, if space permits, indicate and note some of those causes; however, like the comparison and contrast pattern, cause and effect thesis readers will rely on topic sentences and transition sentences heavily, and there is where you might consider placing the detail that you might place in, for example, an exemplification paper’s thesis statement. Knowing what your thesis statement is (in a simple, short sentence) will greatly assist them as they read. For instance, “The real estate crisis was mainly caused by Alan Greenspan’s reckless policies” is superior to a lengthy thesis statement that explained all the minor causes for the real estate crisis.

How do I draft my conclusion?

As you have gauged your audience’s needs, you will probably have a good idea about how to rephrase your main point and offer a brief overview of your evidence and causal chain. You may also want to consider the following: 

• Future implications for the cause and effect.
• Analysis of what the effect means to your readers. 

Of course, there are many other ideas that you can develop in your conclusion. 

One convention that almost all readers will look for in your cause and effect paper is that your conclusion is not the place in your paper to continue bringing up causes for the effect you have analyzed. 

Instructor Resources

Cause and effect essay materials, cause and effect essay prompt.

Choose one of the following questions, and answer it in an essay developed by analyzing causes or effects.   The question you decide on should concern a topic you care about so that the examples are a means of communicating an idea; not an end in themselves.

PEOPLE AND THEIR BEHAVIOR

• Why did one couple you know marry or divorce?
• Why is a particular friend or relative always getting into trouble?
• Why do people root for the underdog?
• How does a person’s alcohol or drug dependency affect others in his or her family?

ART AND ENTERTAINMENT

• Why do teenagers like rock music?
• Why is a particular television show so popular?

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES

• Why is a college education important?
• Why do marriages between teenagers fail more often than marriages between people in other age groups?
• The best courses are the difficult ones.
• Students at schools with enforced dress codes behave better than students at schools without such codes.

POLITICS AND SOCIAL ISSUES

• Drug and alcohol addiction does not happen just to “bad” people.

MEDIA AND CULTURE

• The Internet divides people instead of connecting them.
• Good art can be ugly.
• A craze or fad reveals something about the culture it arises in.
• The best rock musicians treat social and political issues in their songs.

RULES FOR LIVING

• Lying may be justified by the circumstances.
• Friends are people you can’t always trust.

Writing Your Cause and Effect Essay

To get started writing your essay:

• Review “What Is An Essay?”
• Take time to review possible subjects.
• Use prewriting to help you narrow your topic to an appropriate level of focus.

Remember that “story starters” are everywhere. Think about it—status updates on social media websites can be a good place to start. You may have already started a “note”on Facebook, and now is your chance to develop that idea into a full narrative. If you keep a journal or diary, a simple event may unfold into a narrative. Simply said, your stories may be closer than you think!

When drafting your essay:

• Develop an enticing title.
• Use the introduction to pull the reader into your thesis with a singular experience.
• Avoid addressing the assignment directly. (Don’t write “I am going to write about the causes and effects of ____…” – this takes the fun out of reading the work!)
• Think of things said at the moment your perspective on the topic became clear. Perhaps use a quote, or an interesting part of the experience that will grab the reader.
• Let the story reflect your own voice. Is your voice serious? Humorous? Matter-of-fact?
• Organize the essay in a way that may capture the reader, but don’t string the reader along too much with “next, next, next.”
• To avoid just telling what happens, make sure you take time to show significant details and reflect on why topic – and your experience with it – is significant.

Prewriting and Draft

For this assignment, you will work through the prewriting and drafting stages of your writing process in a cause and effect essay.

Directions:

1. Review the grading rubric as listed on this page.

2. Choose the writing prompt on the “Cause And Effect Essay: Writing Prompt” page.

3. Create a prewriting in the style of your choice for the prompt. Review the prewriting videos on the “My Writing Process: Prewriting and Draft” page if needed.

4. Develop a draft according to the following:

• Minimum of 3 typed, double-spaced pages (about 600-750 words), Times New Roman, 12 pt font size
• MLA formatting (see the “Formatting Style for Papers” page as needed)
• Submitted as either a .doc, .docx, .rtf file

*Papers submitted that do not meet the requirements will be returned to you ungraded.

Be sure to:

• Develop an essay developed by analyzing causes  or  effects or the prompt
• Decide on something you care about so that the narration is a means of communicating an  idea
• Include  characters,  conflict,  sensory details  as appropriate to help your essay come alive
• Create a  sequence  of  events  in a  plot  to support the logical flow of your essay
• Develop an enticing title
• Use the introduction to pull the reader into your singular experience
• Avoid addressing the assignment directly (Don’t write “I am going to write about…” – this takes the fun out of reading the work!)
• Let the essay reflect your own voice (Is your voice serious? Humorous? Matter-of-fact?)
• Avoid “telling” your reader about what happened. Instead, “show” what happens using active verbs and/or concrete and descriptive nouns and details.

