How to Write Cause and Effect Essay

Let us start from answering the question "What is a cause and effect essay?” It is a certain kind of academic writing which requires the author to explore a situation and find out whether it is cause or effect. For instance, let us imagine you were assigned to write about Arctic pollution in different countries. Your task is either to discuss all the possible causes of this global problem (the increasing of the level of contamination, the developing of different industries) or to discuss the effects of Arctic pollution (climate crisis, species extinction, water and energy shortage, etc.)

It is rather simple, isn't it? Your piece of writing discloses something significant about your academic level. It can give tutors an idea of your skills and knowledge as well as display your writing talents. All your life can depend on the single essay while entering college. Here is a detailed description of how to write cause and effect essay effectively so that your grader will be highly impressed. The winning works can be created just by following these 10 tips.

Tip 1. Put together a list of possible topics

If you weren't assigned to write the essay on cause and effect on a specific topic, then feel free to choose the one that you are interested in. The only drawback is you should think about what topic will work best. It will take some time and efforts. The excellent way out is to get a list of the possible topics. It worth noting that you should write the ideas that immediately come into your mind without the list pre-edition. Here is an example of topic brainstorming:

• Increasing Food Prices
• Arctic Pollution
• WWI's Post-Imperial Settlements
• The Changes in the Ocean
• Rampant Global Industrialization
• My favorite cafeteria closing
• The essential Problems of Global Warming

Tip 2. Pick your topic

As soon as you've made your list, you should choose the topic you are going to cover in details. Mind, the most appropriate topic to choose is the one you are interested in. Moreover, you should have enough knowledge in this field. For instance, you are rather erudite and are going to talk about the closing of some cafeteria. However, it might be hard for you to create an entire cause and effect essay. Do you figure out the reason why it is closed? What are the true effects of this issue?

Nevertheless, if you have enough time and efforts to study this problem, that is even better for you. However, a lot of professional writers recommend choosing another topic to discuss. It is necessary to be informed in the particular theme and have an urge to explore it. This way you will make your piece more attention-grabbing and more appealing to the reader.

Tip 3. Brainstorm to identify the particular cause and effect

As soon as you make a decision on what to write about, you need to identify which angle you are planning to cover the issue. For doing it, it is better to brainstorm ideas for cause and effect essays. For example, you have selected to write about Increasing Food Prices. Firstly, it is necessary to choose what you will start to write with: causes or effects. It may take some time until you understand what writing angle to pick. It's pretty obvious once you think about it. For this, try an easy brainstorming session:

• Take two sheets of paper. One will be for identifying the causes and one for effects
• Note all the ideas of potential causes of rising food prices
• Note all the ideas of potential effects of rising food prices

Which paper seems more informative and easy-to-understand to you? Which list seems to be catchier and more interesting? That is exactly that angle you'd better start with.

Tip 4. Make thorough research

Since you pick your topic and angle, it's just the time to conduct careful research to make your piece more informative and natural. The most essential thing you should remember is to choose only reliable resources and up-to-date literature. Choose the dependable info written by specialists on a certain topic. Personal blogs and the resources which are not able to be verified are prohibited for successful cause effect essays. Mind, the more information you look for, the more comprehensive and winning your writing will be. The more new facts and trends you discover and prove, the more innovative your paper will look like. This research will be extremely useful when you start to write your thesis. So, let us move forward.

Tip 5. Work on your thesis

The next step after choosing a topic and conducting research is to craft the thesis. Writing a thesis statement requires answering the question: what is the main idea of this topic and why should I cover it. For example, if the topic of your cause and effect essay is Increasing Food Prices, the thesis statement shouldn't include your personal opinion:

I am very disappointed about raising the food prices because now I will not be able to afford myself going to the café twice a week.

Your thesis statement should show the reader the importance of this problem and the way it influences society:

After years of industrial progress, the number of poor people in the world substantially increased. Due to increasing food prices and unemployment, people started to lose their income which leads to the worldwide economic crisis.

This example demonstrates why this theme is important. Moreover, it encourages the reader to look through the whole paper and catch the main cause and effect essay ideas.

