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Cause-andEffect Essay
Explaining why something happened . . .
From Reading to Writing In Stephen King’s
teleplay Sorry, Right Number, a mysterious
phone call sets off a chain of events. Not until
the end of the story does King reveal the cause
of the call itself.
Cause-andEffect Essay
Explaining why something happened . . .
Examining causes and effects is one way to
make sense of the world, and you can explore
and share your understanding by writing a
cause-and-effect essay. You can use this type
of writing to show why something happens, how
events are linked, or the consequences of an
action.
Basics in a Box
Cause-and-Effect Essay at a Glance
RUBRIC Standards for
Writing
Introduction
Introduce the subject
Body
Describe the cause and its effects*
cause
effect
effect
effect
Conclusion
Summary
*or may present an effect and
then analyze the causes
A successful cause-and-effect
essay should
• clearly state the cause-andeffect relationship being
examined
• provide any necessary
background information
• make the relationship between
causes and effects clear
• arrange details logically and
include transitions to show
relationships between effects
and causes
• summarize the cause-and-effect
relationship in the conclusion
Writing Your Cause-and-Effect Essay
1 Prewriting
Find out the cause of this effect.
William Shakespeare,
English playwright and poet
Writing Your Cause-and-Effect Essay
1 Prewriting

Brainstorm with friends about things that
cause you to ask “Why does that
happen?” or “What happens after that?”

Make sure you find a topic that really
interests you.

Once you have decided on a topic, follow
these steps.
Planning Your Cause-and-Effect Essay
1. Think about the relationship between events.
Are they really linked by cause and effect? Just
because one event follows another in time doesn’t
necessarily mean that the first event caused the
second.
2. Explore causes and effects. Does a single cause
have one effect or many? Is an effect the result of
multiple causes or only one? Is there a causal chain
in which a cause produces an effect, which becomes
the cause of another effect, and so on?
Planning Your Cause-and-Effect Essay
3. Identify your audience. What do they already know
about the events you’re describing? What
background information or explanation of terms will
you need to include in your essay?
4. Gather supporting information. What details will
support your analysis of causes and effects? What
sources of information can you draw on—
observation, research, or your own imagination and
reflection?
Writing Your Cause-and-Effect Essay
2 Drafting

Use drafting as a way to explore and
figure out causes and effects.

Concentrate on just getting your ideas
down on paper.

Clearly state the cause-and-effect
relationship you are examining.
Writing Your Cause-and-Effect Essay
2 Drafting

Include details to support your
statements.

Organize your ideas into a coherent
pattern. You might show a single cause
leading to multiple effects or multiple
causes leading to a single effect.
Writing Your Cause-and-Effect Essay
3 Revising
TARGET SKILL
USING TRANSITIONAL WORDS AND
PHRASES
Transitional words and phrases can help you
clearly explain the relationships between
causes and effects. Choose from words such
as before, after, therefore, consequently,
because, since, as a result, and for this
reason.
Writing Your Cause-and-Effect Essay
4 Editing and Proofreading
TARGET SKILL
CLAUSES AS FRAGMENTS
A cause-and-effect essay should clarify ideas.
However, using clauses that are not complete
sentences can confuse your readers. Many
times, your can fix a fragment by joining it to
another sentence.