Cause and Effect Essay

 

Unit

6

Cause-Effect Essays

A toxic algal bloom from fer tilizer runoff covers a third of Lake Erie in the United States.

132

_

 

_

_ i

_

i

 

Objectives To lean ow to wite a aue-eet eay To ue eetive tanition in aue-eet witing To ue veb tene onitently To eognize and avoid entene agment

What are the causes and effects of pollution? 

 

Wha I a Cae-Eec Ea? We all understand cause-eect relationsips; or example, ligtning can cause re. As a student you know tat i you stay up late te nigt beore a test to watc a movie and do not study, you may not perorm well on te test te ollowing day. A cause-eect essay  tells  tells ow one event (te cause) c ause) leads to anoter event (te eect). A cause-eect essay can do one o two tings: • It can analyze the ways ways in which one or more eects result from a particular cause. (Focus-on-Eects Metod) • It can analyze analyze the ways in which one or or more causes lead to a particular eect. (Focus-on-Causes Metod) In other words, your essay may focus more on the eects of a cause or more on the causes of one eect. Eiter approac provides provides a useul means o discussing te possible relationsip between te two events. It is not a good idea to mix several causes and several eects in an essay because bec ause your focus may become unclear. In cause-eect essays, it is easy to suggest that because bec ause one event preceded another event, the ormer event caused te latter latter.. Simply because one event ollows anoter one sequentially does not mean tat te two actions act ions are related. For For example, people oen complain complain tat as soon so on as tey nis wasing teir car, it starts to rain. Obviously, wasing a car does not cause rain. Writers need to be sure tat te causes and eects tey describe are logically connected.

134 

 

Unit 6 •

Cause-Effect Essays

How I a Cae-Eec Ea Ogaize? ere are two basic ways to organize a cause-eect essay: ocus-on-eects or ocus-on-causes. If your assignment is to write a cause-eect essay on the topic of global warming, you could write two kinds o essays: • In a ocus-on-eects essay , you would write about te treatened abitat abitat o polar bears b ears as a result o global warming and te melting o large parts o te Arctic Circle. Your Your essay migt include ve paragraps paragraps and look like tis: hook

IntrOduCtIOn

Paagap 1

conneting inomation Tei

Paagap 2

BOdy

Paagap 3

Paagap 4

Eet 1: dangeou wimming ondition • sea ice platforms platforms farther apart Eet 2: aity o ood • fewer hunting opportunities Eet 3: edued population • Females with less body weight have have lower reproduction rates.

COnClusIOn

Paagap 5

retated tei suggetion/opinion/pedition

• In a ocus-on-causes essay , you would write about te causes o global warming, suc as excessive carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. In this case, the organization for this essay could ave ve paragraps paragraps and look like tis: hook

IntrOduCtIOn

Paagap 1

conneting inomation Tei caue 1: uman ativitie

Paagap 2

• carbon dioxide from vehicles • not recycling (requires (requires creating more products from from scratch)

BOdy

Paagap 3

caue 2: ineaed indutial ativity • greater carbon dioxide from burning fuels to run factories caue 3: deoetation

Paagap 4

COnClusIOn

Paagap 5

• Increased human population requires requires more space, so trees trees are cut down. • Fewer trees mean less oxygen, which causes a higher percentage of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. retated tei suggetion/opinion/pedition

   

135

Gea topic o Cae-Eec Ea Wat is a great topic or a cause-eect essay? Tis type o essay may ocus more on te causes or more on te eects, but most writers wr iters answer tis question by tinking o an eect or a nal result. Te brainstorming stage ten requires tinking about one or more causes o tat eect. Wen selecting topics or tis type o essay, essay, a good goo d writer sould consider relevant questions suc as: • What is the end eect? • Is there one primary eect, or are are there several eects? eects? • Is there one primary cause, or or are there several causes? As you read tis list o some general topics tat lend temselves well to a cause-eect essay, essay, cause or notice tat te last two in eac group do not use te obvious words cause  or eect : Foc o Cae

Foc o Eec

te aue aue o te ig divo divoe e ate ate in ome ounti ountie e

te eet eet o pollution pollution in my my ounty ounty

the causes of World War I

te eet o ig alaie o atlete

te aue o low vote patiipation in eletion

the effects of the Internet on how businesses are run

the reasons new teachers quit

te impat o tenology on eduation

wy only a mall peentage o people ead newpape today

wat appen wen a lage peentage o adult annot ead well

Activity 1   idnfng top top for cau-eff ea

Read tese eigt topics. Put a ceck mark (✓) next to te our tat could be b e good topics or cause-eect essays.   1. Te reasons tat te eart’s weater as canged so muc in te last century    2. Bangkok versus Singapore as a vacation destination   3. A trip to visit my grandparents grandparents   4. Te increasing use o computers in scools   5.  Explaining dietary dietary guidelines or cildren cildren   6. how to play te piano   7. Wy a student received a scolarsip   8. Wy te birt rate is alling in many countries

Can you tink o two additional topics tat would be excellent or a cause-eect essay?   9. 10.