5. Submit your prewriting and draft as a single file upload.

*If you developed your prewriting by hand on paper, scan or take a picture of your prewriting, load the image onto your computer, and then insert the image on a separate page after your draft.

Grading Rubric: Cause and Effect Essay Prewriting and Draft

Writing community review.

For this assignment, you will need to share your  Cause and Effect Essay  draft with your writing community via the discussion. Then you will choose a peer’s essay from your writing community and conduct a review.

1. View the grading rubric for this assignment as listed on this page (see below).

To post your Cause and Effect Essay draft to the discussion:

• Copy and paste your draft in a new Google Doc. If you aren’t familiar with Google Docs, try this  resource by Google  to assist you.
• Title the Google Doc with your first initial, last name, and Cause Effect Essay, example: RSmith Cause Effect Essay
• Set the share and edit permissions of the Google Doc to “Anyone with the link.”
• Copy and paste the URL address of the Google Doc into a new discussion post.

To review a peer’s Cause and Effect Essay in your writing community:

• Select the URL address of the peer’s essay from the discussion you want to review.
• Develop your response to your peer’s writing by focusing on each of these talking points:
• What makes the essay memorable? What did you like best?
• What is the meaning of the story? Why was the experience important to the writer?
• How did the writer structure the essay? Is there a beginning, middle, and end?
• What details may be missing and are needed for clarity?  Is there something that the writer implies but does not actually carry out in the narrative?
• Is the essay focused at an appropriate level? Is the topic narrowed enough?
• What specific places in the essay did your peer succeed in describing a singular event or vivid, memorable details or experiences?
• Where might the essay need cuts, adds, or reorders?
• Using the  6+1 Traits Rubric , are there any weaknesses in the essay that stand out?
• Using the Dartmouth Writing Program “ Attending to Grammar ” link, do you recognize a grammar problem with the essay? If so, where?
• What other supportive suggestions can you identify to improve the writing?

3. Copy and paste your response at the end of the peer’s Cause and Effect Essay in their Google Doc.

Grading Rubric: Cause and Effect Essay – Writing Community Review

Cause and effect final draft.

For this assignment, review the feedback posted from your writing community in the prior assignment: Cause and Effect Essay – Writing Community Review.  Work your way through the revising and proofreading stages of your writing process, and submit your final version.

2. Review the feedback posted on your Google Doc from the  Cause and Effect Essay – Writing Community Review .

3. Work through the revise stage of the writing process.

4. Work through the proofread stage of the writing process.

5. Create a final version of your Cause and Effect Essay according to the following:

• 3-4 typed, double-spaced pages (about 600-750 words), 12 pt font size, Times New Roman;
• MLA formatting (see the “Formatting Style for Papers” page as needed); and
• Submitted as either a .doc, .docx, .rtf file.

6. Submit your final version of your Cause and Effect Essay as a single file upload.

Grading Rubric: Cause and Effect Essay – Final

Now that you have completed your Cause and Effect Essay, take a few minutes to reflect on the experience and write about your process and what you learned. Write a reflection on your Cause and Effect Essay writing experience using complete sentences.

2. Consider the following questions.

• What was most the challenging aspect of creating this essay?
• What did you learn about yourself as a writer?
• What might you do differently the next time you write this type of essay knowing what you know now after writing this essay?

3.  Write your reflection on each question listed above, using complete sentences. Your final reflection assignment should fit the following guidelines:

• 1-1.5 typed, double-spaced pages, 12 pt font size, Times New Roman;

4. Submit your reflections as a single file upload.

Grading Rubric: Cause and Effect Essay – Reflection

• Provided by : Lumen Learning. Located at : http://lumenlearning.com/ . License : CC BY: Attribution
• Authored by : Daryl Smith O' Hare and Susan C. Hines. Provided by : Chadron State College. Project : Kaleidoscope Open Course Initiative. License : CC BY: Attribution
• Authored by : Paul Powell. Provided by : Central Community College. Project : Kaleidoscope Open Course Initiative. License : CC BY: Attribution

How to Write a Cause and Effect Essay

“For many phenomena, 80% of consequences stem from 20% of causes.”

Joseph M. Juran

These essays are defined as a composition where you explore/analyze actions, decisions and events, their triggers, and the outcome. Hence, the two constructs and the explanation you provide in your write-up must show logic and a deep understanding of the subject in question.

