A cause and effect essay is supposed to enlighten why something is happening or happened and which results it has. Also, this type of writing is one of the methods of arranging ideas. The writing process has several steps and here we will tell you about the main points that are necessary for the cause and effect essay.
Stage 1. The peculiarities of the cause and effect essay writing.
- A cause part means that you should answer the question why something happens.
- An effect part is about the identifying results, so, giving the response to the question what happens because of this.
- Note that sometimes one cause may have several effects or, vice versa, a sole result may be caused by few reasons.
- Pay attention to situations when the result becomes the cause itself so the chain effect has place. For example:
Permanent unsuccessful results at college causes low spirits among students that, in its turn, is the cause of unwillingness for studying, which can be the reason for bad grades again.
So here the chain of causes and effects becomes a circle when each point is the reason and the result at the same time.
Stage 2. Making list and developing a thesis statement.
- When thinking on your thesis statement choose what are you going to dedicate the biggest part of attention: causes, effects, or both. The thesis should state clearly those points and use the terms “cause” and “effect” in order to introduce the main idea.
- Before you start writing you can make a list with the reasons and results and pick out those, which will seem the strongest and easy for you to discuss.
Stage 3.Create the introduction.
- The specific feature of the cause and effect essay’s introduction is that it should reveal the cause and give explanation of why the effects are worth to talk about.
- Note that your introduction is to provide the preview of what the essay will be about. Give some pieces of general information and background points.
- Set your thesis statement in the end of introduction, make sure your main idea is unambiguous and concise.
Stage 4. Organizing a main body of the essay.
- Find strong arguments in order to support the thesis statement you composed.
- The number of supporting ideas should be between three and five.
- Make links between cause and the effects it resulted in. You should explain the effects in details and show how it is connected with the cause so the audience can assess your points adequately.
- The details you are providing can be organized in chronological (in order of time something happened), order of importance, and categorical order (details separated according to topics).
Stage 5. Conclude your paper.
- The conclusion part must sum up all the points stated in the body paragraphs.
- It is a good idea to add your personal reflections about the topic and show the perspectives of the theme you enlightened throughout the essay.
- Make sure that you recall here the spots from your thesis statement: this is how to show that you have proved your opinion claimed in the very beginning.
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