136 

 

Unit 6 •

Cause-Effect Essays

supporng Dal Aer you ave selected a topic, your task is to determine weter you will ocus more on te causes o te issue or te eects o it. Tis process will also elp you to select and develop supporting details or your essay essay,, wic is an important step in constructing a solid essay. essay. Wen you brainstorm your plan or tis essay, essay, a useul tecnique is to make two lists. One list as as many causes as you can tink o. Te second list as as many eects or results as you can tink o. Te list tat is bigger—te causes or te eects—sould determine te primary ocus o your essay. here is an example or an essay about te diculty o learning Englis: Cae

Eec

14 vowel ound

some people study it for years.

unpeditable pelling ytem

People spend millions of dollars to learn it.

12 veb tene

There are many jobs for teaching English.

paal veb

 

voabulay om Geman and om Latin

Some people never learn it well.  

Some people have a weak vocabulary vocabulary..

Activity 2   branormng for two two Mhod

One of the topics that we hear so much about in today’s today’s society is stress. In this th is activity, activity, you will use the space in the boxes on page 138 to brainstorm ideas for an essay on the topic of stress. In the rst box, your organization will address the focus-on-eects method. In the second box, b ox, your organization will address te ocus-on-causes metod. Aer you complete tese tasks, work wit a partner or a small group to discuss your answers.

   

137

Focus-on-Eects Metod Cause:

Eects:

Focus-on-Causes Metod Causes:

Eect:

138 

 

Unit 6 •

Cause-Effect Essays

Activity 3   sudng an exampl cau-eff ea

Tis essay discusses some eects tat weater as ad on events in istory. Discuss te Preview Questions wit a partner. Ten read te essay and answer te questions tat ollow.

Preview Questions   1. Can you name a time wen te weater ad an eect on an event tat you attended? Was it a positive eect or a negative eect? 2. In the 1200s, the warrior Kubilai Kubilai Khan tried to invade Japan by sailing from the Asian mainland to Japan. Japa n. A certain kind of weather event prevented the invasion. Write Write three guesses in te diagram

about what this weather was. Do not consult the Internet, a book, bo ok, or a person. Cause 1:

Cause 2:

 

Effect: No invasion of Japan

Cause 3:

 3. Go back in time. Imagine you are a captain of a troop of 500 soldiers and you want to attack your 3. enemy at nigt. however, it is raining eavily. Wat are tree possible eects o te rain? Effect 1:

  Cause: Heavy rain at battle time at night

 

 

Effect 2:

Effect 3:

Ea 13

How Weather Has Changed World History  1

2

It is tempting , and oen comorting, to tink tat umans control teir ates. Te decisions tat people make in teir daily lives can aect many tings, and te course o teir lives cumulatively   refects tese many small decisions. On te oter and, people cannot control every aspect o teir environmen environments ts, and orces beyond uman control requently intervene in uman aairs. Notwitstanding many people’s opinion tat te weater as little infuence in teir lives besides determining wat clotes tey wear on a particular day, te weater as in act caused world istory to radically  si in important ways tat are still elt today. Numerous examples rom world istory document te Numerous long-term eects o weater in te ormation o cultures c ultures and nations. In the thirteenth century, Khubilai Khan ruled over the vast Mongol empire, wic spanned rom te Pacic Ocean in te east to te Black

empig: attative; deiable ae: te plan o te utue tat a been deided and tat you annot ontol a coe: a oute o dietion cmaive: omed ove time by many pat o addition o ievee: to beome involved in ometing in ode to inuene te fnal eult

   

