If you’re reading this, then there’s a good chance that you’ve been assigned, or will be assigned, a “cause and effect essay” in an English class. This may seem like a daunting task, especially if you’re in your first year of college, but it’s not too difficult if you know what a cause and effect essay is, how to properly structure a cause and effect essay, and have some good ideas for cause and effect essay topics.
Once you know all of these elements of a proper cause and effect essay, then you’re well on your way to being a better paper writer. So, keep reading because, in this blog, I’ll guide you through the cause and effect paper writing process and help you connect the dots between cause and effect.
What Is a Cause and Effect Essay?
The first time I was assigned a cause and effect essay in college, I felt a bit confused and a little lost, and unfortunately, my professor didn’t help much. The problem was that the definition of a cause and effect essay was never really given to the class, so that’s the best place to start. Quite simply, a cause and effect essay is an essay that examines the relationship between an event, person, or thing and the effect or effects it has. This can be as simple as writing about the effects that walking has on a person’s health or as complex and somewhat controversial as the effects of homelessness on society. The essential element is that there is a cause or causes.
A good cause and effect essay is also an expository essay because you are informing your readers about a particular topic, and it is also persuasive to a certain extent because you are trying to persuade them to adopt your stance. With that said, a good cause and effect essay is evidence-based and should not rely solely on your opinions. Your goal is to present your argument in a cogent, logical sequence that is easy for your readers to follow.
The Structure of a Cause and Effect Essay
Generally speaking, a good cause and effect essay is structured like most other types of essays – with an intro paragraph, main body paragraphs, and a conclusion paragraph – but there are two specific formats that most writers use: block or chain.
The block format is pretty straightforward and widely used in universities and academia. In the block format, your first paragraph in the main body will be the cause of the subject you are discussing, and the following paragraph, or paragraphs, will be the effect or effects of that cause. If the subject has more than one cause, those will be written about in paragraphs after the first cause but before the paragraphs about the effects. The block format is especially good if you only examine a single cause and effect.
If you are writing about several causes and effects, and your subject is an event instead of a person or idea, then you may want to consider using the chain format. In the chain format, each paragraph of the main body examines a cause andone of its effects. Once you have fully examined the first set of cause and effect, you segue into the next paragraph and explore the next set of cause and effect. It’s important to demonstrate how the first set of cause and effect is linked to the second set, and if you write about a third set, you must show how it’s related to the second, creating a chain of events in the process.
How to Write a Cause and Effect Essay Outline
Once you’ve either chosen or been assigned a topic, your first step is to start researching it. To illustrate this better, we’ll use the example here of the invention of the Guttenberg printing press in 1440. Head to your library and do internet searches to learn about the background of the subject and take a copious amount of notes. As you’re doing that, your thesis should start developing. So, as I read about the invention of the printing press, I learned that it greatly increased literacy in Western Europe, helping bring the continent out of the Middle Ages and into the Renaissance. I also learned that it led to the Reformation. With that in mind, I then create the following thesis statement: “The invention of the Guttenberg printing press in 1440 led to revolutionary changes in Europe by increasing the literacy rate and contributing to the Reformation.” With our thesis clearly stated and our research done, we start writing the outline.
Organize your outline the way you would any other outline. I personally like to mark every paragraph with a large Roman numeral, so the intro paragraph will be “I,” the first main body paragraph will be “II,” and so on. For secondary points, I usually use uppercase letters. So, for the intro paragraph, “A” will be the hook. I’ll get to that in the next section. The letter “B” will be the thesis statement. For the main body paragraphs, the letter “A” should be your topic sentence. For subpoints of each paragraph’s topic, I like to use Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3) and lowercase letters for more details. Finally, I use lowercase Roman numerals (i, ii, iii, iv) for details within each of these points. So far, here’s what the outline would look like.
- Examining Immediate the Effects of the Invention of the Printing Press on Europe
- “Have you ever wondered what the world would be like without books?” (Hook)
- “The invention of the Guttenberg printing press in 1440 led to revolutionary changes in Europe by increasing the literacy rate and contributing to the Reformation.” (thesis statement)
- The Cause
- Background of the printing press
- When it was invented
- Possible circumstances surrounding it
- i. More details
- Possible circumstances surrounding it
- When it was invented
- Importance
- Background of the printing press
- Increased Literacy (Effect #1)
- The Reformation (Effect #2)
- Conclusion Paragraph
As you research and brainstorm, you’ll add more information to your outline. You can never create an outline that’s too detailed, so keep adding as much information as you like. It should be clear from the working outline example I used that I plan to write this cause and effect essay in the block format. I chose this format because there’s really only one cause here (the invention of the printing press) and due to word count restrictions I’m only examining the two most important effects. Once you have a lot of details in your working outline, you can more confidentially make the next step and begin writing the essay.