Let’s consider that your task is to write a cause and effect essay. If you’re not acquainted with such essay type yet and don’t even imagine what and how can be written there –feel convenient to read about essay ideas and hacks for choosing cause and effect essay topics. It goes without saying that besides choosing a topic there are some other nuances we will discuss in this writing guide.

Gathering Ideas for Cause and Effect Essay

The main aim of cause and effect essays is to overview some occasion or action and its consequences. So, in general cause and effect show how one thing can affect another. Seems quite clear and easy but it needs rather good analytical and creative thinking. So if your teacher gave you such task he wants to check not only your knowledge of the question discussed but thinking skills also. In general, one may suggest this essay form to be kind of a test of student’s abilities to define cause and effect.

One of the greatest hints on the way to success and high points in essay writing is the interest of student, sort of motivation and space for developing his ideas into paper. Despite the fact that cause and effect essay looks quite different from, for instance, narrative essay, here you can also ponder of something from subjective point of view. Nevertheless, the brilliance of the narration and sayings should be omitted here. I mean you’d better be selective during the writing process and concentrate on the main idea, you should understand clearly what is cause and effect.

Skills to write a cause and effect essay

Every essay has its purpose that goes beyond the subject. Believe it or not, essay writing is a practical and effective way of improving different skills you’ll be using throughout your life. That’s why students get these assignments in the first place. Let’s take a look at the skills you develop while working on a cause and effect essay:

• Writing skills – working on different assignments sharpens your writing skills and this essay is not an exception.
• Organizational skills – we need to be organized in every aspect of our lives to get something done. Cause and effect essays improve your ability to get organized. You arrange causes and effects in a way that keeps a reader’s interest and avoids creating additional confusion about the subject. While researching, you can identify a multitude of causes and effects. Good organizational skills are essential to categorize and include ideas into your essay properly.
• Attention to details – this essay isn’t just about mentioning a cause and consequences that everyone can see, it digs deep and highlights some causal links we don’t notice easily. To do this, you need to pay attention to details. Frequent cause and effect essay writing sharpens this skill and it can only be beneficial for you, especially in the working environment.  Not only cause and effect essay needs attention to details, but other important and massive writing assignments and dissertations require the same amount of effort and dedication. For those who are running out of time or lack the requisite skills, there is always the option to buy dissertation online . This avenue can provide students with the assurance of quality work that is plagiarism-free and customized to their needs.
• Objective thinking – the goal is to report a causal link between two ideas or situations without letting your emotions interfere with the way you write. Being unbiased is a great skill to adopt as it only helps you seem more authoritative and responsible.

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Areas of interest

Similarly to other forms of essay writing , a cause and effect paper can write about everything that happens in the world around us. Everything you see, read, witness, hear, or experience can be turned into a discussion and thus a cause and effect essay. Every action has its consequences. That means you have plenty of causes (actions) and effects (consequences) to write about. Here are common categories:

• World events
• Social issues
• Relationships and marriage
• Health and medicine

Make an outline

You should already know that without a good outline, creating a decent composition becomes difficult. These essays should be detailed and contain logical links between thesis statements and supporting points. Now, let’s get down to the point.

1. Many Causes, One effect

Here, it is imperative to show how many causes (C), mostly unrelated, can result in one effect (E). The structure of this essay looks like this:

• Introduction
• 3#C (you can add more)
• Conclusion.

For example, this structure will focus on a topic like, ‘Diarrhea caused by poor sanitation, diseases and poorly cooked food.’ The effects, on the other hand, can range from death and loss of weight to hospitalization.

2. One Cause, Many Effects

The second format of these essays is where you are required to analyze/explore one event, decision, or phenomena that caused something and the effects thereof. It takes the following format:

• 3#E (you can add more)

Here is a good topic example for this case: ‘Corruption is the cause of overborrowing by the government.’ Effects of this action/decision may include wage cuts, tax burdens and a high cost of living.

3. Chain of events

Another cause-effect essay format is where there are many events, decisions, and actions triggering something, and the results are also many. This can be a very interesting or difficult writing assignment because it heavily depends on strong logic and knowing many things at the same time. Here, the structure of your essay should look like this:

• E#1 leading to C#2
• E#2 leading to C#3
• E#3 leading to C#4 (you can add more).

Let’s take an example like, ’Most accidents are caused by drunk driving.’ The outcome of drunk driving is death, and this, can cause grief to relatives of the deceased. Another thing is that one: drunk drivers get fined or even arrested. The third effect is your car gets written off causing you to lose drivers license points.

