Cause and effect essays ask you to examine an event or situation and determine the cause and effects of it. For example, if you’re writing about the Revolutionary War, some of the causes would be excessive taxation by the British, lack of political representation by American settlers and conflicts in political ideology. The effect would be the decision of American settlers to go to war against the British monarchy.
An essay could also have one cause and many effects. For example, you could use the Revolutionary war as a cause and list some of its effects such as: the establishment of the United States and its sovereign government, the ability of American merchants to trade with nations other than Great Britain, the settlement of the Northwest Territory, previously forbidden by the British to American settlers.
Now that you understand what it is, here are some tips on how to write a good cause/effect essay:
Decide on a Topic
If your professor hasn’t given you a topic, then you’ll have to pick one. It’s best if you already know something about your subject. For example, if you don’t understand quantum physics, you probably shouldn’t choose to write about the cause and effects of black holes. Having prior knowledge of your subject will also reduce the amount of time you spend on research.
Do Research
Once you’ve chosen your topic, it’s time to research it by looking up expert sources on the subject. Look for different angles and opinions. Different authors might have conflicting ideas about the same subject. Read widely and gather as much information as you can in order to be able to write a more interesting and dynamic paper.
Make a List
After reading about your topic, make a list of the possible causes and effects. List everything you can think of and think about the topic in broad terms. Don’t just list the obvious. Though all your effects or causes will have something in common already, start to identify those that have deeper connections.
Make an Outline
This is where you’ll narrow down your subject and decide what specific causes and effects you’ll talk about. Again, think about the deeper connections. This will make for a more elegant flow. Listing random, unrelated effects may make the paper seem disorganized or scattered. Also, think about the most relevant and important causes or effects that have the greatest historical significance. But, don’t rule out including any unusual points. If you find an interesting effect that’s not common knowledge, you might want to include it in your essay. It will keep the essay from being predictable.
Cause and Effect Thesis
The thesis will usually read something like, “The Revolutionary War had a lasting impact on the development of American politics and settlement.” You want to hint at the effects, but not go into detail. Save that for the body paragraphs.
Write Your Essay
When you write your essay, make sure you stick to the topic. Do all of your effects relate to the cause and vice versa? Don’t wander off onto tangents. Help your reader along by using transition words. Words such as “due to”, “because”, “owing to”, “consequently”, “as a result”, “therefore”, “since” will help the reader understand the impact one event has on another.
Conclusion
There are many ways to write a conclusion for this type of essay. The most common way to conclude is to summarize the main ideas you touched on in your essay. This is a fine way to conclude and helps ensure the reader understands and remembers your points. Or you might want to discuss an effect that has the most relevance to modern times. Or predict a possible effect that hasn’t been revealed yet but has been hinted at. Whatever way you choose, take the time to craft a memorable conclusion.
Use these tips to write an excellent cause and effect essay.
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