When you’re faced with a cause and effect argument essay for the first time, you might not know what to do. Is this a simple revision of causes and effects related to a specific factor, or does it go deeper? Oh; it goes deeper! That’s exactly why this type of academic writing is so challenging for most students.
To write a proper cause and effect essay, you have to examine a particular event or situation in details and determine a causal relationship between the reasons and actions that led to specific results. Although you may be faced with different types of cause and effect essays, that primary rule always stays the same. You have to show a logical causal connection between point A and point B.
So how do you complete this type of content? We’ll give you valuable instructions and steps that will lead you to great results.
HOW TO PREPARE FOR WRITING CAUSE AND EFFECT PAPERS
Remember this rule once and for all (it will help with all types of papers you write for school): preparation is key to success!
When you receive the assignment, you often wonder: “Where do I even begin?” Well, you don’t begin from the writing process. There are some preparation steps that will make that stage easier to handle.
- Analyze the details your professor provided about this academic assignment. You probably got a theme, which you should narrow down to a specific topic. That’s where you should start! Do some brainstorming, so you’ll get different ideas on how to approach the topic. Then, choose your preferred idea! To make sure there’s enough information to work with, conduct preliminary research. Remember: you’ll need facts and arguments for this essay on cause and effects, so it’s important to have access to authoritative resources that you can reference.
- Do the research! It’s a good idea to start with this process as soon as possible! Keep taking notes, so you’ll know where all those arguments came from.
- Develop the thesis statement. How exactly did the causes lead to the specific effects? In this statement, you should grasp the entire essence of your paper. For example, you may develop the statement around the claim that burnout may lead to depression. When you have that foundation of the paper, you’ll be able to develop it further.
- Create the outline! It will be an overview of the structure of your paper. In brief points, you’ll note what you plan to write in each section of the essay. Just like most other types of essays, the cause and effect paper also contains an introduction, body, and conclusion. It’s a basic format that ensures proper logical flow.
Now, you’re ready to get that paper written!
THE MAIN STEP: HOW TO WRITE A CAUSE/EFFECT ESSAY
Once you conduct a thorough analysis of authoritative sources and you prepare an outline, it won’t be that difficult for you to write the actual paper. Here are a few tips to help you during this process:
- The introductory paragraph has to grab the reader’s attention. You should present the general topic, but you must not be too vague. Your professor has already read too many vague papers. You have to get right to the point, so you won’t lose their interest to proceed reading your content. You may open with an unusual detail, a great quote, or a brief anecdote related to the issues you explore.
- As usual, the thesis statement comes at the end of the introductory paragraph.
- Although the typical 5-paragraph essay involves three arguments in the body, you don’t have to stick to that rule when writing a cause-effect essay. Depending on the complexity of the topic and the required length, you may scale up. If you have and want to include more arguments, there’s no reason why not to include more paragraphs in the body.
- Each paragraph should have a cause and effect related to the thesis statement. For example, cause A led to effect A; cause B led to effect B, and so on. Here’s a sample that will help you understand:
| Cause 1: Increased production across all industries | Effect 1: More fuel is required to run more factories |
| Cause 2: Increased human population | Effect 2: Deforestation |
| Cause 3: People’s addiction to vehicles | Effect 3: More carbon dioxide in the air |
- Be very meticulous and clear throughout the essay. If you claim that the increased human population leads to deforestation and deforestation leads to increased pollution, provide a fact that proves your points.
- The concluding paragraph of a cause and effect paper should show how you proved the thesis statement throughout the body paragraphs. If you claimed that human actions led to pollution, you’ll offer an expository explanation that briefly sums up the paragraphs and relates them to that main statement.
- You may also include suggestions or predictions for the further effects that will result from this cause. Plus, you may make suggestions on how to improve the potential outcome.
DON’T FORGET THE POST-WRITING STAGES FOR YOUR ESSAY
It doesn’t matter how advanced your writing skills are; you must always edit the papers you write. Once you’re done writing, all you have is a draft. To make that draft perfect, you’ll have to go through a thorough editing process. You’ve come this far, haven’t you? So show a bit more commitment and invest time in revisions.
What if you can’t complete the cause/effect paper no matter how hard you try? What if the deadline is too close and you have other commitments to take care of? As a college student, you have to be ingenious. You can’t allow a single assignment to affect the final grade in a negative way.
Fortunately, there is a solution. If you get stuck in any of the pre-writing, writing, and post-writing stages, you may hire a professional writer or editor to help you complete the paper!