Writing tips

Having to discuss some subjects in detail and mention its causes and effects may be overwhelming. Don’t worry; it’s perfectly natural to be concerned – it shows you care. Too much stress, though, is not a good thing. To minimize stress, you need to know all the tricks and tips that make the writing process easier, and here they are:

• Understand cause vs. effects – it is not uncommon for students to mix them up. Cause is the catalyst or the reason behind the occurrence of some event while effect is its consequence
• Research – regardless of the paper, research is a must. Investigate the subject from different angles, think outside the box, and collect information that you’ll use later
• Make meaningful links – you need to explain effects by making appropriate links to causes. Their relationship has to be solid and discussed thoroughly. Avoid discussing causes and effects that have a barely noticeable link
• Quality over quantity – avoid piling causes and effects one after another. Remember, you should provide deeper insight into their relationship and use evidence to support your claims. The quality of a cause-effect link beats quantity
• Choose the method – you can arrange causes and effects in  chronological order, based on the importance, or categorize them. Choose the approach you find most logical
• Smooth transition – to avoid choppiness, use transition words that allow you to switch from one point to another seamlessly. Transition words for causes include: due to, because, first, since, etc. Words for causes include: consequently, thereby, hence, therefore, thus
• Remember the purpose – the goal of this essay is to inform the reader about causes and effects associated with some subject, it rarely (almost never) involves persuading someone to adopt your view
• Be unbiased – you may agree or disagree with someone, like or dislike, love or hate, but you should never show it in the paper. A cause and effect essay should be unbiased and objective
• Don’t exaggerate – for a stronger impact one might feel tempted to exaggerate the effects or causes, but you need to avoid doing that. Stick to the facts only
• Evidence – it’s not enough to write “this cause has this effect”, you need evidence to support everything you write. Use reputable journals, publications, and other respected sources during this process.

Cause and Effect Essay Outline

The quality of your  cause and effect essay depends on the outline you follow. You can consider the outline as the spine of your essay. Just like the spine supports the body, the outline supports your paper and keeps you on the right track. We have a lot to say when writing an essay and it’s easy to get off topic. A strong outline doesn’t allow that to happen. Here’s an outline of a cause and effect essay:

• Introduction – sets the tone of the essay, catches reader’s attention, and creates a sound basis for the entire paper. It provides background information that introduces the topic and finishes with a thesis statement.
• Causes/effects – the central part of the essay and you can write it in many ways. You can mention causes or effects individually or causal links (causes + effects). The approach depends on the way you organize the paper or the causes and effects you wish to discuss.
• Conclusion – restates the topic and its importance, summarizes causes and effects discussed and calls for action while explaining what could happen if we don’t act on the matter.

Brick By Brick

Now you know what to do. And, at least I hope so, you know, why are you doing it. The matter is how you’re going to arrange it. Essay form is not really complicated here. Be consistent in your statements, and don’t forget about your old friend Objectivity, and a friend of her – Logic. If it’s better off this way for you just imagine that you are having a party with these relatively abstract concepts, bring some cookies and tea and have a nice time together, why not. But on that basis there’s no place for overloaded sophisticated phrases and word forms in you creative party, they are not invited. Every essay is worth ten others when there are no difficulties while reading and understanding the text.

It seems like we’ve already mentioned the main features and tasks which are to be done in cause and effect essay. So the rest is up to you – develop it and fulfill as you think it’s necessary in your case. As a little summary for this paragraph I’ll try to point out the most important things which were discussed:

• Cause and effect essay requires the use of analytical and critical thinking, please, pump your skills if you have some malfunctions with that.
• Precision and consistency of the narrative, as in every other (or almost every other) academic writing.
• Cause and effect essay have sub-types, in which cause and effect can be described and discussed separately from each other as individual elements. So be attentive before start, read carefully your task.
• Use of cause and effect words (so, because, therefore, since, if, then, that, etc.). They are necessary in such essays, like indicators.
• This type of academic writing is usually intended to test knowledge of the subject or, once again, the analytical skills of the student. So refresh your awareness in the field of the topic discussed not to be a fool.
• Logical layout is welcomed, but there may be such cases when you need to anticipate the possible consequences by yourself, so here you can use your imagination. Of course, it’s better off without sending the dinosaurs into space on disco ball in accompaniment of Nyan Cat’s theme. But I’m not sure, maybe this variant is not so bad.

Writing Cause and Effect Essay Conclusion

Writing a conclusion to cause and effect essay you can just briefly sum up what you have written before, in short words. Or you can make a short reflection and make some insights based on previously written things. There’s no need in many words, remember about brevity and wit. Try to find the words which will underline the main ideas and statements given above. And… is it the end?

