College Composition / Unit 15 CMP 0357 worked example, 60 to 90 seconds
Cause and Effect
The idea
Cause-and-effect writing examines the reasons for and the consequences of an action, event or idea, and it often answers the question why.
In practice
Build the pattern in order. First, decide whether the paper focuses on causes, on effects, or on a chain linking them. Second, make sure each causal link is real, not merely an event that came first. Third, once a cause is established, present the causes in sequence so readers can follow how one led to another. Fourth, support each link with evidence. Fifth, use cause-and-effect signal words, such as because, as a result, consequently and leads to, so the relationships are visible. The anchor's model traces how several local stores closed after a superstore opened, connecting each closing to the new competitor.
Where people slip
Confusing sequence with causation is the commonest error in this pattern: something that happened before an effect did not necessarily cause it. Claims of cause need evidence of connection, not only of timing.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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