Cause & Effect Essay:
500-750 words
Outline
Research: 1 Source Max 2 sources
Third Person
No preposition at the end of the sentence
No passive
MLA In-Text
Causal Analysis
1) Stay focused on the purpose of your analysis.
Peer review March 31 and April 5th
Due April 10th
-Informative Approach
-Persuade
-Speculate
2) Adapt content and tone to your purpose and readers
3) Think rigorously about causes and effect.
Cause:
What happened?
What are the possible reasons?
Which are most likely?
Who was involved?
Why?
Effects:
-What happened?
-what are some future possible future consequences?
-Which consequences are negative?
-Which are positive?
4) Write a thesis that focuses the paper on causes, effects or both.
Thesis on causes: our school system has been weakened by an overemphasis on trendy electives.
Thesis on effects: an ineffectual school system has left to crippling teacher’s strikes and widespread disrespect for the teaching profession.
Thesis on both: Bureaucratic inefficiency has created a school system, unresponsive to children’s emotional, physical, and intellectual needs.
5) Choose an organizational Pattern
-Chronological
-Emphatic
1) You present what you consider the erroneous or obvious views first, show why they are unsound or limited, and then present what yoy feel to be the actual causes & effects.
6) Use language that hints at the complexity of cause-effect relationships
AVOID
-Must be obvious
-There is no doubt
USE
Most likely
It is probable that…
NO CONTRACTIONS in this essay
Transition:
Led to
Because
Cause(s)
Reasons(s)
Explanation(s)
So
Effects:
Therefore
As a result
Consequently
Thus
Then
Thanks to