Well, you are actually at the early finish. Having this part of work done commence the essay editing. You can easily do it with the help of the Internet resources which are intended for searching and correcting the mistakes, either grammatical or in spelling. So to make sure that everything is written perfectly well and to get rid of the fear of getting bad marks just use such online essay helpers , there are really plenty of good ones. Don’t forget that intelligently arranged and well written essay is a pleasure to read, so make yours worth reading.

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Bottom line

So, my dear reader, whoever you are! I hope you’ve found something useful while wasting your precious time on reading this modest cause and effect essay writing guide. If you are looking for a reliable place to buy coursework online , you can count on us to provide you with a great service. I think I want to finish this article with several generalized thoughts which may be helpful for your future writing activities.

It doesn’t really matters what is your writing task. The thing is that with creative approach and thinking, you can write almost about anything, and write interestingly. Just remember:

• Participate in your writing process in such way that you yourself will be interested in reading your essay. It may seem difficult for some period of time but after some practice you will understand how it works.
• If the inspiration doesn’t come – don’t force yourself badly, you will get nothing good out of it. Wait for some time until you will feel that you are ready with your thoughts and ideas, and then things will happen by themselves.
• Sometimes it happens that while writing you can overdo something. Write too many unnecessary things or useless information, which still may seem valuable for you because it’s your point of view.  There’s nothing bad in spreading your ideas but when writing academic papers we often don’t really have a right for doing things this way. Calm down, reread and rewrite until it feels good enough. It really works.
• Keep in mind that paragraphs are much better when not too big. Approximately ten or twelve lines for one are great. Also, it is good when the number of paragraphs does not exceed five or six. But that’s technical details.
• And the last one. Believe in yourself, even if you are not a literary genius, don’t give a damn. Keep trying, develop your writing skills and feel good about your progress. And it applies not only to writing. But that’s another story.

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How To Write A Cause And Effect Essay

Cause And Effect Essay Outline

Simple Steps to Write a Cause and Effect Essay Outline

Published on: Apr 19, 2023

Last updated on: Jun 19, 2023

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All academic writers or students writing academic papers have to write an essay. Cause and effect essays are one of the major types of essays. It is written to explain the reasons behind or outcomes of a particular thing or event.

Finalizing an outline before writing the whole essay will help you structure your essay easily. It will also give a direction to your essay. Finally, an outline will organize the points of your essay.

We have mentioned the samples and structures of essay outlines according to the three major types of cause and effect essays.

Read this blog further to know more.

What is a Cause and Effect Essay Outline?

As per the cause and effect essay definition, a cause and effect essay explains how one thing has caused another. This is a form of argumentative essay and is used in both school and college.

A cause and effect essay outline is the point-wise description of all the causes and effects written in the essay. You will write these points according to the basic structure of the essay: the introduction, body, and conclusion.

A cause and effect essay outline serves the following purposes:

• It logically organizes your research.
• It makes the essay writing process shorter and minimizes errors.
• It will help you highlight the significant points effectively.
• It will make your essay coherent.

So basically, an outline gives a general idea of your essay. There are three main types of cause and effect essays. To learn how to write an outline according to each type, read below.

How to Write a Cause and Effect Essay Outline?

Follow the steps given below to write a structured outline for your essay.

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1. Understand the Requirements

Before writing the essay, make sure that you understand the requirements properly. No matter if you choose the topic yourself or work on the one given by your teacher, understand its main focus before you begin with writing. Understand it thoroughly. Know its different dimensions and make some initial notes.

2. Conduct Topic-Based Research

The next step is to research the topic. The research will assist you in finalizing the points that you want to write in your outline and later in the essay.

You can collect the facts, examples, events, or actions related to the points that you want to write in the essay. But, make sure that you do not get lost while researching. Instead, pay attention to the topic and its particular dimension only.

3. Brainstorm and Gather Your Thoughts

After conducting the research, you will have a lot of data and points to write. But, you can not just write them in the essay haphazardly. You need to organize them. Do some brainstorming and categorize the points.

For a cause and effect essay, you should first categorize the causes and effects separately. See if the causes or effects have any further categories.

For example, global warming has two major causes, anthropogenic causes, and natural causes.

If needed, you can even scribble these points roughly on a paper before you draft your actual outline.

