1. What is cause and effect essay?
Another common pattern of essay organization is cause and effect. “In a cause/effect essay, you discuss the causes (reasons) for something, the effects (results), or both causes and effects” (Oshima & Hogue, 2006)
A cause-effect essay shows the reader the relationship
between something that happens and its consequences, or between actions and
results. According to Robitaille and Connelly (2007), causes and effects focus
on why things happen and what their results or consequences are Causes are the
reasons why something happened; they answer the question "Why did the event
happen?" The causes of an air pollution might be driving and other
industrial activities and releasing a huge amount of chemical substances in the
air every day. Causes occur before the event and make the event happen. Effects
are the direct results or consequences of an event; they respond to the
question "What happened because of the event?" The effects of air
pollution might be harmful effects on human health and the environment. Effects
come after the event and are the direct results of the event.
2. How to choose
thesis/topic sentence?
The topic sentence or thesis should present the event or
phenomenon that will be analyzed and announce whether causes, effects, or both
will be examined. This is the good example from Writer’s Resources From Paragraph
to Essay 2nd Edition
3. How to organize cause and effect essay
As mentioned by Oshima and Hogue (2006), there are two main
ways of organizing a cause and effect essay. These are Block organization and
chain organization.
In block organization, you first discuss all the causes as a
block (in one, two, three, or more paragraphs, depending on the number of
causes). Then you discuss all the effects together as a block. You can discuss
either causes or effects first. Of course, you can also discuss only causes or
only effects. In short, Oshima and Hogue (2006) had divided some possible
different patterns of cause/effect essay in block organization.
In the other hand, as mentioned by Oshima and Hogue (2006), the other organizational pattern you can use to write about causes and effects is chain organization. In this pattern, causes and effects are linked to each other in a chain. One event causes a second event, which in turn causes a third event, which in turn causes a fourth event, and so on. Each new cause and its effect are links in a chain.
In chain organization you write about the first cause and
its effect in one paragraph, then the second cause and effect in the next
paragraph, and so on until all of the causes and effects are included. Look at
this tragic example. A man loses his job. This causes him to have no money. The
effect of having no money results in him not eating well. Because he is not
eating well, his immune system becomes weak. The result of his weakened immune
system causes sickness. Because he is sick (and can't afford medical treatment
because he has no job or money) he dies.
The following diagram of the chain organization has been
mentioned by Oshima and Hogue
4. Tips on Planning Cause or Effect
1. Keep the purpose and length of your paper in mind as you
decide whether to focus on causes, effects, or both. It would be difficult to
do justice to the causes and effects of World War I in a short essay.
2. List all the causes and/or effects you can think of for
your event or phenomenon.
3. Examine each cause or effect to determine whether it is a
direct cause or effect of your event. If you can discuss the cause or effect without
having to discuss any other causes or effects, then more than likely it is a
direct cause. For example, the direct causes of your car accident might be the
slick road, the bad condition of your brakes, and your slow reaction to the car
stopping in front of you. Indirect causes might be the lack of funds that led
to your not getting your brakes fixed and the fact that you stayed up all night
writing a paper. You may wish to discuss secondary or indirect causes in your
essay, but do not present them as direct or primary causes.
4. If there are numerous causes and/or effects to discuss,
group them into related categories (political, economic, social, physical,
emotional, etc.).
5. Clearly establish or demonstrate the cause or effect relationship
present. Make sure the reader can understand how A caused B or how C was the
result of B
5. Don't Do This When Making Cause and Effect Essay
1. Avoid mistaking coincidence (two unrelated things happening
together) for cause or effect.
Just because something happened before an event doesn’t mean
it caused the event to happen. Similarly, just because something happened after
an event doesn’t mean it is a result or consequence of the event.
2. Avoid oversimplification.
Many problems have complex causes and complex effects. It
would be an oversimplification to say that any one change would solve all the
problems we face in our country. Politicians often want to convince the public
that they have the solutions to all the problems of society while their opponents
are the cause of all the problems.
3. Don’t confuse affect and effect.
Affect is a verb meaning “to influence.”
Example: “The movie seriously affected my mood.” The
prescription drug did not affect his driving. Effect is usually used as a noun
meaning “result.”
Example: “The effects of the flood devastated the community.”
The drug seemed to have no effect. When used as a verb, effect means “to make
or to cause to happen.”
Example: “He effected changes in his routine.” I will effect
the changes as soon as possible
References
Oshima, A., Hogue, A.(2006). Writing Academic English (4th ed.), USA: Pearson Longman.
Robitaille, J., Connelly, R.(2007). Writer's resources From Paragraph to Essay(2nd ed.), USA: Michael Rosenberg Publisher.
Abdul Rohim, S.S., M. Pd.(2017). Essay Writing How To Write An Essay, Indonesia: Deepublish
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