139

Sea in te west, rom present-day Siberia in te nort to Aganistan in te sout. o expand is reign further, Khubilai Khan mounted two invasions of Japan. Two monsoons, owever, owever, caused im to end is attacks. Delgado (2008) describes legendary accounts of this event: “e legend, o repeated in countless istory books, speaks o gigantic sips, numbering into te tousands, t ousands, crewed by indomitable Mongol warriors, and o casualties on a massive scale, with more than 100,000 lives lost in te nal invasion attempt attempt of 1281” (p. 4). Because of this unexpected defeat, Khubilai Khan decided to stage a third invasion of Japan, but e died beore e could ulll tis ambition. Witout tese monsoons, Japan Japa might culture have been be, wit en defeated by the t heconsequences Mongols and or thus lost its identity  as a n unique ar-reacing Asian and world  istory. 3

In the early years of America’s Revolutionary  War, wic began in 1775, it appeared likely that the British would crush te armies o er colonial territory and incorporate it back into te empire empire.. Te Britis troops were a well-trained and disciplined army tat was eared worldwide. In contrast, te American troops were newly trained, sometimes poorly organized, and lacked sucient resources to gt eectively. General George Wasington could ave easily been deeated in the Battle B attle of Long Island on August 22, 1776. Historical records show tat Sir William howe, te Britis commander, was clearly deeating Washington on Long Island and was actually winning winn ing handily  (Seymour,   (Seymour, 1995). Noneteless , te weater intervened wen a eavy og  rolled  rolled in, so te American orces were able to retreat, regroup, and survive  to gt

140 

Unit 6 •

o ocme: to maintain a witten eod o; to wite about  o pa: to extend from one point to anote a eig: a time o politial control, especially for kings, queens, or uneleted ofial o mo: to pepae ometing o tat it take plae a mooo: a tong ain tom tat appen at a etain time o te yea a caa: an injuy o deat in a evee event u a an aident o a wa o age: to plan, organize, and make ometing appen  ambiio: a tong deie for power, wealth, or ame

Cause-Effect Essays

 

anoter day. day. Because o tis t is og, te United States was not deeated in its struggle for freedom. Consequently C onsequently,, today’s United United Kingdom of England,

o ch: to detoy

4

5

struggle for freedom. Consequently C onsequently,, today s United United Kingdom of England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland does not include the United States. Te United States States is not a commonweal commonwealt t o a moter country, as Canada and Australia are, toug te Unite United d States still as strong ties to its colonial past.

hai: eaily

Wen Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Russia in te early nineteent century, e met wit early successes tat appeared to guarantee  tat e migt eventually rule te world as is personal domain. his soldiers captured Moscow and destroyed te city, wic encouraged im to pus arter in is military  campaigns. however, because o is dreams o glory, Napoleon overlooked te simple act tat Russian winters are extremely cold. When the temperatures fell below freezing, many of his soldiers and teir orses died in te brutal weather. As Belloc (1926) was te writes in is classic study classic study of the Napoleonic wars, “e cold was  te abominable ting: Te dreadul enemy against wic men could not ght and which destroyed de stroyed them” them” (p. 217). As a result of the failure of Napoleon’s Russian campaigns, is own rule ended relatively soon aer. His defeat led to a reorganization of power throughout the European nations, as well as to te rise o Russia as a major world power.

a ie: a onnetion

As tese tree examples unambiguously  demonstrate   demonstrate, te weater as caused numerous uge sis in world istory as well as in power balances among cultures and nations. Witout Witout te rainy storms of the monsoon se ason, o season, Japan might eastern outpost ofstill Mongolia; witout te appearance dense  og, be tethe United Unit ed States migt be a territory of the United Kingdom; and without winter snow, snow, Muscovites migt speak Frenc. oday weater orecasters can usually predict wit a ig degree o accuracy acc uracy wen tunderstorms, urricanes, tsunamis, tsunamis, and tornadoes will strike, but te course o istory cannot be ully isolated rom te eects o te weater.

og: a type o weate imila to a loud vey nea te gound o eea: to go bak

omai: land tat a ule o govenment ontol o cape: to at; to tap o oveook: to ail to notie o know about ba: evee abomiabe: diguting; auing ateul eeling ea: extremely bad; auing ea ambigo: not ambiguouly; lealy and defnitely ee: tik a oecae: a peon wo pedit something, often the weate

Reerences

Belloc, H. (1926). Napoleon’s campaign o 1812 and the retreat rom  Moscow. New York: harper. Delgado, J. (2008). Khubilai Khan’s lost feet: In search o a legendary armada. Berkeley, CA: University o Caliornia Press. Seymour, W. (1995). Te price o olly: British blunders in the War o  American  America n Independence Independence. London: Brassey’s.

