Warm-Up

1. Warm-Up • It is often easier to see effects than to understand causes. In fact, much of science is the attempt to find causes for known effects. • List ten effects for which you do not know the cause. • Example: The effect of a flea bite is itching.

2. Focused Learning Target • I can develop main ideas for a cause-and-effect essay by brainstorming the effects of various events. • I can write an essay introduction by writing a hook, discussing my topic, and writing a thesis statement.

3. Cause-and-Effect Essay

4. Textbooks! • Turn your textbook to page 402 for the directions for your Cause-and-Effect essay.

5. Prewriting Strategies • Create a three-column chart like the one shown below. *Information is from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flea

6. List • Create multiple charts and jot down any interesting events that come to mind from the worlds of business, science, technology, the arts, nature, politics or sports. • Circle the item that interests you the most.

7. Freewrite • For three minutes, freewrite about the topic that you circled. • As you write, note any causes and effects that come to mind. • You can develop your topic from ideas you uncover in your freewriting.

8. Thesis Writing • The thesis is the main point of your essay. • It is what you’re proving in your essay. • Example: Flea bites can cause itching because of the allergic reaction that people experience after being bit. • Work on your thesis now. Think of the point you are going to prove.

9. Hook Your Reader • The first sentence of your essay is important! • You want your reader to be interested enough to read the second sentence and the rest of your essay. • The first sentence of an essay is called a hook. It hooks the reader into your essay.

10. Hook Examples • Begin with a simile or a metaphor. • Fleabites are like pinpricks. • Begin with a question. • Did you know that the bubonic plague, or Black Death, was caused by fleas? • Begin with a definition. • A fleabite is a small red mark caused by the bite of a flea.

11. Hook Examples • Begin with a quotation. • “Mark but this flea, and mark in this” begins the poem entitled “The Flea” by John Donne. • Begin with placing yourself in the future. • By the year 2020, there will be a world without fleabites.

12. Hook Examples • Begin with the best advice you have ever received. • The worst thing to do when bitten by a flea is to scratch it. Instead, a person should use hydrocortisone cream to relieve the itching. • Begin with an anecdote. • Eeek! I woke up with thirteen fleabites on my right leg and a million more on my left. I knew that this was the last time I would ever let my dog sleep on the bed.

13. Work on your hook! • Simile or metaphor • Question • Definition • Quotation • Place yourself in the future • Anecdote (short story) • Statistic

14. Introductions • The introduction is the first paragraph of your essay. • The introduction introduces your topic. • Here is a breakdown of an introduction: • Hook: 1-2 sentences • Discussion of the topic: 2-4 sentences • Thesis: 1 sentence

15. Sample Introduction Eeek! I woke up with thirteen fleabites on my right leg and a million more on my left. I knew that this was the last time I would ever let my dog sleep on the bed.Fleabites are awful things and are very irritating.Flea bites can cause itching because of the allergic reaction that people experience after being bit.

16. Sample Introduction Did you know that the bubonic plague, or Black Death, was caused by fleas?According to Wikipedia, these little fleas “killed 30–60 percent of Europe's population” between 1348 and 1350. Fleas cause a lot of problems. Their bites can be very uncomfortable for many days.Flea bites can cause itching because of the allergic reaction that people experience after being bit.

17. Work on Your Introduction • Your homework tonight is to write your introduction to your essay. You will turn it in tomorrow.