How to write a cause and effect essay
If you have never faced the need to write an essay on causes and effects throughout your academic career, you have not studied enough so far. This type of writing is very popular in high schools, colleges and universities. It helps students develop their analytical skills, including the ability to use deduction when analyzing certain events, phenomena, objects, and so on. The main thing that makes this type of essay different from many others is that it really requires thought. It is not enough to just provide a lot of facts and just tell a story. You need to show the interdependence between all the facts and the effects they carry. And if you don't know the outcome of something, you better not mention it in your paper. This may sound a little frustrating, but don't rush to draw negative conclusions about your writing skills.
How to structure a cause and effect essay
There are several different methods of structuring this type of essay. Remember, however, that it is not the method of organizing your thoughts that plays the leading role, but your ability to construct a coherent and engaging fact-based text.
There are two most popular methods of structuring facts. For example, you can provide all causes and effects according to their chronological order. It is especially good if you are writing a historical article. You can use direct order or reverse chronological order, depending on what seems best to you. On the other hand, your thoughts (facts) may be provided by emphasizing those that you consider less significant or more significant, or the opposite way.
Every action always leads to a reaction. Regardless of whether you see it or not, there are always consequences of every step we take, every thought we think, every event that happens, even the smallest. Your task here is to be attentive enough to understand it and put it on paper. Here are the following basic steps:
- Find and understand the difference between cause and effect. This may seem ridiculous, but sometimes this difference is not as obvious as it seems at first glance. For example, if you are not prepared for class, this will lead to a poor grade. Here the cause would be the fact that you did not prepare and the effect would be the mark.
- Now you need to work on your thesis statement. Introduce your topic and let readers know all the causes and effects you will discuss without going too deep into the analysis. This will be a quick preview of your work.
- Decide the method of structuring your ideas. Look at the two we provided earlier in the article and define whether it is best to provide your thoughts in chronological order, reverse chronological method or using an emphasis. Also consider another method, which is to divide facts into categories according to their common characteristics.
- Decide on the transition words and phrases you will use. For example, when describing a cause, you can use worlds such as “why”, “thanks to”, “due to” and so on. On the other hand, to describe an effect, you can use "consequently", "eventually", "as a consequence" and so on.
How to make your role effective
Every teacher wants his students to impress him with good essay writing. He is looking forward to you writing an effective essay that will not leave the reader indifferent. This is why you need to work on your writing skills to know how to write a remarkable esssay so as to leave a positive and lasting impression on your teacher.
- Stay stuck to your goal. You have to decide whether you just want to inform your reader or convince him. That will be your goal. So as you write, make sure each word and phrase contributes to your goal.
- Provide only the immediate and direct causes and effects. This means that cause and effect must be close together in time. There should be no many years’ difference between action and reaction.
- Find the evidence and use it to support and strengthen your ideas. For every cause, there has to be a fact that illustrates this in real life and helps the reader better imagine what you are talking about. Here, a good method would also be to provide a joke, example, interesting observation, etc.
- Between quality and quantity, always choose quality. This means that it is much better to provide fewer causes and fewer effects, but effectively, instead of many of them, without adequate evidence and examples.
How to surprise your reader
Authors who have a lot of experience writing essays know that the success of their work often depends on the feelings the reader experiences when reading it. He may not totally agree with you, but you cannot leave him indifferent at the same time. That means you need to find a way to surprise him, immerse yourself, grab his attention, and keep him in a state of curiosity from beginning to end. Here are some tips in this regard:
- Don't be afraid to be provocative. If you find your opinion clear and unusual, you have the right to express it. The best way is to provide it at the beginning of work. First, it will show your courage, and secondly, it will surprise the reader, so that he will want to continue reading at least to find out what else provokes him to say.
- Be funny. Even though it is a serious matter that you are discussing in your essay, it does not mean that you have to be serious all the time. A good laugh is how you can win your reader's heart and make them like the first sentence.
- Keep it short and sharp. Make the sentences short and do not abuse the unnecessary words you can avoid. Long sentences make the text boring and the reader can easily lose their point. It is better to split a long sentence into two rather than trying to merge them all into one.
- Pay particular attention to the conclusion. While the teacher's attention in the introductory part is important, keep in mind that impressing you after reading also plays a role. How you finish your essay depends on how your reader will remember it. You can put a motivation for action, use an anecdote
, or anything that you think may cause admiration.
Conclusion
Knowing how to write a cause and effect essay is definitely a good skill. The concept of essay is associated with different interpretations and is inserted in the communicative function. It is of interest to practice and master the cause and effect essay until appropriating it as a way of approaching academic work.