Post-Reading   1. Wat is te topic o te essay? 2. Wat is te writer’s tesis?

3. Wat is te cause tat te writer describes in te essay?

 

   

  4. Wat are some o te eects tat te writer describes?

141

 

5. Write one detail tat strongly supports te tesis t esis statement.

 

6. How is this essay organized?  ☐ ocus-on-causes metod 

☐ ocus-on-eects metod

  7. Can you tink o any inormation tat te autor sould ave included to make te message o te essay stronger?

 

Biig Bee seece: For further practice, practice, go to Practice 3 on pages 239–240 in the Appendix.

Biig Bee Vocaba Activity 4   Prang thr Knd of voaular from conx

Read eac important vocabulary word or prase. Locate it in te essay i you need elp remembering te word. Ten circle te best b est synonym, antonym, or collocation rom column A, B, or C. tpe o Vocaba Impoa Vocaba

som

A

B

C

  1.  a aptue

at

ulfll

pope

  2.  tempting

attative

ineent

peie

  3.  oeat

dead

pedit

eign

  4.  on aount o

due to

pio to

egadle o

  5.  andily

by veile

on oot

wit difulty

  6.  de d ene

tin

upeio

elutant

  7.  ev e ventually

beyond

umulatively

immediately

  8.  expand

dieentiate

poeed

ink

  9.  pan ___ Geee

om England to

nea England and

wit England o

10. _  __ __ in a dipute

dupliate

intevene

mege

11. a butal ___

iendip

lun

tom

12. d  de eeat ___

an attak

an enemy

a eptile

Aom

Coocaio

142 

Unit 6 •

Cause-Effect Essays

 

Activity 5   Analzng h Organzaon

Use the words from the box to complete the outline of “How Weather Has Changed World History.”

Reread the essay on pages 139–141 if you need help. • the Battle of Long Island in the American Revolutionary War, War, during which fog helped the American oe to eteat • The course of history cannot be fully isolated from the effects of weather. • H. Belloc, who documents documents the effect of the Russian winter • The weather has changed world history in important ways still st ill felt today. • Japan’ Japan’ss cultural identity would have changed if Khan had succeeded in his invasion.

itle: how Weater has Canged World history    I. Introduction  

A. Describe ow people tink tey control teir ates. B. Suggest, owever, owever, tat people cannot c annot control every aspect o teir environments. C. Tesis statement:

.

II. Body Paragrap 1  

A. Provide the example of Khubilai Khan and his invasion of Japan.

 

B. Cite the study of J. Delgado, who describes Khubilai K hubilai Khan’ Khan’s failed invasion.

 

C. Discuss ow

.  III. Body Paragraph 2 III.  

A. Provide te example o  

 

B. Cite te study o W. Seymour, wo documents do cuments te circumstances o te battle.

 

C. Discuss ow te United States migt ave remained a member o te Britis Commonwealt, i not or a eavy og.

. .

IV. Body Paragrap 3  

A. Provide te example o Napoleon Bonaparte’s invasion o Russia.

 

B. Cite te study o

 

C. Discuss te consequences o Napoleon’s deeat in relation to Russia’s rise as a world power.

.

V. Conclusion  

A. Summarize the three examples from the body paragraphs. B. Suggest tat, altoug weater orecasters can predict te weater wit more accuracy tan in

te past,

.  

 

sog thei saeme

143

o Cae Eec Ea A strong tesis statement or a cause-eect essay indicates weter te essay ocuses on causes or  eects(s), but on eects. Sometimes te tesis statemen statementt uses te words cause(s) or or eects(s),  but tis is not necessary if either the cause or the eect is implied in the statement. In addition, a thesis statement sometimes includes a number, suc as three causes or causes or two eects, eects, but tis is also optional. Foc

Exampe hei aeme

on aue

Many utome pee to op online o hee important reasons. The  T he increase in obesity in our country is due to food commercials, cheap fast food, and video games.

on eet

Ti eay will diu te eec of watching too much TV on children’s children’s family life, interpersonal skills, and school life. Mot people ae not awae o te poitive eec of simply walking for 20 to 30 minutes per day.

Activity 6   Wrng srong th samn for cau-eff cau-eff ea

Write a tesis statement or eac topic. Wen you nis, compare your answers wit a partner’s.  1. te causes o bullying 1.

