Cause-and-Effect Essay Writing

1. Cause-and-Effect Essay Writing Melissa Jensen Miss Jensen EDRD 6530 AKA U.S. History Apprenticeship Assignment

2. Cause-and-Effect? • Cause-and-effect writing gives reasons and explanations for events, conditions, or behavior • Cause=a person or thing that acts, happens, or exists in such a way that some specific thing happens as a result; the producer of an effect • Effect=something that is produced by an agency or cause; result; consequence

3. Where to start? • Get a topic—event or condition • Brainstorm causes or effects • Additional research (if necessary) • Example: • Effect: Your car won’t start • Causes: You are out of gas, Your battery is dead, You don’t have any good CDs in the car

4. Planning • Causes: • You are out of gas—relationship • Your battery is dead—relationship • You don’t have any good CDs in the car—no relationship • Diagram relationships of causes and effects • Check for errors • Ask questions: • Have I assumed a relationship when there is none? • Have I assumed only one cause when many may be appropriate? • Have I incorrectly assumed a causal relationship between two events that follow each other?

5. Drafting the essay • Use cause-and-effect diagram • Create outline • Most important causes and effects • Ask questions: • Who was responsible? • Who was affected? • Did the event have social or economic consequences? • Compose thesis

6. Examples

7. Example • Add markings showing thesis, causes, & effects

8. Examples

9. Examples • Add markings showing thesis, causes, & effects

10. Assignment • You will be turning in a cause-and-effect essay at the end of the week. This essay will be in response to the following question: How did industrialization become an important part of America’s development and how did it directly affect Americans?

11. Industrialization in the US