Tip 6. Work on the excellent outline

Among the best ideas for cause and effect essays, writing a first-class outline plays an essential role. Families yourself with what the successful outline should look like:

• More often people judge book by its unique cover. That means the graders want to read a piece with the excellent demonstrating lines. It is essential to begin with a hook or some introductive detail that is capable to catch the reader's attention. Here it is necessary to present your topic as well as your thesis statement.
• Body paragraph one. This is the heart of an academic writing. This paragraph requires writing cause and effect essay ideas and giving some shreds of evidence to support your thesis statement.
• Body paragraph two. Mind, each paragraph should be written according to the outline. Add some secondary ideas and supporting thoughts. Don't forget to prove your thesis. It is critical to order the events from the least to the most significant. Arrange the details chronologically (by how they are taking place).
• Body paragraph three. Here you should cover the potential changes and possible results. Don't forget to build the logical bridges between the paragraphs.
• Here it is necessary to take the contrasting argument (if you selected Arctic Pollution, you can give some evidence that some scientists disagree with its development). If it comes to expressing causes, the author should support them with the corresponding outcome.
• Pay attention to this part, as here you should give any interesting ideas or express some thoughts for the future development of this theme. Keep in mind that your paper should be logically finished.

If it happens that you are assigned to write an essay on cause and effect which has a free structure, the most significant issue is to logically order your ideas and thoughts but not to overdo. This way you will have your teacher to read your paper till the end. For instance, if you decided to write about WWI's Post-Imperial Settlements, you might begin with disputes and differences between several countries, which causes war, accumulation of expansionism, aggression and nationalism.

Tip 7. Start with your draft

As soon as you finish writing the outline and gather all the necessary information, you may start to write the first draft. This is one of the most important parts of creating cause effect essays. If you work hard on previous tips, this stage will seem easy to perform. It is sufficient to say that the first draft is not perfect. The most essential advice is that you must wait some time until you write the second draft. It will help you gather your thoughts and find more inspiration. Give yourself a day to edit your first writing. This way it will be easier for you to find grammar and lexical mistakes, order the sentences and make your piece more readable.

Tip 8. Be accurate

Give your writing emphasis by guessing how the problem relates to your personal opinion and experience. Make certain the whole thing you put on a paper should be proved. For example, if you write about Global Warming, it is necessary to give some evidence of its existing. At the same time, you should express your own point of view according to this issue.

Tip 8. Ask for feedback

Represent a draft to your family, friends or teachers. Listen thoroughly their comments and make some correction preserving your individual style. If you want your paper to preserve unique, it should contain only your own thoughts and judgments.

Tip 9. Don't forget about a "Works Cited” page

If you cite an article, writer or scientists, you should include the source of information to your final paper. It is very important in case you don't want to infringe the copyright.

Tip 10. Proofread and make some correctives

How to write cause and effect essay efficiently? Proofreading and rereading is a key point to writing a winning paper. Read your text prudently to check for lexical and grammar errors. The most convenient way is to ask someone to look through your essay in order to see the mistakes you hadn't found. You may think that this is a rather time-consuming process, but no doubt it worth it to write an excellent work.

Cause and effect essay - how put your writing skills to the next level?

When you can answer the questions "What is a cause and effect essay?”, "What structure does it have”, it is just the time to improve it. Here you can find easy tricks on how to make your work more understandable and advanced.

First of all, you need to use appropriate transitions. To logically blend the sentences and specify the most important details, it is necessary to use linking words. For causes, you can use such transition words as because, since, because of, thanks to, due to, the secondary reason is, another is, the initial cause is, the first, B is directly related to A, the second. For effects, it is better to use such words and phrases as accordingly, consequently, hence, for that reason, therefore, another variant is, as a result, finally, hence A can be attributed to B.

Another option to improve your writing is to support your thoughts providing the evidence, citations and facts. But do not simply copy-paste the sentences. It is in necessary to give the ground to your ideas, so do not cheat. If you give some extra fact, just mention the source or cite the author. This way your piece will look natural and effective.

Remember, writing a cause and effect essay is not only another assignment from the teacher. This is an opportunity to express yourself, to show your writing talent, demonstrate knowledge, intelligence and erudition. Firstly, it may seem a real challenge, but if you try to figure out how to do it properly, you will see that there is nothing easier than put your thoughts into paper.