  2. te eects o being an only cild

 

3. te causes o coosing a vegan diet

 

4. te eects o society’s love or computers

 

taiio a Coeco i Cae-Eec Ea ransitions and connectors are important in cause-eect essays because tey elp indicate causation or eect regarding te topic. Peraps Peraps te most amiliar cause-eect transition word is because because:: “X happened because Y happened.” Precise use of transitions helps the reader to follow the writer’s reasoning about cause-eect relationsips.

144 

Unit 6 •

Cause-Effect Essays

 

Te transitions or bot a ocus-on-causes essay and a ocus-on-eects essay are te same because bot kinds o essays discuss one or more causes or one or more eects.

taiio a Coeco Commo ue i Cae Eec Ea as a consequence

due to

on aount o

(th the e) effe fecct (of X)

owing to (for this) reason

(X can be) attributed to (Y)

(a key) factor of (X)

(X is the) reason for (Y)

beaue

o ti eaon

beaue o

utemoe

a a eult

aued

 

 

   

(X is a) result of (Y) (X) resulted in (Y)

if (X), then (Y)

ine

(X is the) cause of (Y)

in addition (to)

o

(X is) caused by (Y)

in ode to

teeoe

(one (o ne)) co cons nseq eque uenc nce e of th this is (i (iss th that at . . .)

(X) in nue uenc nces es (Y)

thiis mea th eans ns th that at . . .

consequently

(X) leads to (Y)

tu

Activity 7   idnfng tranon tranon and connor n an ea

Reread “How Weather Weather Has Changed World History” on pages 139–141. Find seven transitions or connectors. Copy te sentences ere, underline te transition or connector connector,, and write te paragrap number in te parenteses. 1.  ( )  2. 2.

( )  3.  3.

( )  4.  4. ( )  5.  5.

( )  6.  6. ( )  7.  7.

( )

   

tranon and connor n an exampl sudng tranon cau-eff ea Activity 8   Warmng Up o h top

145

Answer te questions on your own. Ten discuss tem wit a partner or in a small group.  1. Wat was te appiest time in your lie? Describe wat appened. Wy were you so appy? 1.

2. ere is a saying that “Money can’t can’t buy happiness.” Do you agree or disagree with this t his statement? In 75–100 words, explain your answer.

Activity 9   Ung tranon tranon and connor n an ea

Read “Happiness” “Happiness” and circle the correct transition words or phrases.

Ea 14

Happiness 1

Wat makes a person appy? 1   (If / So) people people want to be happy— happy— and ew people proclaim teir desire to be sad—sould tey seek money and

o pocaim: to tate loudly o lealy o te eod

proessional proess ional success? Many experts in elds suc as sociology, psycology, and public policy are attempting attempting to answer tis seemingly  simple  simple question o wat makes people appy and ow communities, communities, social organizations, and employers can acilitate appiness by implementing a ew simple strategies. In this new eld of happiness studies, some intriguing  answers  answers are beginning to emerge about wat makes people appy. Surprisingly, tey support te longstanding hypothesis tat money cannot buy appiness. 2

One o te chie  obstacles to appiness is reerred to as social comparison.. Wen people compare temselves to oter people, tey comparison prefer to see themselves as in some way superior. In an experiment, social

146 

 

Unit 6 •

Cause-Effect Essays

eemig: appaently

o aciiae: to make eaie o moe likely to appen iigig: extremely inteeting a hpohei: an idea o teoy tat a not been poven chie: main; pinipal a obace: ometing tat top poge  o owad movement

scientists asked whether people would prefer earning $50,000 per year while their peers earned $25,000 per year, or whether they would prefer earning $100,000 per year while their peers averaged $250,000 per year. Even toug people would earn more in te latter scenario, most cose te ormer as a consequence o teir desire to see temselves as more successful than others (Layard, 2005). 2   (In addition / us), a simple way way

he ae: te eond o two peented option a ceaio: an imagined ituation

to increase appiness is or people to reject te urge to compare temselves to oters based on teir nances and to live witin teir means. 3

3   (Another / Other) way to to increase people’ people’s sense of personal

appiness is or tem to be true to temselves and keep teir personal sense o integrity . Wile tis advice may seem rater trite, people wo respect and ollow teir autentic desires generally report being appier tan people who do not. As Martin (2012) explains, “At its core, autenticity implies discovering and pursuing  what  what we care about most deeply.” He further explains te reciprocal relationship between happiness and authenticity: “As muc as autenticity contributes to te pursuit o appiness, ten, appiness in turn contributes to identiying our identiying our authentic selves” (p. 55). When people limit teir personal desires 4   (in order / in spite) spite) to obtain certain goals, tey may acieve greater nancial success but actually end up unappier. 4

