Cause effect essays | tips for writing - cause and effect essay ideas

The purpose of a cause and effect or cause/effect essay is to examine and explain the primary reasons or causes for an event, situation, or phenomena. Cause and effect essays are among the most frequently assigned essays in lower-level undergraduate English Composition and other introductory writing classes. Learning how to write a cause and effect essay is relatively easy if you understand how to structure it. The first determination that you must make is whether you are examining the causes or the effects, or both. This may be decided for you already if your teacher has stated this in the assignment. Once you have done this step you can implement the plan below to write a really great cause/effect essay on almost any essay topic.

How to write a really good cause and effect essay

Do the research that you determine is necessary based upon your assignment and the professor’s expectations. This may include selecting your own cause and effect essay to write, choosing from a list of essay topics, or being assigned a specific topic. In selecting an essay topic keep in mind that you will want to choose one that you find interesting or at least provides access to easy resource material. The point is not to try and reinvent the wheel. Simply pick a topic that is relatively straightforward, not controversial (unless assigned), and that you can support with relevant facts and information. Once you are sure what you are going to write about you can move to step 2.

Now you will need to lay out all of the relevant causes or reasons for the event or effect that you have selected. Try to list the primary causes from most important to least important. If you are writing a cause and effect essay about the Revolutionary War or another broad topic, you may need to limit the scope of your essay. How do I limit the scope of my essay you might wonder? Simply list the items or points of discussion that you are considering incorporating into your paper and cut the last ones on the list that you think are weaker or unnecessary or simply won’t fit.
Start the cause and effect essay introduction by making a clear thesis statement letting the reader know whether you are considering causes, effects or both in regards to your essay topic. The best way to fill the first paragraph is by stating in the first sentence what you will consider the causes and effects of, and the next two or three sentences tell the main points that will be examined and (if it is within the scope of your assignment) what your conclusions or recommendations for action are.

The body of your essay will be comprised of paragraphs outlining your points explaining the causes and effects that you have discovered in your research. One good way to organize these paragraphs is to simply deal with one topic, point, cause or effect in each paragraph and move on until you have completed your cause and effect essay topics list. Once this is completed you can move onto the final step, your conclusion.

Be certain to devote at least one full paragraph to your conclusion. Highlight your best few points and remind the reader that you have considered both sides of the issue (only if you have done so). End your conclusion by stating something to the effect of “for all the reasons considered above ….” and then your ultimate conclusion or determination of the main causes and effects.

Tips for writing a great cause and effect essay

When writing a cause and effect essay, the key to making your arguments clear and strong is in word selection. This is particularly true when transitioning from one topic to the next. An example of a cause/effect essay transition would be “Conversely, the Northern United States was aided by their industrial capacity during the war.” Or, “Although some maintain that it was a primary cause for WWI, many have argued that the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand - heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was merely one factor in a series of events.”

Be certain to sprinkle your essay with the proper terminology. Use phrases like, “ It is quite possible that one root cause for (insert your essay topic) is (insert your essay topic cause or effect).”

Other good terms to incorporate are:

as a consequence…

due to the fact that…

as a result or as a result of…

a good explanation of…

A fundamental reason why…

Don’t simply pick the first sample or example of a cause and effect essay that you find online. Be certain that you put a few solid minutes into choosing an essay topic that you can write about easily as it makes the writing process much less stressful and time-consuming.

How to write great cause and effect essays and cause/effect essay examples

Tips for writing a great cause and effect essay