4. Create the Outline

The outline should include all your points starting from the introduction to the conclusion. The cause and effect essay outline structure is as follows:

• Hook:  An attention grabber is a catchy phrase or piece of information that will hook your reader to your essay.
• Topic Brief:  A topic brief is a general introduction and gives the reader a general idea.
• Thesis Statement:  It briefly explains the main idea of your essay. You can also state the major cause and effect related to the topic here.
• Description of the Causes:  If there are multiple causes, each will be explained separately, and if there is a single cause, it will be explained in a single paragraph after the introduction.
• Explanation of the Effects:  The essay’s body should describe all possible outcomes or effects related to the topic.
• Relation between Both of Them:  Explain the relationship between the causes and effects. You can either do it in a single para or use separate ones for each cause and effect.
• Conclusion:  The conclusion paragraph is the crux of the whole essay. Your conclusion should remind the readers of the purpose of writing your essay. This is conveyed by rewriting the thesis statement.

Furthermore, the conclusion paragraph should mention all the causes and effects again, but briefly. A good way to end your essay paragraph is to write any provoking sentence that impacts the reader.

Structure your outline according to the type of cause and effect essay that you are writing. These types are further described below.

Cause and Effect Essay Outline Format According to its Types

The basic structure of all essays remains the same. All essays have an introduction, body, and conclusion. Similarly, all outlines at least have those three components.

But, the structure of the body of the essay varies according to each type. The outline structure of the three types of cause and effect essays is further explained below.

Outline Structure of Multiple Causes, Single Effect Essay

It is the type of cause and effect essay where various causes lead to a single effect. This means that the topic has multiple reasons for why it happened.

If you want to write a cause and effect essay with multiple causes and single effect, then you can opt for the following structure:

Introduction

• Explanation of the topic or the main effect
• Thesis statement

Body of the Essay

• Cause number 1
• Cause number 2
• Cause number 3
• Cause number 4
• Rewrite the thesis statement
• Describe the single major effect
• Write the possible causes
• Closing line

Outline Structure of Single Cause, Multiple Effects Essay

Another type of cause and effect essay has a single cause and multiple effects. This type of essay highlights how a single topic can have different effects. First, you will explain the cause. Then you will explain all the outcomes.

The structure of this type of cause and effects essay is as follows:

• Attention Grabber
• Description of the topic
• Thesis Statement
• Restate the thesis
• Describe the cause
• State all the effects briefly
• Concluding sentence

Outline Structure of Chain Cause and Effect Essay

The third type of cause and effect essay has the same number of causes and effects. So, every single cause and effect will be explained one after the other.

An essay with multiple causes and effects will have a slightly different outline from the other two types of essays.

• Describe the topic - define its key terms
• State the major causes and effects
• Cause 1 (Topic sentence telling the cause)
• Effect 1 (Topic sentence telling the effect)
• Cause 2 (Topic sentence telling the cause)
• Effect 2 (Topic sentence telling the effect)
• Cause 3 (Topic sentence telling the cause)
• Effect 3 (Topic sentence telling the effect)
• A paragraph stating the opposite stance.
• Add the rephrased thesis statement
• State all the causes and effects briefly
• State how are they related to the topic
• Broader Message

Another cause and effect essay outline template for this type of essay is as follows:

• Describe the topic- define its key terms
• Para 1: Cause # 1
• Para 2: Cause # 2
• Para 3: Cause # 3
• Para 4: Cause # 4
• Para 5: Effect # 1
• Para 6: Effect # 2
• Para 7: Effect # 3
• Para 8: Effect # 4
• Mention the rephrased thesis statement
• Broader message

Cause and Effect Essay Outline Examples

If you want to write a good cause and effect paper, you can check out the following essay samples for guidance.

Cause and Effect Essay Outline pdf - Sample

Outline for Cause and Effects Essay on Smoking - Sample

Cause and Effect Essay Sample

Cause and Effect Essay Outline Worksheet

Cause and Effect Essay Outline on Divorce - Sample

Tips for Writing a Good Outline of Cause and Effect Essay

Following are some tips to write a good cause and effect essay outline:

• You should prefer using simple language for this type of essay. But do not compromise on the necessary technical terms.
• Do some brainstorming before structuring your outline and finalize the causes and effects. Make a list of all those, and then start your essay.
• It may be possible that a cause and effect essay would require you to express your opinions. You will mention the reasons you think are the causes behind it rather than mention another researcher’s more likable opinion.
• The cause and effect relation can be better explained through examples. It can be in the form of a general observation, facts or statistics, etc.
• Some conjunctive words are excessively used as an expression in cause-and-effect essays. These include, In relation to, Concerning with, This is why, etc. Such phrases and words make the linking of the cause and effect simpler.

Even if you hire an essay writing service to write your essay, make sure that they follow one of the outline structures mentioned above. Creating an outline can become very easy for you by following the mentioned guidelines.