5  (Finally  /  / erefore), sometimes people benet rom social rules

tat encourage tem to improve teir lives, even wen tese laws cost more

he te ft oome: two peented option mea: a person’s ability to aod  iegi: te peonal quality of being onet and ai ie: boring, unimportant, or no longer special, epeially due to oveue o pe: to ty ad to obtain ecipoca: inveely elated; mutually ageed upon o e p: to ea a fnal ondition o place, often without an oiginal intention

money. Wile ew people enjoy paying taxes, some taxes make people appier 6   (although / because) they improve improve the overall overall quality  quality of people’s lives. In

their study of smoking and cigarette taxes, Gruber and Mullainathan (2006) conclude that conclude  that “taxes may aect te appiness o ormer smokers (by making    

it easier to resist te temptation to resume smoking) or prospective smokers (by making it easier to never start smoking in the rst place)” (p. 139). is example demonstrates ow a society’s rules can 7   (cause / lead) to the general appiness appine ss o its populations, even troug te apparently negative practice o

o ei: to fgt againt ometing o tat it doe not appen popecive: elated to utue poibility o

147

appening o oming tue

increased taxation. axes axes also contribute to te unds availabl availablee or oter social so cial purposes, wic prove provess urter justication or teir use. 5

Tese are merely  tree  tree ways tat scolars o appiness studies ave

mee: imply; only

determined tat people can employ to enhance teir personal appiness.

o ehace: to

People sould avoid comparing temselves to oters nancially. Tey sould

impove

seek to live as teir autentic selves in teir personal and proessional lives. 8  (Furtermore  (Furtermore /  / In contrast), tey sould welcome rules, laws, and even

taxes tat increase te general appiness o te population. Everyone says tey want to be appy, and appiness studies are elping people learn ow to lead appier lives rater tan to passively  expect appiness appiness to nd tem. Reerences

Gruber, J., & Mullainathan, Mullainathan, S. (2006). Do Cigarette Taxes Make Smokers Happier?. In Yew -Kwang Ng & Lok Sang Ho (Eds.), Happiness and  public policy: Teory, Teory, case studies, and and implications implications (pp.109–146). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006. science. New York: Penguin. Layard, R. (2005). Happiness: Lessons rom a new science. lie. Oxord: Oxord University Press. Martin, M. (2012). Happiness and the good lie.

Biig Bee Vocaba Activity 10   Prang thr Knd of voaular from conx

Read eac important vocabulary word or prase. Locate it in te essay i you need elp remembering te word or prase. Ten circle te t e best synonym, antonym, or collocation rom column A, B, or C. tpe o Vocaba Impoa Vocaba   1.  pu p uue som

Aom

148 

Unit 6 •

B

ae

C

mount

ovelook

extinction

oeat

likely

eal

example

veifation

  2.  ob obtale

difulty

  3.  au autenti

allenging

  4.   enaio

demeano

  5.  intiguing

auate

uninteeting

wotwile

  6.  te ome

te inentive

te latte

te oganize

  7.  inde

ailitate

navigate

ange

esse es sent ntia ial, l, vi vita tall

far,, re far remo mote te

mino mi norr, le lesse sserr

  9.  te mean ___ ometing

do

doing

to do

10.   a ae about ometing ___

deeply

appily

titely

11. m  myy oveall ___ o

oe

example

impeion

 ob btain a ___ 12. o

deie

  8.  ie

Coocaio

A

 

   

 

goal

 

tax

Cause-Effect Essays

 

Gamma o Wiig conn vr tn Uag Good writers are careul to use te same verb tense trougout t rougout an essay. essay. Wile it is true tat an

essay may ave, or example, some inormation about te past and some inormation about te present, most o te inormation will be b e about one time, most likely eiter past or present. Do not cange verb tenses witout a specic reason or doing so. Expaaio

Exampe

When describing an event in the past tense, maintain te pat tene tougout your explanation.

In our experiment, we pace tee live e-wate plant (each approximately 20 centimeters in length) into a quart jar tat wa e with fresh water at 70 degrees Fahrenheit. We e the top two centimeters of the jar with air. air. We then aeully ae a medium goldsh.

When talking about facts that are always true, use present tense in your explanation.

Te un i the center of the solar system. The earth and other planet evove around the sun. Most of the planets have  at leat one moon tat cice the planet, and these moons va tremendously in size, just as the planets o.

