Cause & Effect

Essay
This product contains all of the
instructions for a strong cause & effect
essay, including the following:
1. Basic Instructions
2. Formatting Requirements
3. Some Possible Topics
4. Prewriting Activities
5. Example Paragraphs
6. Outline
 Cause and Effect Essay

OVERVIEW: Write a 5-paragraph Cause and Effect essay that explores three main
causes of some effect. For example, what are the main causes (or reasons) of students
dropping out of school? Include an introduction and conclusion. Organize the body of the
essay according to order of importance—least to most important causes:

POSSIBLE TOPICS & HOW TO UNDERSTAND “CAUSE & EFFECT”:

First, a “cause” is simply a reason for why something happens. That thing that happens is
the effect! So “divorce,” for example, is an effect, but what causes divorce? Well, the
causes (or reasons) would probably be many, but what would be the main reasons for
divorce? This is how to think about this paper. What are the three major reasons for the
following topics/effects in your mind?
1. Why do teenagers rebel against their parents?
2. Why does our school require a certain G.P.A. for athletic participation?
3. Why do marriages fail or Why do they succeed?
4. Why is our area a good/bad place to live?
5. Why are students required to take _______________________? (insert whatever class/subject)
6. Why are young adults not allowed to drive until they are 16? (or some other restriction)
7. Why do some students bully other students?
8. Why do students fail classes?
9. Why do students drop out of school?
10. Why are mobile devices becoming such an important part of our lives? (or some other tech.)
11. Why is _____________________ such a popular sport? OR …such a good/poor team
12. Why is _____________________ such a good/bad book?
13. Why is _____________________ such a good/bad movie?
YOU MAY INVENT YOUR OWN TOPIC, BUT CLEAR IT WITH THE TEACHER FIRST.

BASIC REQUIREMENTS:
A. 750-1000 words/12 font in Times New Roman or similar/Double-Spaced or
1.5 spaced
B. One effect as the overall topic & three separate causes (one per each body
paragraph)
C. Five paragraphs overall:
1. Introduction with thesis. Refer to and support your thesis throughout the
body.
2. Body Paragraph #1 should deal with the least important of your three
causes/reasons.
3. Body Paragraph #2 should deal with the next most important of your
three causes/reasons.
4. Body Paragraph #3 should deal with the most important of your three
causes/reasons.
5. A conclusion in which you a.) restate your thesis (in different words)
b.) advise the reader on either how to solve the problem (if applicable) or
how to cope with the situation explored in the essay.
D. Issues to keep in mind:
1. Topic sentences for body paragraphs that identify each cause/reason
2. No spelling errors [pay attention to homonym errors as well (its/it’s)]
3. Sentence structure (watch run-ons & fragments)
4. Punctuation and capitalization
5. Proofread OUT LOUD, especially to check for awkward sounding
sentences
BRAINSTORMING/PREWRITING:
#1. Pick a topic from the previous page (or one you have come up with) and think of
three reasons (causes) for this effect.
#2. Now, write down as many examples for these reasons that you can think of on
notebook paper. These examples would be illustrations for the body paragraphs…
#3. Write a THESIS:

EXAMPLE THESIS: The three main reasons why our area is a good place to live are
____________ , ___________, and ___________.

Repeat the above process on notebook paper until you feel comfortable with a topic.
________________________________________________________________________

Once you think you have your topic (your effect such as students bullying other students),
you’re ready to start thinking about outlining. However, let’s first look at how an outline
might develop into actual paragraphs. The below example paragraphs use the effect of
divorce as a topic:

STARTING YOUR PAPER—INTRODUCTION: There are many ways to write

introductions, but one method that works well for this assignment is to begin with an
interesting statement or question; this is defined as a hook. Then bring your topic into
focus, and finally narrow to a thesis for the essay. For example, if your topic is divorce,
consider the following…

Statistics show that about half of all marriages end in divorce [HOOK]. This is a very
disturbing fact considering that divorces can cause a lot of damage to all those who are involved.
Many may already be aware of the high rate of divorces in America, but most probably do not
know why the number of divorces is so high [TOPIC]. By and large, divorce is caused mainly
by unfaithfulness, a lack of communication, and abuse. [THESIS].

DEVELOPING THE BODY FROM THE THESIS: The body paragraphs should be
built from the thesis. Remember, this is a divided thesis, which means it is divided into
three different causes for the effect of divorce…

Unfaithfulness is most definitely a contributor in many divorces. If one cannot trust that
the other person is going to keep his or her promise to always be true to the other, how can they
trust them at all about anything? For example, I knew a… (you must give examples to prove
your points. . .)

FINISHING WITH A STRONG CONCLUSION: A good way to handle your

conclusion for this essay is to first restate your thesis (in different words) then advise the
reader on either how to solve the problem (if it is a problem) or how to cope with the
situation explored in the essay. Personalizing or generalizing is a good way to handle this
part of the paper as well…

All in all, it is apparent that the main causes of divorce are unfaithfulness, a lack
of communication, and abuse. Married couples, especially those who are younger, can
do a lot to ensure that these three root causes of divorce do not affect their marriages.
(In the next couple of sentences, give a couple of tips and end the paper…)
 Cause and Effect Essay Outline

CHOSEN EFFECT (TOPIC): _______________________________________________

Introduction Lead-in (HOOK): ______________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

THESIS: ________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
In the spaces below, write each cause, make a generalization about it, then list as many
supporting details, facts, examples, etc., you can think of relating to this cause. Listing is
fine for this. No need to write complete sentences.
BODY PARA #1 CAUSE: _________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

SUPPORTING DETAILS: _________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

BODY PARA #2 CAUSE: _________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

SUPPORTING DETAILS: _________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

BODY PARA #3 CAUSE: _________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

SUPPORTING DETAILS: _________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
CONCLUSION: The first thing to do in the conclusion is to restate the thesis at the
beginning (but in different words than you used in the introduction). Then advise the
reader on either how to solve the problem (if it is a problem) or how to cope with the
situation explored in the essay. Personalizing or generalizing is a good way to handle this
part of the paper as well.