ESL 54X
Instructor Laurie Potter
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CAUSE AND EFFECT
COURSE MODULE FOR FULBRIGHT-HAYS
GROUP PROJECTS ABROAD
Instructor L.Potter
What is Cause and Effect?
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 Cause analyzes why something
happens.
 Effect analyzes the results or
consequences of an event or action
A cause and effect paragraph can
focus on causes, effects, or both.
When do you use cause/effect?
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  At home, you may worry about what causes your
siblings or your own children to behave in a certain
manner, or you may wonder about the effects of
certain foods on your health.
  At school, you might analyze the causes of the Civil
War, or you might write about the effects of
industrialization on American society.
  At work, you may wonder about the causes or
effects of a promotion or a pay cut.
Instructor L.Potter,
To be more specific…
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  When we review the Vietnam War, we use cause/
effect as a way to analyze and write about the policies
and the consequences of those policies on the people
of Vietnam and the US.
  Some questions we might want to investigate:
Why did the US troops leave Saigon in 1976?
  What were some of the consequences of that decision?
  What effect did the Geneva Accords of 1954 have on North and
South Vietnam?
  What were the effects of the war in the US? In Vietnam?
 
Cause and Effect: the Paragraph Topic
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Indicate whether you are focusing on
causes, effects, or both. Because a
paragraph is not very long, it is often easier
to focus on either causes or effects. If you
do decide to focus on both causes and
effects, make sure that your topic sentence
announces your purpose to the reader.
You can write about just causes or just
effects; you don’t have to write about
both.
Check your Support
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Ensure that your causes and effects
are valid. Determine real causes and effects
and do not simply list things that happened
before or after the event. Also verify that
your assumptions are logical.
Use outside information…
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When you write about the past, or events from the
past, you need to refer to other sources, including the
materials you were assigned in class.
For a specific event, like the US troops pulling out of
Saigon in 1976, try this website:
http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1880.html
http://www.fallofsaigon.org/
Vietnam War Protests
Anti-communist protests in Vietnam
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  To review causes/effects of the takeover of war in
Vietnam, try these web sites:
  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-12206551
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Th%C3%ADch_Qu
%E1%BA%A3ng_%C4%90%E1%BB%A9c
  http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/pacificaviet.html
  http://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war
Valid/Invalid Supporting Ideas
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Illogical: The product does not work because it is inexpensive.
(This statement is illogical; quality is not always dictated by
price.)
Better: The product does not work because it is constructed
with poor-quality materials.
Multiple causes and effects…
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  Some effects have multiple causes.
(The Vietnam War had many causes, but they
resulted in only one war.)
  Some causes, in turn, can result in multiple effects.
(When her country was at war, Minh Tran suffered
many consequences.)
Using Effect and Affect…
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Generally, affect is used as a verb, and effect is
used as a noun. Affect (verb) means “to influence
or change” and effect (noun) means “the result.”
verb
How will your new job affect your family?
noun
What effect will moving to a new city have on
your spouse’s career?
The Topic Sentence
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The topic sentence in a cause and effect paragraph must clearly
demonstrate whether the focus is on causes, effects, or both.
Also, make sure that you have clearly indicated your
controlling idea.
topic
controlling idea (causes)
The Vietnam War was fought for many reasons.
topic
controlling idea (effects)
The Vietnam War changed the values of American society in
a profound way.
The Topic Sentence (cont.)
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topic
controlling idea (causes and effects)
The Vietnam War, which was fought for many
reasons, changed the values of American society in
a profound way.
The Supporting Ideas
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After you have developed an effective topic
sentence, generate supporting ideas. Then
arrange your examples in emphatic order.
Emphatic order means that you can place your
examples from the most to the least important or
from the least to the most important.
The Paragraph Plan: Sample Outline
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Smoke-free work zones, implemented for
obvious reasons, have had surprising consequences for
employees.
TOPIC SENTENCE:
Support 1:
Details:
Support 2:
Details:
Support 3:
Details:
Smokers stand at entrances to have their cigarettes.
—drop their cigarette butts on the ground
—heavy smoke at the entrances
Smokers take more breaks.
—need frequent cigarette breaks
—not fair to others who must do extra work
Smoking culture influences nonsmokers.
—nonsmokers take breaks with their smoking friends
—some nonsmokers become smokers
The First Draft and Using Transitions
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After you outline your ideas in a plan, you are
ready to write the first draft. Use transitions to
connect your ideas.
1.  To show causes: for this reason, the first cause,
the most important cause
2.  To show effects: accordingly, as a result,
consequently
Introduction/Conclusion
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  For this type of paragraph, you may include an
introductory sentence before the topic sentence. This
introduction may include causes (if the rest of the
essay is about effects)
  Your concluding sentence may include effects (if
your essay was about causes)
Revise and Edit
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When you finish writing a cause and effect
paragraph, review your work and revise it to
make the examples as clear as possible to your
readers. Make sure that your sentences relate to
the topic sentence and flow together smoothly.
Make sure to cite your sources.
Also, check for grammar errors!
Cause and Effect Paragraph Checklist
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1.  Does my topic sentence indicate clearly that my
paragraph focuses on causes, effects, or both?
2.  Do I have adequate supporting examples of
causes and/or effects?
3.  Do I make logical and valid points?
4.  Do I use the terms effect and/or affect correctly?