In writings such as a report, it is possible to ave dieent veb tene eeting different times.

According to this report, the police now beieve tat two men oe the truck and the money in it.

   

Activity 11   Workng wh conn vr vr tn tn Uag

In the paragraph, correct the verbs where the tense shis for no reason.

Paagaph 4

149

Te Experiment In our experiment, we placed three live fresh-water plants (each

 

approximately 20 centimeters in length) into a quart jar that is lled with fresh water at 70 degrees Fahrenheit. We le the top two centimeters of the jar wit air. We ten careully added a medium golds. Next, we tigten te lid and wrapped tape tigtly around te lid. Tis very last step is done to ensure tat no air can enter or exit te bottle. Te jar was placed on a sel were it is exposed to indirect sunligt or approximately eigt ours eac day. At 1 p.m. every day or a week, we observed te s swimming in te jar. On several occasions, we notice tat te plants emit multiple bubbles o a gas. Te s survived or te entire week. No ood or air was provided. Tus, tese green plants in te jar produced a gas, and we believed tis gas was oxygen.

Gamma o Wiig snn Fragmn For many writers, sentence ragments, or incomplete sentences, are dicult to avoid. Writing a ragment instead o a complete sentence is considered a very serious error because it sows a lack o understanding o te basic components o a sentence, namely a subject and a verb tat express a complete tougt. Because ragments are one o te most serious errors in writing, it is imperative to learn ow to avoid tem. Expaaio

Exampe

A sentence must have a subject and a veb and be able to tand by itel

 ✗   Becae I ea a ie he exbook oe.  ✗ ✓  I scored 97 on the quiz becae I ea a ie he ex-

in meaning. book oe. It is possible to begin a sentence with  ✗  Becae I ie o he a exam a gea ea.  ✗  becae, ahogh, i, whe, o whie, ✓  Becae I ie a gea ea, my score on the nal exam but te entene need a eond pat was 99. with another subject-verb combination. ✓  My score on the nal exam was 99 becae I ie a gea ea.

Activity 12   Workng wh Fragmn

Write C  on te line next to complete sentences. Write F  i  i tere is a ragment and circle te ragment.   1.  Despite te eavy eavy wind and te torrential rain, te young young trees around te lake were were able to survive the bad weather. It was a miracle.   2.  Te uge, two-story two-story ouses all ave a very similar design. Wit Wit no dierence except except te color o te roos. 150 

Unit 6 •

Cause-Effect Essays

 

  3.  Ireland has a rich and colorful history. history. One with many stories stories of fairies and elves.   4.  Sopping malls are a very popular tourist attraction attraction in many cities, but some tourists are not interested in tem. Sopping is not or everyone.   5.  Because o te popularity o te lm. Producers were anxious to begin work on its sequel.   6.  Te ce added so muc spice to te stew stew tat only te most daring o is patrons patrons tasted it. Te result was tat less tan al o te ood was consumed.

  7.  Tere was a strange tension tension in te air. air. Aer so many years o o separation. pantry. My   8.  My mother is so organized that she uses a color-coding system in her kitchen pantry. father,, on the other hand, is one of the most unorganized people father pe ople that I know. know.   9.  What is a dream and why why do we dream? Scientists really do not understand dreams, but I wis someone could explain tem to me.   10.  Tousands o commuters commuters were late or work tis morning. Since te bus workers are on strike over pay and ealt benets. b enets. For more work with sentence fragments, see the Brief Writer's Handbook with Activities, pages 217–220.

Activity 13   edng an ea: Rw of Grammar

en o te een words or clauses in parenteses contain an error involving one o te grammar topics featured in this unit. If the word or phrase is correct, write C . If it is incorrect, ll in the blank with a correction.

Ea 15

How the Light Bulb Changed the World 1

Few inventions ave canged te world as dramatically  as  as Tomas Alva Edison’s ligt bulb. 1  (Wit te ip o a switc. he turned darkness into ligt, tus revolutionizing  people’s  people’s lives.)

amaica: geatly; exceedingly a fip: a tun om one poition to te oppoite o evoioize: to  ange ompletely (and possibly suddenly)

Wile te eects o te ligt bulb ave been overwhelmingly positive, scientists ave also identied some o its armul eects, proving tat

ovewhemig: geatly; lage numbe by o aamount

even te greatest acievements oen bring wit tem unexpected side eects tat oset teir advantag advantages. es. 2

2  (One o te most positive o te ligt bulb’s accomplishments 

is tat it as allowed people to expand teir lives into te dark ours o nigt.)

a accompihme: anyting a peon a been able to do successfully,, especially successfully e specially ate ome difulty

human productivity 3  (increases) dramatically ater its invention because better ligting enabled people

oable eabe: to make to appen

   

151

 

to read, study study,, work, work, play play,, and and socialize into into the late hours. 4  (Also, the prevalence o aordable lighting. Tis allowed companies to continue to manuacture their products during the night hours, when necessary.)

