Primary Causes And Effects Once example essay topic

As you develop your causal analysis essay, consider how you can use one or more other patterns of development. For example, you might use narration to help explain the effects of a particular community problem. In an essay about the causes of a current fad, you might compare the fad to one that is obsolete. Or you might classify rising college costs in an essay covering the causes and effects of that phenomenon.

Consider Your Purpose, Audience, and Point of View Once you choose a topic, your next step is to decide whether you want your essay to be informative, persuasive, or a mixture of both. Depending on your purpose, you may decide to explain why an event, problem, or phenomenon occurred (causes), or what happened as a result (effects), or both. Keep the length of your essay in mind as you think about these issues. It would be unrealistic, for example, to try to discuss both the causes and effects of the Chinese Revolution in a five-page paper. The level of technical detail you include should also be determined by your audience. The point of view you choose should suit your audience and purpose.

Although the third person is most often used in academic writing, the first person may be used to relate relevant personal experiences. Discovering Causes and Effects After considering your purpose, audience, and point of view, use one or more of the following suggestions to help you discover causes, effects, or both. 1. Brainstorm all possible causes and effects, writing causes to the left and effects to the right.

2. Replay the event in your mind. Focus on one or both of these questions: ! ^0 Why did the event happen?! +/- and! ^0 What happened as a result of it?! +/- Make notes on the answers.

3. Try asking questions and writing assertions about the problem or phenomenon. Did a chain of events cause the phenomenon? What effects are not so obvious? 4. Discuss your topic with a classmate or friend.

Ask his or her opinion on the topic!'s causes, effects, or both. 5. Research your topic in the library or on the Internet. 6. Ask a friend or classmate to interview you about your topic.

Assume you are an expert on the topic; try to explain causes, effects, or both as clearly as possible. Tape-record the interview and play it back to get ideas for your essay. Identifying Primary Causes and Effects Once you have a list of causes or effects (or both), your next task is to sort through them and decide which causes or effects are primary, or most important. Use the following questions to help you decide which causes and effects are most important: Causes What are the most obvious and immediate causes? What causes (s), if eliminated, would drastically change the event, problem, or phenomenon? Effects What are the obvious effects of the event, problem, or phenomenon?

Which effects have the most serious consequences? For whom? Checking for Hidden Causes and Effects and Errors in Reasoning Once you identify primary and secondary causes and effects, examine them to be sure you have not overlooked any causes and effects and have avoided common reasoning errors. Hidden Causes and Effects.

Be on the alert for the hidden causes or effects that may underlie a causal relationship. To avoid overlooking hidden causes or effects, be sure to examine a causal relationship closely. Do not assume the most obvious or simplest explanation is the only one. Mistaking Chronology for Causation.

Avoid the! ^0 after this, therefore because of this! +/- fallacy: the assumption that because event B followed event A in time, A caused B to occur. To avoid this fallacy, look for evidence that one event did indeed cause the other. Plausible evidence might include testimony from others who experienced the same sequence of events or documentation proving a causal relationship between the events. Mistaking Correlation for Causation.

Just because two events occur at about the same time does not mean they are causally related. Again, remember that evidence is needed to verify that the two events are related and that a causal relationship exists. Unsupported Assumptions. Assumptions are ides or generalizations that you or your readers accept as truths without questioning their validity. Although assumptions can be true, in many cases people make sweeping generalizations that are untrue and unfair. Many assumptions are based on stereotypes "C unfair generalizations about the characteristics or behaviors of an entire group or class of people or things.

Because unsupported assumptions can interfere with your reasoning and lead to erroneous statements of cause and effect, examine your ideas carefully to be sure you avoid making this error in reasoning.