Learning how to write a cause-and-effect essay is one of the most important lessons, as it is one of the academic tasks that every student will encounter at least once. This helpful writing guide will provide you with the basic structure rules, definitions, and tips on how to start a cause-and-effect essay and offer formatting tips. Ultimately, we provide links with examples to help you avoid the mistakes.
Cause-and-effect essay definition
Most cause-and-effect essays stand for a single purpose to explain what has caused certain situations or what actions have brought us to a certain outcome. It may be the talk about specific actions or phenomena that we can observe. Such essays require excellent analytical skills as the author must implement deep cognitive reasoning and take a special look at a given event, a situation, or a set of elements that explain the situation. When discussing domestic violence cases, we should look at the causes and focus on how the media and our social norms approach the situation. The purpose is to communicate the message and do relevant research and explanatory work.
As you plan to start a cause-and-effect essay, study your grading rubric twice to determine what work must be done. As you shall learn in a bit, cause-and-effect essays have two essential types to consider, as you shall learn later in this guide. Also known as the “result” essay, the key is to discuss the effects and choose your framework. You still have to narrow things down and focus on statistical information instead of trying to find several explanations, especially if you have to provide an effect element or a cause-only essay.
The basic structure and essay outline
No matter your chosen subject, two basic methods can help you with your cause-and-effect essay structure. These are either a Block Structure or an easier Chain Structure. If you are told to choose the block structure method, you must outline all the existing causes you have found. All of the effects should follow as you continue writing your cause-and-effect essay. Now, the chain structure must have a different pattern where each cause should immediately have a relevant effect instead of having all the effects presented simultaneously.
There are both pros and cons to each method that you can choose. Using the block structure is better if you want to keep things shorter and avoid all the details. The chain structure may be more suitable if you want to keep things precise and use an explanatory tone.
In practice, a cause-and-effect essay outline will look the following way structure-wise:
- Block Structure: Introduction > Cause 1 > Cause 2 > Transition text > Effect 1 > Effect 2 > Conclusion paragraph.
- Chain Structure: Cause 1 > Effect 1 > Cause 2 > Effect 2 > Conclusion.
When starting with a cause-and-effect paper, you must keep your structure accurate and use transition words like B is the effect of A or “Given that A…” to keep the flow correct. Make sure to distinguish the cause from the effects as you explain the results. The cause always comes before an effect takes place!
How to start a cause-and-effect essay?
Starting a cause-and-effect essay requires a lot of time, so preparation and analysis should always come first as you research the subject. Contrary to popular belief, things should be simple once you know the important points. The trick is to choose a cause-and-effect paper topic that inspires you and research all that is being said about it. For example, you can write about social media’s effects and the causes of depression among young people or discuss the problem of homelessness in the United States. If you want to talk about environmental issues, it might be one of the easiest subjects if you have all the necessary information to start with your cause-and-effect essay!
Let’s assume that we wish to start with the subject of family and relationships. The topics that can be chosen include the reasons why spouses cheat or the effects of living in a broken home. You can also explore a different matter and research the lifelong effects of family vacations on the quality of family life. In such a case, going on frequent vacations is a cause, while the positive relations represent an effect. To write a cause-and-effect paragraph, try your best to determine what something has happened and what was the cause of a specific occurrence. If you have been assigned a specific topic and you feel lost, turn to the local headlines, check scientific magazines, and work that has been done on your topic. It will help you to learn more opinions and narrow things down!
Step-by-step writing guide
Here are the vital steps that you should take to provide an excellent cause-and-effect essay regardless of your subject or a chosen structure method. Let’s take a detailed look!
Step 1: Know your subject well.
Choose an inspiring topic that you know well unless you have already been presented with it. If you are new to the subject, take your time to explore various media resources to gather specific opinions. Writing a cause-and-effect essay about a special culture or a group, mention the fact in the introduction paragraph. It is recommended to provide a brief background.
Step 2: Learn the difference between causes (reasons) and effects (results).
Take your time to determine the causes by asking yourself why something has happened or finding out what caused the problem. As you determine the final effect, you should think about what the result of some cause has been or what happened after. Here is how this structure works:
Cause: Your electric guitar is not plugged in.
Effect: The sound it produces will be very weak.
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Remember that you may encounter several causes with a certain single effect or deal with various effects due to a single cause!
Step 3: Compose a strong thesis statement.
A cause-and-effect thesis statement is one of the most important things that talks about why this work is being done. You have to state it clearly by explaining it all before the actual thesis. As you draft your thesis, consider your primary concept and determine the main cause-and-effect aspect.
Step 4: Research information on the subject and keep the facts organized.
If you provide a piece of evidence for every cause, it is vital to work on the support claims through the lens of a chronology. Continue where your thesis statement has left and offer details that will help to verify the facts. It is possible to organize your data this way:
- Chronological method. It means that you present your causes and effects based on a certain period.
- Level of importance. It is where you present information from the most to the least important.
- Sorted by category. You organized data according to a certain methodology.
Tip: Finding information on the topic might be quite challenging and time-consuming, which is why we recommend that you check out a professional essay writer review and choose the best expert based on your needs. It will help to find reliable sources and avoid plagiarism risks as you quote and paraphrase!
Step 5: Use transitional words between paragraphs.
The use of bridge phrases is essential! It is what helps to manage the flow and explain the verbal structure between the causes and effects. Some of the transitional cause-and-effect essay format phrases include “because of“, “as a result,”, “Therefore, we can conclude that A causes B“. It will help to explain the link between the causes as well by making your essay more accessible to the target audience.
Step 6: Proofread your work aloud.
Once you have done editing, think about proofreading your work aloud. It will help you to stay confident and avoid repetitions. As you do the checking, consider the clarity of research, accurate structure, a clear thesis statement, and a topic sentence for every body paragraph. Your cause-and-effect facts should be all supported and cited when and if necessary. Likewise, the conclusion part must represent the summary of all the key points without any new ideas.
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Cause-and-effect essay formatting tips
Speaking of formatting tips, it is necessary to follow this structure template that will help you to narrow things down. Depending on whether you wish to take a reflection essay format and structure or think about analytical tone in your writing, these helpful tips will save a great deal of time:
Cause-and-effect essay Introduction paragraph:
- Provide a topic’s background and inform your readers about its importance.
- Introduce the subject by offering statistical data if it helps to understand the scope.
- Your thesis statement must be clear and accessible, which is why you use your main argument.
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Body paragraphs:
- The cause and essay assignment can be structured in either one of two ways. Check your grading rubric to make sure!
- Explain your topic from different points of view to explain why something is considered a cause or why a certain effect is crucial/critical.
- Show evidence that can help support your arguments by focusing on different facts and examples.
Cause-and-effect conclusion paragraph:
- Back up your thesis statement again in different words.
- Do your best to summarize your essay without introducing any new ideas.
- Do not be afraid to offer additional examples or recommendations to support your main points further.
Helpful cause-and-effect essay examples
Without a doubt, nothing can compare to the actual cause-and-effect examples that you can check as you compare them to your grading rubric or brainstorm ideas that may be used for your given assignment. Here are some helpful academic links to consider:
- Student Sample: Cause-and-Effect Essay by Kellogg Community College.
- 6 Cause-Effect Essays by National Geographic Learning.
- Cause & Effect Essays (Reason and Result) by EAP Foundation.
- Cause-and-effect Essay Academic Writing by Anna Crerand of Saint Leo University.
Take your time to explore every cause-and-effect essay example, follow the rules, and feel free to ask questions if something is unclear!
