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This section will help you determine the purpose and structure of cause and effect in writing.

The Purpose of Cause and Effect in Writing

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 easy to identify: a sore throat, runny nose, and a cough. But determining the cause of the cold itself can be far more difficult. A number of causes are possible, and to complicate matters, these possible causes could have combined to cause the cold. 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.

For instance, the issue of climate change has been a hotly debated argument for decades now, with scientists and environmentalists declaring a number of causes in the last fifty years that have led to our current circumstances. On the other side of the debate are politicians and industry leaders (such as oil, coal, and factory executives) who claim climate change is a myth and has not been the cause of the natural events that have taken place (such as rising sea levels, hotter summers, droughts, wildfires, etc.).

Who’s right? It’s difficult for us to know the exact causes of the strange events occurring around us today, or to know if they even are strange. Just because we’ve never experienced so many disastrous flash floods before doesn’t necessarily mean we are headed for global catastrophe—or does it? For those of us who demand the “right” answer to every question, cause-and-effect writing can be frustrating to read and write.

Use the complex nature of causality 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 many causes (or effects) to be the main or most important one. As soon as you claim that one cause or one effect is more crucial than the others, you have developed a thesis.

The Structure of a Cause and Effect Essay

The cause-and-effect essay opens with a general introduction to the topic (for instance, climate change), which then leads to a thesis that states the main cause, main effect, or various causes and effects of the particular climate-change event you are focusing on.

The cause-and-effect essay is organized in one of the following ways:

• Start with the cause and then talk about the effects (“cause-then-effect”).
• Start with the effect and then talk about the causes (“effect-then-cause”).

For example, if your essay were on the topic of childhood obesity, you could focus your thesis by talking about childhood obesity as an effect (or a consequence) of one or more particular causes, such as events that happened prior to the weight gain.

Or you could write the same essay from the opposite perspective: by talking about childhood obesity as the cause of one or more effects, such as high blood pressure or adult diabetes.

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, anecdotes, etc.

Very often cause-and-effect essays include a paragraph of DEFINITION in which the writer defines a term or idea to aid the reader in understanding the importance of the topic. If, for instance, the topic is about a medical condition written for a general AUDIENCE, the writer would want to explain in greater detail the complexities of the condition. In the example above, childhood obesity may need a paragraph of DEFINITION addressing the term obesity – what constitutes obesity? What are the ages of childhood in this case? How long has this condition been studied and where?

Because cause-and-effect essays determine how phenomena are linked, they make frequent use of certain words and phrases that make that relationship clear.  Certain transitional words and phrases aid in keeping the reader oriented in the sequencing of an argument. Some of these phrases are listed here:

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 not to resort 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.

Basic Components of a Cause-&-Effect Essay

Causality-you should be able to make a clear and logical connection between two or more phenomena in which you can argue that one is the cause of the other(s).

Thesis-your argument about the cause-and-effect relationship between two or more phenomena in which you make clear your cause-then-effect or effect-then-cause structure.

Definition-usually appearing right after the introduction, a definition paragraph provides any necessary information the reader might need to understand the complexity of the topic.

Evidence-clear and logical support to back up your thesis in the form of studies, statistics, interviews, quotes from experts, etc. Usually one form of evidence appears per body paragraph.

Phrases of Causation-to keep your reader from getting confused about the causality you are demonstrating.

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.

Provide a paragraph in which you define the topic more clearly or closely for your reader. You will need to understand your audience (experts in the field? General readers? Teenagers?) so that you can cater the definition to their background. Take the time to not only define any terms in your topic that need clarification, but also expand a little on the background of the topic.

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.

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 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.
• In certain cases, a paragraph of definition is necessary to provide readers with important information they will need to evaluate the complexity of the topic.