READING A CAUSE-AND-EFFECT ANALYSIS WITH A CRITICAL EYE
Once you have written a draft (or two or three) of your essay, it’s always wise to ask
someone else to look over what you’ve written. Ask readers where they find your
analysis clear and convincing, what specific evidence they find most effective, and
where they think you need more (or less) explanation. Here are some questions to keep
in mind when checking over a cause-and-effect analysis.
PURPOSE AND AUDIENCE. Why is the reader being asked to consider these particular
causes or effects? Is the intended audience likely to find the analysis plausible as well
as useful? What additional information might readers need?
ORGANIZATION. Does the essay emphasize causes or effects? Should it give more (or
less) attention to either? Are causes and effects presented in a logical sequence?
CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER. Does the essay analyze causes and effects in chronological
order where appropriate? Does it consistently link cause to effect, and effect to cause?
REVERSE CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER. Where effects are known but causes are uncertain, is
it clear what chain of events most likely led to the effect(s) in question? Are those
events presented in reverse chronological order? If not, how can the order of events be
clarified?
THE POINT. What is the analysis intended to show? Is the point made clearly in a thesis
statement? How and how well does the analysis support the point?
TYPES OF CAUSES. How well are the significant causes analyzed—the immediate cause,
the most important remote causes, the main cause, and the most important
contributing causes? What other causes (or effects) should be considered?
CAUSE OR COINCIDENCE? At any point, is a coincidence mistaken for a cause? Are all of
the causes necessary to produce the intended effects? Do they have the power to
produce those effects?
VISUALS. Are charts, graphs, or diagrams included to clarify causal relationships? If not,
would they be helpful? Are all visuals clearly and appropriately labeled?
OTHER METHODS. Does the essay use other methods of development besides clause-and-
effect analysis? For instance, does it use narration to help explain what happened? Or
does it use process analysis to show how—in addition to why—a particular effect came
about? Does the analysis argue that one cause or effect is more likely than another?
COMMON ERRORS. Do all of the words and phrases used to connect causes and effects
actually express causation? For example, should words like since or consequently be
replaced with because, as a result of, or owing to?