Exploring actions and consequences . . .

From Reading to Writing Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar traces the causes and consequences of ambition and hunger for power.

Exploring actions and consequences . . .

Exploring causes and effects is crucial to understanding events in both literature and life. One way of examining these elements is by writing a cause-and-effect essay.

Exploring actions and consequences . . .You can use this type of informative writing to

show why something happens, what its

consequences are, or how events are

connected.

B a s i c s i n a B o x

Cause-and-Effect Essay at a GlanceRUBRIC Standards for

Writing

A successful cause-and-effect essay should• clearly identify the cause-and-

effect relationship being discussed

• provide any necessary background information

• make the relationship between causes and effects clear

• arrange details logically and include transitions to show relationships between effects and causes

• use language and details appropriate to the intended audience

• summarize the cause-and-effect relationship in the conclusion

Introduce the subjectIntroduction

BodyDescribe the cause and its effects*

causecause

effecteffect effecteffecteffecteffect

SummaryConclusion

Happy the man who could search

out the causes of things.

Virgil, Roman poet

Happy the man who could search

out the causes of things.

Virgil, Roman poet

Writing Your Cause-and-Effect Essay

Writing Your Cause-and-Effect Essay1 Prewriting

Begin by exploring topics for your essay. What events puzzle you? What consequences would you like to examine before choosing a course of action?

Make a list of ideas that occur to you. Be sure to choose a topic that truly interests and inspires you.

After you select a topic you would like to write about, follow these steps.

Planning Your Cause-and-Effect Essay

1. Think about the cause-and-effect relationships. Are the events really linked by cause-and-effect? An event that follows another in time isn’t necessarily caused by it. Does a cause have one effect or many? Is an effect the result of a single cause, or many causes?

2. Identify your audience. What does your audience already know about your subject? What background information will you need to provide?

Planning Your Cause-and-Effect Essay

3. Gather supporting information. What kind of information will you need to learn about your topic? How can you find that information? Possibilities include personal observation and reflection, library research, or interviewing experts.

4. Sketch out your ideas. How does the information you have collected fit together? You might create a table or chart to help you organize what you already know and discover what you still need to find out.

2 Drafting Use the drafting process to explore your

topic and to think more about the cause-and-effect relationships you want to write about.

Concentrate on just getting your ideas down on paper. You can revise them later.

Clearly state the cause-and-effect relationship you’re discussing.

Writing Your Cause-and-Effect Essay

2 Drafting Present facts, statistics, examples,

anecdotes, and quotations to support your statements.

You will also need to organize your ideas. You might show a single cause leading to multiple effects or multiple causes leading to a single effect.

Writing Your Cause-and-Effect Essay

Writing Your Cause-and-Effect Essay3 Revising

TARGET SKILL

EFFECTIVE TRANSITIONS

One way to be sure your cause-and-effect

essay is clear is to use transitions that show

the relationships between ideas. Words and

phrases such as therefore, because, as a

result of, before, and if . . . then signal causes

and effects.

Writing Your Cause-and-Effect Essay43

Editing and Proofreading

TARGET SKILL

MISPLACED MODIFIERS

Misplaced modifiers can make your cause-and-

effect writing confusing because they appear to

modify something they cannot logically modify.

Correct a misplaced modifier by moving it next

to the word it actually modifies or by adding a

word for it to modify.