mgah_sena_U4_WW_s.fm Page 472 Wednesday, May 2, 2007 3:45 PM
Expository Essay
Multiple Causes or Effects
Introduction
In a cause-effect essay, you either explain what caused an event to
happen or describe the effects of an event. Most important events in
history have several causes and several effects. An essay analyzing
multiple causes or effects should have the following characteristics:
For a review of the steps in
the writing process, see the
Historian’s Toolkit, Write Like
a Historian.
• an event or development that has several causes or effects
• a thesis statement that makes a point about these causes or effects
• supporting information that shows how the causes or effects are
related to the development (and often to each other)
Assignment On the following pages, you will learn how to write
an essay analyzing multiple causes or effects. You will get step-bystep instructions. Each step will include an example from a sample
essay discussing the gold rush.
Read the instructions and the examples. Then, follow each step to
plan and write a 500–700 word essay.
Write an essay analyzing either the causes or the effects of
the antislavery movement.
Prewriting
Define your subject and brainstorm about its causes
and effects. Begin by thinking about the central historical event
or development about which you are going to write. Brainstorm
about causes or effects using the following guidelines:
If you can choose whether to write
about causes or effects
Decide which seems more interesting or complex. If a development has only one
principal cause, it would make more sense to write about its effects.
If you are asked to focus on the
causes of a historical event
Try to go back as far as you can to find the earliest factors leading to the event. List
the various causes in chronological order. See if any of the causes have caused one
another, and draw arrows showing these connections.
If you are asked to focus on the
effects of a historical event
See if any effects can still be felt today. If some of the effects are connected, with
one result leading to another, draw arrows between them. Be specific: What seems
to be a single effect may turn out to be several different effects.
472 Unit 4
mgah_sena_U4_WW_s.fm Page 473 Wednesday, May 2, 2007 2:08 PM
Decide on the major causes or effects to analyze. Now
you need to decide which causes or effects you will actually write
about. You can choose from several different approaches.
• Analyze causes or effects that are related to one another in a
chain, each one leading to the next.
• Examine in depth two or three most important causes or effects
of the historical development.
• Discuss the kinds of causes or effects involved. For example,
you could look at the economic, social, and cultural causes Sample thesis statement:
The California gold rush of 1849 had
or effects.
a number of social, political,
Write a thesis statement. Once you have chosen the economic, and cultural effects on
causes or effects you will discuss, you are ready to write a thesis the history of California.
statement expressing an idea about these causes or effects.
Drafting
Decide how to organize your writing. Essays analyzing
causes and effects may be organized chronologically, by order of
importance, or according to types of causes or effects.
• Chronological organization You could organize a cause-effect
essay chronologically, moving from earlier events to later ones.
• Order of importance You could also organize your causes or
effects by order of importance, saving the most important one for
last.
• Types You might organize your analysis according to types of
causes or effects. For example, in discussing the gold rush, you
might look first at the population changes that occurred as
thousands of settlers moved to California. Then you could discuss
the economic changes and, finally, the cultural changes.
Write an introduction. The first paragraph of your essay
introduces your subject to the reader. Lead up to your thesis
statement in which you announce your main idea about these causes
or effects.
Support your thesis with examples and details. You
should devote one or two paragraphs to each of the major causes or
effects. Be sure to include relevant facts and details.
Write a strong conclusion. In your final paragraph, show the
reader how you have supported your thesis.
Writing Workshop 473
mgah_sena_U4_WW_s.fm Page 474 Wednesday, May 2, 2007 2:08 PM
Model Essay
Read the following model of an essay discussing the
effects of the gold rush. Notice how it includes the
characteristics you have learned about.
Effects of the California Gold Rush
The first paragraph
is an introduction to
the subject of the
essay.
Is this essay
organized using
chronology, order
of importance, or
types?
474 Unit 4
Tens of thousands of people from around the world
caught gold fever in 1848. They came to California with big
dreams of becoming rich overnight. The gold rush, as this
movement was called, had social, political, and cultural
effects on California.
Because so many people moved there, the
population of the territory soared. By 1852, it totaled
more than 250,000. San Francisco changed from a small
town to a busy city almost overnight.
But the huge population growth also caused serious
social problems. Miners disregarded laws. There was an
increase in murders and robbery in many mining camps.
Criminals were often hanged without a legal trial.
Californians knew this lawlessness could not
continue. They drafted a state constitution in 1849 and
asked for admission to the Union. After much debate, in
1850 California was admitted as a free state. This
political change was an important result of the gold rush.
The gold rush also affected the culture of California.
Many thousands of people from countries in Europe,
Australia, and South America moved there. Beginning in
1849, thousands of Chinese began to immigrate to
California to work. They joined the many Mexican
Americans and African Americans who were arriving.
The gold rush changed life in California forever. This
historic event pushed the economy forward and
transformed a territory into a state. It also created a
society that became a rich mix of people and cultures,
which is still seen today.
The thesis statement
identifies the main
idea about the effects
of the gold rush.
Each paragraph
includes facts and
details about the
effect being
discussed.
The conclusion
restates the main
ideas about the
effects of the gold
rush and relates it
to later events.
mgah_sena_U4_WW_s.fm Page 475 Wednesday, May 2, 2007 2:08 PM
Revising
After completing your draft, read it again carefully to find ways to
make your writing better. Here are some questions to ask yourself.
Revise to strengthen your thesis and support
• Do the introduction and thesis statement establish a clear
relationship between your topic and its causes or effects?
• Do the body paragraphs develop the connection with logical
facts, examples, and reasons?
Revise to use helpful transitions and clear language
• Does the essay include transitions showing cause or effect and
connecting words or phrases such as because, as a result, therefore?
• Are the causes or effects clearly described, and their connections
clear?
Revise to meet written English-language
conversions
• Are all sentences complete, with a subject and a verb?
• Are all the words spelled correctly?
• Are all proper nouns capitalized, including names of people
and places?
• Did you use proper punctuation?
Rubric for Self-Assessment
Evaluate your cause-effect essay using the following rating scale:
Score 4
Score 3
Score 2
Score 1
Organization
Supports the thesis
with logically ordered
paragraphs linking a
historical development
to earlier events (its
causes) or later ones
(its effects)
Uses a reasonably clear
organization, but
occasionally fails to
follow it or includes
less relevant information (for example,
events that are not
really causes or effects
of the subject)
Chooses an organization not suited to
the topic (for example,
presents causes or
effects without
showing how they are
linked to the subject)
Shows lack of
organizational strategy
Presentation
Clearly shows how
the causes led to the
development or how
the effects grew from
it; uses facts, examples,
and reasons to support
the thesis
Discusses the causes or
effects of the development adequately but
could go into greater
depth; links most
supporting information
to the thesis
Does not discuss the
causes or effects of the
historical development
adequately or in any
detail; does not link
supporting information
to the thesis
Does not provide any
facts, reasons, or
examples about the
causes or effects of the
historical development
being analyzed
Uses some variety in
sentence structure and
vocabulary; includes
few mechanical errors
Uses the same types of
sentences without
varying them; repeats
words; includes many
mechanical errors
Writes incomplete
sentences; uses
language poorly;
includes many
mechanical errors
Use of Language Varies sentence
structure and vocabulary successfully;
includes no or very few
mechanical errors
Writing Workshop 475