If you still need help with your essay, you can contact  WriteMyEssay.help for further assistance. We offer professional ‘ write essay ’ help to everyone and offer our services at affordable rates.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you start a cause and effect essay.

You should start a cause-and-effect essay with an appropriate attention grabber. It can be a quotation, startling fact, anecdote, metaphor, etc. Its main aim is to capture the reader’s attention.

What are the three types of cause and effect essays?

The three types of cause and effect essays are: 

• One cause, multiple effects essay 
• One effect, multiple causes essay 
• Multiple causes and multiple effects essay 

How do you write a cause and effect essay in middle school?

You can write a cause and effect essay in middle school by following these steps: 

• Step 1: Create an outline 
• Step 2: Write the introduction paragraph 
• Step 3: Write the essay’s body: All the causes and effects 
• Step 4: Write the conclusion paragraph 

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Nova Allison has eight years of experience writing both technical and scientific content. As a Digital Content Strategist, Nova focuses on developing online content plans that engage audiences. She strives to write pieces that are not only informative but also captivating.

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Writing a good Cause and Effect Essay for college

Writing a cause and effect essay requires placing coherent set of ideas in an organized fashion. In case of cause and effect essays which are generally used to assess the reasoning capability of students, it is very important to connect all the statements to make a meaningful essay. These essays are used to describe situations that can be better understood when their causes and effects are explained in detail. Many students ask us to provide them with cause and effect essay examples and we are certainly at your service to provide you with sample cause and effect essays.

So what is a cause and effect essay?

Before you actually start writing a cause and effect essay, you need to understand what it exactly means. A cause and effect essay is one which determines a scenario where one action or event leads to certain effects. It will also explain what took place and why it took place in that particular pattern.

Top Ideas for your cause and effect essays

Cause and effect essays are used to show why something happens (the cause) and what happens as a result (the effect). Such essays should begin with an introduction paragraph followed by a paragraph that discusses either the causes or effects or paragraphs that discuss each, and finally a conclusion paragraph. It is important to note that sometime, many causes lead to a single effect or many effects may actually be from one cause.

To describe a cause, some phrases should be used such as because (of), due to, since, one cause (is), another (is), first, second, result from etc. To emphasize effect, phrases such as: as a result, thus, consequently, therefore, one result, result in etc would be appropriate. For a paragraph emphasizing a chain of causes or effects, use transitions that show time sequence, such as “then” and “next”.

With our concisely written samples, the students get a clear understanding of the dos and dont’s of writing cause and effect essays. Generally, cause and effect essays requires students to dig deep into the given topic to analyze the reasons for various things to happen the way they are happening thereby expanding their thought process.

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The writing process of Cause and Effect Essays

To write a good cause and effect essay, remember the following:

Cause and effect essays can focus on causes, effects, or both. Your introduction paragraph should make the focus of your essay clear

Cause and effect essays may or may not express a simple blueprint, although essays that deal with either causes or effects are more likely to state a simple blueprint than essays that deal with both causes and effects or essays that deal with related chain-of-events causes or effects

Each body paragraph is usually devoted to either a cause or an effect.

Example of a cause and effect essay on Racism

Below is an example of Cause/Effect essay written by a student Matthew Shwarzer on causes of lingering racism in the United States. From this essay, Matthew identifies a simple blueprint in his thesis in which he deals with schools, neighborhoods, and those in power as contributing to racism:

Essay Blueprint

Introduction

Motivator: Introduce the fact that race still matters in the United States of America

Thesis and Blueprint : People should look at the causes of racial inequality, namely schools, neighborhoods, and those in power

Body/Discussion

First Topic Sentence: Public education is not equal

A. Because public schools are funded by taxes, more affluent areas have schools with more resources—better teachers, buildings, books

B. Racial minorities are more likely to live in impoverished areas

C. Poor education leads to fewer life opportunities, such as college, the arts, athletic teams

Second Topic Sentence: The neighborhoods minorities live in also lead to racial inequalities

A. As soon as people are able, they move out of ghettos, leaving only the most destitute

B. High-wage jobs are not likely to exist in poor neighborhoods, leaving chronic underemployment.

C. Lack of mobility keeps poor minorities from seeking lucrative employment

Third Topic Sentence: The people with the power also lead to racial inequality

A. People who establish and enforce policies affect the poor

B. People with the power hire and fire affect the poor by hiring those most like themselves (i.e., white and middle class)

C. Outright racism may not be present, but the end result is explicitly racist

Reworded Thesis: Lingering racism is a complex issue and one which the United States must face

Clincher: Only by a systemic look at the causes of racial inequality, rather than blaming personal racism, can Americans hope to combat the inequality present.

