Analyzing Cause and EffectsEng 050

Cause and EffectWe all analyze causes and effects whether or not we realize it.

Why you find someone attractiveNice eyesStrong shoulders

Why the movie was goodGood actingInteresting story

The effects of cutting English classWill miss something important Will get behind

Cause and EffectEssentially, every time you make a decision, you do compare and contrast for sure, but also cause and effect.

It’s the search for connections and reasons

To understand a cause, you look to the past for reasons why something is the way it isTo understand and effect, you look to the future to figure out what the possible results of an action might beFor our purposes, I would decide upon one course or another.

Cause and EffectLet’s read the example on page 289.

Doing the cause and effect paragraph will require a lot of critical thinking. So choose your topic carefully.

Now let’s read the paragraph on page 290. We’re going to answer some questions about it as well.

What is Appleby analyzing?Does Appleby’s topic sentence capture this focus? Why or why not?What causes and effects does Appleby cite?

How does each cause and each effect relate to the topic sentence?

Cause and EffectNow let’s read the paragraph on page 292 and answer a few questions on this one.

What is Hine analyzing in this paragraph?Does Hine’s topic sentence capture this focus? Why or why not?What one cause and one effect does Hine cite?

How does each relate to the topic sentence?Did Hine get to the real causes and effects connected with face-to-face relationships among the blind? If so how?How did Hine organize this paragraph: chronologically, or one extreme to another.

Cause and EffectOkay, now it’s time to start writing. But first, do you feel like you’ve got a handle on what a cause and effect is? Yes or no? Or not, what concept is missing?The prompt given in the book is why did you choose the college you are attending today. Since this topic works for me as well as for you, we’ll use this as our sample topic.But before we start writing, let’s think of some other appropriate topics on which to write about, and come with a “stand” and some reasons to support that stand.

I’ll come up with a few but you fill in the rest

Cause and EffectWhy hasn’t soccer, the world’s most popular sport, caught on in America?

Slow movingSeveral other sports

What are the effects of television on study habits?ProcrastinationLack of focus

What effects does stress have on you?OvereatingOver shopping

Cause and EffectGuidelines for writing a cause and effect paragraph

Step 1: Write a topic sentence that makes a clear statement about what you are going to analyze

Decide what you are analyzingAre you focusing on causes, or effects?You can also do both, but that might be difficult to limit your focus, so proceed with cautionThere’s an additional option—the cause and effect chain

Think of this as a chain reaction. You hit a car, which hits the one in front of it, which hits the one in front of it…and so on.

Cause and EffectGuidelines for writing a cause and effect paragraph

Step 2: Choose facts and details to support your topic sentence.

Let’s take the Freedman paragraph for example. At the beginning of the paragraph, the author cites two results (“effects”) of American-ization.

Often caused painful conflictsGaps appeared between children and parents

He then discusses seven causes of this situation Two from the parents’ side, Five from the children’s side

Cause and EffectGuidelines for writing a cause and effect paragraph

Step 2 ContinuedHe then discusses seven causes of this situation

Two from the parents’ sideSpoke English with heavy accentsClung to Old World customs

Five from the children’s sideSpoke English all day longThought in American termsWanted to be accepted as equalsRejected Old World customsWere embarrassed by their parents’ immigrant ways

Cause and EffectGuidelines for writing a cause and effect paragraph

Step 3: Make sure you include the real causes and effects of your topic.

In other words, keep digging. Don’t just stop at the first few causes and effects. Make sure there’s not something deeper lurking.

Say you’ve gained weight. The obvious reason would be that you are overeating. But maybe there’s a deeper reason. You’re depressed. Or you have a medical issue, such as problems with your thyroid. So while overeating might be a cause, there’s a deeper cause.Another example: You’ve been in a car accident because your car spun out of control. At first examination it might seem like you were driving too fast. But on further examination, there was ice on the road that was the real cause.

Cause and EffectGuidelines for writing a cause and effect paragraph

Step 4: Organize your material so that is communicates your message clearly.

Present your details in a logical order, depending on your topic. Two main options:

Chronological order.From one extreme to another. For example, your start with the root cause or effect, move onto the lesser causes or effects. Or the reverse, with the smaller cause or effect, then the larger cause or effect.

Example: I chose Cabrini College mostly because it was close, but also because I liked the campus and it had my major.Example: I chose Cabrini College because it had my major, because I liked the campus, but most of all because it was close.

Cause and EffectLet’s do a sample one. I’ll go back to the prompt at the beginning (why you chose the college you are attending)

Here’s some brainstorming regarding this topic so I have all of the information I need in front of me when I start to write.

Good reputationClose to workNot too far from homeTuition expensive but doableVery helpful when I applied (liked the people)Campus is small and prettyHad the program I wantedThey accepted me!