How to Write a Cause and Effect Essay
You may be thinking, “That’s a lot to do before I even begin writing,” but believe me, you’ll find the entire process much easier if you write a detailed outline before you do the actual writing.
Every good essay has a hook that captures the reader’s attention and encourages them to keep reading. It’s good to put your hook in the first sentence because you want to set a good tone for the rest of the paper. So, for the hypothetical example I’ve been using, the following would be a good hook: “Have you ever wondered what the world would be like without books? Well, before the Guttenberg printing press was invented that was basically the situation in the world.” Then, you can discuss the historical background for another sentence or two before stating the thesis.
Then, simply follow your outline to complete the paper. I recommend giving yourself plenty of time. I know it’s easy to say, and I often have problems with procrastination myself, but the sooner you start your cause and effect paper, the better it will be. If you find yourself doing everything a day or two before it’s due, your paper will have a rushed feel to it and will likely be replete with errors. So, set specific milestones and mark them on your calendar. Try to complete your rough draft at least two days before the deadline so you can proofread the paper and possibly have a friend or fellow student give it a read.
Now that we’ve examined what a cause and effect essay is, how to organize a good outline, and how to write the paper, let’s look at our example in a bit more detail.
Example and Analysis
Now is a good time to look at the example I’ve been using with some more detail and analysis. Let’s start with the intro paragraph and work our way through it, taking note of important points as we go. We will begin the paragraph with the hook: “Have you ever wondered what the world would be like without books? Well, before the Guttenberg printing press was invented, that was basically the situation in the world.” In the next two sentences, we can mention how books were rare before the Guttenberg press because they all had to be handwritten. We then writethe thesis: “The invention of the Guttenberg printing press in 1440 led to revolutionary changes in Europe by increasing the literacy rate and contributing to the Reformation.” It’s usually best to write your thesis as the last sentence of the paragraph because it removes any possible ambiguities. There’s no need to make things more complicated than they need to be, especially when your grade depends on it.
The next paragraph is the first in the main body of the essay. Because we are following the block format with this particular topic, the paragraph will focus on the cause – the invention of the Guttenberg printing press. The first sentence is your topic sentence, so immediately, the Guttenberg printing press and its importance in history should be noted. The rest of the paragraph should focus on how and when the printing press was invented. We should also emphasize what it actually did and how printing books suddenly made them more available to a wider audience. We then should write a transition sentence as the last in the paragraph. Something like, “As more books and other literature became more widely available, the literacy rate in Europe skyrocketed.”
The next paragraph should focus on the effect of increased literacy. The topic sentence can be something like this: “Once more printing presses were made, Bibles, political tracts, and theological studies were mass printed and distributed throughout Europe, raising the continent’s literacy in the process.” Ideally, we would want to dedicate an entire paragraph to this cause, but you may be up against a hard word count. If that’s the case and you need to relate two effects, then you’ll have to combine both effects into one paragraph. If you do that, you’ll write another topic sentence in the middle of the paragraph to segue into the second effect.
If word count isn’t a major issue, then when we’re done discussing the effect of increased literacy, we transition into the Reformation with a sentence like the following: “As more Europeans were becoming literate, the most popular book published was the Bible, which ultimately led to the Reformation.” The topic sentence then could be: “By the 1500s, religious reformers used printing presses to forward their new ideas and also to print the Bible in local languages.”
The final paragraph is your conclusion, where you summarize the major points of the essay and restate your thesis. The first sentence in the conclusion should be catchy, kind of like a second hook. You want your reader(s) to finish your essay on a memorable note, so make sure to think of a good sentence.
Start Making Connections
Now that you know what a good cause and effect essay looks like and how to write one, you’ll have an advantage when you are finally assigned one. Essay writing can be stressful, but if you follow these simple rules and steps, your cause and effect essay writing will be notably better, which will give you more free time to do other things, like have fun in college.
So, start thinking about how people, events, and things are connected, and good luck writing!