(Adapted from Mathis, P. (2013). Blueprints for writing: Building essays. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.

Examples of Cause and Effect Essay Ideas and Vocabulary

Obesity is a cause of/a reason for premature death

Media coverage affects/influences voting patterns

Media coverage leads to/gives rise to/brings about changes in voting patterns

Voting patterns are affected/are influences by media coverage.

Stress causes/produces/results in low exam scores

Low exam scores are causes by/are produced by/result from stress

Low exam scores are a consequence of/are a result of/are dude to/the effect of stress

When/if there is constant economic instability, currency crashes occur

(Adapted from http://writing.itu.edu.tr/ce1.pdf)

Ready to write you Cause/effect essay? Here are steps to follow:

1. Choose A Good Topic for Cause and Effect Essays

The topic you choose could be a major event of historical importance or from your daily life (For example: watching TV is harmful). While choosing the topic, you have to remember that this particular event should have a cause and there should be some notable effects as a result of the cause. In this case, watching TV becomes the cause and the result of it are the effects. You can then elaborate on the casual chain of events that follow the cause in the body of the essay.

Depending on your essay’s structure, there could be different ways of organizing it. It could be many causes leading to one effect or one cause leading to multiple effects or it could be a chain of events related to one another. There are three different types of causes and effects namely, primary, contributory and remote causes and effects.

The impact of result in the various types of causes and effects could vary and therefore you should have a clear understanding of the causes and effects that you are going to mention in your essay.

2. Create An Outline for Cause and Effect Essays

Before you start writing, it is important to create an outline with the research that you may have done about the topic. At this stage, you have to list down the cause(s) in detail. The essay can be outlined with listing out one or more causes that led to the effect. The cause you choose acts as the foundation for the essay. So, with this in mind you have to decide the outline of the essay.

3. Composing Your Cause and Effect Essays

Start with the introduction, explaining the cause and the significance of its effects. Make sure that the introduction comprehensively states the purpose of essay along with the effects and causes at stake. The introduction should make a strong statement as the body of the essay will completely depend on how you weave the introductory statement.

Proceed to the body of the essay, where you bring up strong statements in support of your introductory paragraph. The body of the essay should consist of at least three paragraphs that explain one statement each in support of the introductory paragraph. Remember to back up all your statements with sufficient details and necessary evidences. In the above mentioned example, you can mention one harmful effect of watching TV in each paragraph and support your claim with sufficient evidence.

Then get to the conclusion that ties the introduction and body of the essay together. Conclusion plays a major role in getting the readers impression in case of essays. Being the last thing that the reader will read, conclusion leaves a lasting memory on the readers.

Make sure to re-visit all the points that you have mentioned in the essay in your conclusion.

Other considerations about Cause and Effect Essays

While writing a cause and effect essay, it is important to connect the various sentences using transition statements to create a smooth flow of the essay. This plays an important role because, you mention a lot of points in the essay and if you do not connect them in the right fashion; it might lead to confusion for the reader.

Above all, any kind of essay writing requires the writer to go through the essay few times before finalizing the content to make sure it is readable and concise. Hope these tips help you excel at writing a cause and effect essay. Also let us know of any tips that you think may be helpful in further improving the essay.

Well, I have read all this but I need help writing case and effect essay ; Can you help me?

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It is simple; make an order of an original cause and effect essay from a reliable online service where writers are specialized in particular essay writing. All you need is to provide our cause and effect essay writers with your essay related specifications and you will keep in touch with them at any time of the day.

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If the candidate is being hired is to do cause and effect essays in particular, he has be tested on the citation styles knowledge to ascertain that they can work well with Harvard, MLA,APA or other citation styles. For further confirmation, we assign the writer a sample cause and effect paper that reveals the professionalism we are going to work with.

Wherever we want to add an academic writer to our experts’ team, he or she will be obliged to get through the registration process. This process involves screening through various complicated tests. We first establish the English level of the applicant before recruiting him/her. So, when you are worried “who will write my cause and effect essay”, we have your back covered.

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Home / Essay Samples / Health / Stress / The Impact of Stress: Understanding Causes and Effects

The Impact of Stress: Understanding Causes and Effects

• Category: Life , Health
• Topic: Challenges , Stress , Stress Management

Pages: 2 (913 words)

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• The demands of the job,
• The degree that control staff have over how they do their work,
• The degree of support they receive by colleagues and superiors,
• Their relationships with colleagues,
• Whether they understand their roles and responsibilities properly,
• How far the company consults staff over workplace changes.

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