Cause and EffectHere’s a few topic sentences.

“There’s many great schools for education in the Delaware Valley, but when choosing a place to get my graduate degree Cabrini College fit the bill in terms of location, campus culture, and program offerings.”“Cabrini College proved to be such a good fit for me in terms of location, campus culture and program offerings that I didn’t even look at other schools when contemplating where to get my graduate degree.”

Notice what I did here. I referred to the overall topics I’d be discussing—location, culture, program offerings—without getting detailed. I’ll be giving those details when I write the paragraph.

Cause and EffectLet’s develop some details from my list

Good reputation— “The school is well-known for the programs in education.”Close to work– “It will be very easy to get to after work.”Not too far from home – “Also, it’s not too far from home if I ever need to go on a weekend.”Tuition expensive but doable – “The tuition is expensive, but West Chester is too far, and at least it costs less than Villanova.”

Cause and EffectLet’s develop some details from my list

Very helpful when I applied (liked the people) – “The admissions counselor was very helpful when outlining all of the steps for enrollment, and my advisor who helped me choose courses was great.”Campus is small and pretty – “The campus offers a pleasant environment, and the scenery is pretty. Plus it isn’t large, so I will be able to find my classes with ease.”Had the program I wanted – “They had a certification program, which was exactly what I was looking for.”They accepted me! – “Admissions was a breeze. I faxed her a copy of my transcripts from St. Joe’s and Villanova, and they took me over the phone.”

Cause and EffectLet’s develop some details from my list:There’s many great schools for education in the Delaware Valley. When choosing a place to get my graduate degree Cabrini College fit the bill in terms of location, campus culture, and program offerings. The school is well-known for the programs in education. It will be very easy to after work. It’s not too far from home if I ever need to go on a weekend. The tuition is expensive. West Chester is too far, and at least it costs less than Villanova. The admissions counselor was very helpful when outlining all of the steps for enrollment, and my advisor who helped me choose courses was great. The campus offers a pleasant environment, and the scenery is pretty. Plus it isn’t large. I will be able to find my classes with ease. They had a certification program, which was exactly what I was looking for. Admissions was a breeze. I faxed her a copy of my transcripts from St. Joe’s and Villanova, and they took me over the phone.

Cause and EffectWhat’s missing from this paragraph? Hint: There’s more than one thing missing.There’s many great schools for education in the Delaware Valley. When choosing a place to get my graduate degree Cabrini College fit the bill in terms of location, campus culture, and program offerings. The school is well-known for the programs in education. It will be very easy to after work. It’s not too far from home if I ever need to go on a weekend. The tuition is expensive. West Chester is too far, and at least it costs less than Villanova. The admissions counselor was very helpful when outlining all of the steps for enrollment, and my advisor who helped me choose courses was great. The campus offers a pleasant environment, and the scenery is pretty. Plus it isn’t large. I will be able to find my classes with ease. They had a certification program, which was exactly what I was looking for. Admissions was a breeze. I faxed her a copy of my transcripts from St. Joe’s and Villanova, and they took me over the phone.

Cause and EffectIf you guess transition phrases, you are right! And there’s no concluding sentence. Help me put some transition words in here.There’s many great schools for education in the Delaware Valley. When choosing a place to get my graduate degree Cabrini College fit the bill in terms of location, campus culture, and program offerings. The school is well-known for the programs in education. It will be very easy to after work. It’s not too far from home if I ever need to go on a weekend. The tuition is expensive. West Chester is too far, and at least it costs less than Villanova. The admissions counselor was very helpful when outlining all of the steps for enrollment, and my advisor who helped me choose courses was great. The campus offers a pleasant environment, and the scenery is pretty. Plus it isn’t large. I will be able to find my classes with ease. They had a certification program, which was exactly what I was looking for. Admissions was a breeze. I faxed her a copy of my transcripts from St. Joe’s and Villanova, and they took me over the phone.

Cause and EffectNow that we’ve worked on one, let’s read one more example and see if we read it differently than the first several paragraphs we read.And let’s go through the revision checklist in the book.

Cause and EffectHere’s a shorter version of the checklist for your own use.

Subjects and verbsDoes each sentence have one of each of these? And do the tenses of the sentence and verb “agree”?

PronounsDo your pronouns “agree” with each other?

Modifier ErrorsAre your modifiers as close as possible to the words they modify?

Cause and EffectChecklist continued

Punctuation and mechanicsAre your sentences punctuated correctly?Are your words capitalized when necessary (and not capitalized when not necessary)?

Word choice and SpellingDid you choose the correct words? Remember, when it doubt look them up, or use another word.Spelling—Again, look up words you aren’t sure of.

Cause and EffectDo you feel like you can write one on your own? Just to be safe, let’s do one together in class.