Transcript Cause and Effect Analysis - AP English Language and

Cause and
Effect Analysis
Kamber Fishbein, Corey
Harris, Grace Lubin,
Susannah Oleson, Paige
Petrashko
Definition of Cause-and-Effect
Cause-and-Effect
Analysis is the
method of dividing
occurrences into
their elements to find
relationships among
them
Cause
Cause
Cause
Effect
Cause
How to Read Cause-andEffect
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In arguing with cause and effect analysis, they try to demonstrate why one
explanation of causes is more accurate than another or now a proposed
action will produce desirable or undesirable consequences
Related events sometimes overlap, sometimes follow one another
immediately, and sometimes connect over gaps in time. They vary in their
duration, complexity, and importance. Analyzing causes and effects thus
requires not only identifying them but also discerning their relationships
accurately and weighing their significance fairly.
Causes and effects usually occur in a sequence known as a casual chain.
Identifying a casual chain requires sorting out events in time as either
immediate or remote and identifying their relative importance in the
sequence as major or minor.
Immediate causes or effects occur nearest an event.
Remote causes or effects occur further away in time.
Major causes are directly and primarily responsible for the outcome.
Minor causes merely contribute to the outcome.
Analyzing Cause-and-Effect
I still live in the vicinity of Kyoto, in a two-room apartment that makes
my old monastic cell look almost luxurious by comparison…I have no
bicycle, no car, no television I can understand, no media-and the
days seem to stretch into eternities, and I can’t think of a single thing I
lack. I’m no Buddhist monk, and I can’t say I’m in love with
renunciation in itself, or traveling an hour or more to print out an article
I’ve written, or missing out on the NBA Finals. But at some point, I
decided that, for me at least, happiness arose out of all I didn’t want
or need, not all I did. And it seemed quite useful to take a clear, hard
look at what really led to peace of mind or absorption (the closest I’ve
come to understanding happiness). Not having a car gives me
volumes not to think or worry about, and makes walks around the
neighborhood a daily adventure. Lacking a cell phone and highspeed Internet, I have time to play ping-pong every evening, to write
long letters to old friends, and to go shopping for
my sweetheart (or to track down old baubles for
two kids who are now out in the world).
Developing a Cause-and-Effect
Essay
Thesis:
 State your subject, your perspective on it, and your purpose; use an
explanatory or persuasive thesis
Organizing:
 The intro should describe the situation whose causes of
effects you plan to analyze, or summarize the analysis of
causes or effects that the essay
disputes
 Body paragraphs with
chronological sequence or
Intro:
Body:
Conclusion:
in order of increasing
Subject and
Chronological
Restate Thesis
importance
Thesis
Sequence
and Summary
 Conclusion that restates the
thesis and summarizes points
Drafting:
 Strive for clarity: details,
strong examples, concrete explanation; use facts
Revising and Editing Cause-andEffect Essay
Have you explained the causes or effects clearly and specifically?
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Explain the sequence and importance of events using facts, examples, and other evidence so readers
accept your analysis
Have you demonstrated that causes are not merely coincidences?
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Do not assume that one event is caused by another just because of the order; Explain that one event
causes another using ample evidence
Have you considered all possible causes or effects?
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Do not oversimplify the cause-and-effect relationships; present them with all their complexity
Have you represented the cause-and-effect relationships honestly?
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Don’t deliberately ignore or exaggerate causes or effects to strengthen your argument. If it doesn’t
support your thesis but still doesn’t invalidate it, mention the cause and explain why you believe it to be
unimportant. If a cause will have bad effects as well as good, mention the bad effects and explain
how they are outweighed by the good. If your reasoning and evidence are good, the readers will
appreciate your fairness.
Have you used transitions to signal the sequence and relative importance of events?
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Transitions pinpoint causes and effects (as a result) clarify the steps of a sequence (first), link events in
time (in the same month), specify duration (a year later), and indicate importance (even more crucial).
Five Points to Remember When
Writing Cause-and-Effect
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Broad subjects should be narrowed to something
whose complexities can be covered adequately
When developing a thesis, state the subject, your
perspective, and your purpose for writing the essay;
can be explanatory of persuasive
Arrange the causes or effects in sequence and
weigh their relative importance in body paragraphs
Use accurate facts or quotations from experts to
support the assertions given and prove validity
Focus on clarity and conciseness by removing
excess details in order to move main ideas to the
front
Homework
Read “The Backdraft of Technology” by
Stephanie Alaimo and Mark Koester, then
write a practice précis
Practice Précis
In “The Backdraft of Technology” (2006), Stephanie Alaimo
and Mark Koester claim that the mechanization of the service
industry has “only increased profit margins for large corporations
and have reduced the need to hire employees” (7). Alaimo and
Koester describe the technological disaster in the typical
“automated grocery store. ‘Please scan your next item,’ a
repetitively chilling, mechanical voice orders you” (2). They
describe the role of technology in the service industry in order to
prove that “choosing convenience often translates to eliminating
actual jobs that provide livelihoods and opportunities to many”
and urge shoppers to “think before you simply follow the next
technological innovation” (12-14). Alaimo and Koester address
the common consumer who chooses convenient, mechanical
service tools and advises them to “say ‘no’ to self-checkout”
because their choice can ruin the career of a typical service
worker.