Cause & Effect

If you have ever asked the questions “Why did something happen?” or “What happened?” you have begun to explore the Cause & Effect relationship. The question "Why?" leads us to explore the cause of an event, and the question "What?" leads us to explore the effect of an event. All cause and effect exploration focuses on action and reaction--how things come from or lead to other things.

The rhetorical style of cause & effect can best be explained in terms of a timeline. If all events in your life fall onto this timeline, there is a definite, mappable past, present, and future. Your job as a writer, within this style of writing, is to pick an event (X) and place it on the timeline. The word "event" does not only refer to an occurrence, however. It can refer to many other things.  For example:

• Beliefs (things accepted as true or right, but which can't actually be proven)

• Attitudes (disposition or feelings toward a person or thing)

• Values (abstract concepts of what is right or good--principles or standards)

The event you choose to explore could also be a "thing" not in your life (non-personal). If you wanted to explore the causes and/or effects of societally-held belief or a movie's success, for instance, that would be fine.

Looking at X, you can trace its causes in the past or its effects in the future. There are different types of causes and effects: immediate (near X, possibly the most influential), intermediate (further from X, influential), and remote (furthest from X, but still influential).

This style of writing is similar to process analysis, but the focus is somewhat different; rather than focusing on all aspects leading to, or following from, the event in a step-by-step analysis, you want to focus on specific, recognizable factors that influenced or were influenced by the event. After an event has been chosen, there are three general patterns this type of writing can employ.

If X is the present,

• from X, look backward to study its causes—immediate, intermediate, and remote (the past--history)

  • ßRemote Cause --- Intermediate Cause --- Immediate Cause --- X

• from X, look forward to study its effects—immediate, intermediate, and remote (the future--speculation)

  • X --- Immediate Effect --- Intermediate Effect --- Remote Effectà

If X is a point in the past, but you are viewing it from the present,

• using X as a point of reference, study both its causes and effects (in this style, causes can be seen as remote and effects as immediate, leading up to the present [causes and effects are all in the past--history])

  • ßRemote Cause --- Intermediate Cause --- Immediate Cause --- X --- Immediate Effect --- Intermediate Effect --- Remote Effect --- Present

To choose which pattern to follow, determine what is more important to your telling: the details leading up to the event (cause) or the details following the event (effect).

When constructing a cause & effect paper, you want to choose one of the following three purposes:

• to inform (this style can easily focus on past or future events)

• to speculate (this style tends to focus more readily on future events, but can also focus on the past)

• to argue or persuade (this style tends to also more readily focus on the future [again, it can focus on the past], but with the added goal of shaping or changing currently held opinions)

There are two styles that can best be used when writing a cause & effect essay. The first style is Cause & Effect Relation. In this style, focus on two or more separate causes for a singular event. Each cause may take the form of an individual narrative or example, and they will be linked only by the fact that, when seen as a whole, they led to the effect you are focusing on. The pattern can also be applied to the future (exploring effects). The formats for this style look like this:

• Introduction

• Body

  • First Cause

  • Second Cause

  • Third Cause

• Conclusion

or

• Introduction

• Body

  • First Effect

  • Second Effect

  • Third Effect

• Conclusion

The second style is Causal Chain or Effectual Chain. In this style, focus on a remote cause, which leads to an effect. This effect becomes the intermediate cause. This cause leads to another effect, which becomes the immediate cause. This cause finally leads to the final effect. At this point, by creating a causal chain, you have explored the reasons behind a result. The pattern, when reversed, can also be applied to the future (exploring effects).  The formats for this style look like this: 

Causal Chain

• Introduction (name X)

• Body

  • Remote Cause
    (leads directly to)

  • Intermediate Cause
    (leads directly to)

  • Immediate Cause
    (leads directly to X)

• Conclusion

or

Effectual Chain

• Introduction (name X)

• Body

  • Immediate Effect
    (from X, leads directly to)

  • Intermediate Effect
    (leads directly to)

  • Remote Effect

• Conclusion

Remember: Approach writing a cause & effect paper step-by-step:

1. Choose your topic

2. Establish your focus (an exploration of cause to effect, effect to cause, or both equally)

3. Determine your purpose (to inform, to speculate, or to argue/persuade)

4. Formulate your thesis statement

5. Lay out your points in a logical, carefully considered pattern without oversimplifying your claims.

Keep in mind: You can and should incorporate all the styles of writing you have previously focused on to strengthen this paper!