Electric lighting also enhanced public saety because o city streets being illuminated without the potential danger o gas. Now that light bulbs 5  (are)

everywhere, it is virtually impossible to imagine

a world without them, or they are a core part o the infrastructure o modern society. 3

6  (Nonetheless, it is important to acknowledge the negative

consequences o the light bulb as well, including a phenomenon that scientists term light pollution.) pollution.)

prevalence: the condition of being widespread or extremely common

to enhance: to improve to illuminate: to light up potential: possible virtually: just about; almost completely

infrastructure: basic structures, such as roads and bridges, needed for a region to function properly to acknowledge: to show recognition of; to admit that something is real

Miranda (2003) laments the “changes “changes in the biology o ecosystems, in

to lament: to regret

the lie o people due to invasiv invasivee lighting, and the t he ‘artifcialization ‘artifcialization’ o the

 

152

Unit 6 •

Cause-Effect Essays

 

night” (p. 7). 7  (Tese problems ave been caused by excessive ligting.  Primarily in urban areas. )

pimai: mainly ba: ity; te oppoite o rural 

8  (Animals and umans are biologically prepared or te

 

canging rytms o nigt and day day,, and constant ligting undermines tese rytms.)

tese rytms.)

Ligt pollution also 9  (clouded) ____________ te nigt skies so tat people cannot see te stars, wic 10  (rustrated)  astronomers and anyone wo  11  (loved)

looking up to te

ae: diappointed; unatifed

eavens to inspect its wonders. 4

12  (Another unintended consequence of the light bulb. Is a

penomenon reerred to as switch psychology , which theorizes that people become conditioned by ligt switces and oter modern conveniences to expect immediate solutions to teir problems. problems.))

Switc psycology lessens a person’s sense o sel-efcacy, wic Hockenbury Hockenbu ry and Hockenbury (2006) dene dene as  as “e degree to which you are subjectively  convinced  convinced o your own capabilities and eectiveness in meeting the demands of a particular situation” (p. 486). People are so used

e-ecac: te powe to podue a deied eult o eet covice: vey ue; etain

to ligt switces immediately bringing ligt tat some nd temselves at a loss or words wen a ligt  13  (did not go)

on; tey

eel tat tey are incapable o correcting te situation or undertaking any steps to solve te problem. 5

Edison’s acievement wit te ligt bulb rigtly 14  (deserves)

o eeve: to meit

_____________ ____________ _ celebration or its contributions c ontributions to uman comort and productivity. productivity. At the same time, we must be careful to recognize    

some o its unintended consequences, suc as ligt pollution p ollution and switc psycology, tat treaten to tarnish is sining legacy . 15  (Many lasting innovations tat ave contributed dramatically to

umanity’s advancement. Tese innovations can also be te cause o unintended results, and we must strive to mitigate tese consequences to take ull advantage o teir predominant benets.)

o aih: to tain; to leen te image o a egac: a peonal itoy o eod a iovaio: a new idea, invention, or metod o ive: to ty ad

153

to do o aieve ometing

o miigae: to make ometing le a o evee

Reerences

Hockenbury, D., & Hockenbury, S. (2006). Psychology  (4 Hockenbury,  (4t ed.). New York: Wort. Miranda, P. (2003). Discurso del representante de CONAMA (Bot versio versions, ns, in English and in Spanish). In H. Schwarz (Ed.), Light pollution: Te global view (pp. 3–14). Dordrecht, e Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Biig Bee Vocaba Activity 14   Prang thr Knd of voaular from conx

Read eac important vocabulary word or prase. Locate it in te essay i you need elp remembering te word or prase. Ten circle te t e best synonym, antonym, or collocation rom column A, B, or C. tpe o Vocaba

Impoa Vocaba

A

B

C

  1. i in napable

an not

mut not

ould not

  2. p  pevalent

ommon

intentional

key

  3.   e evolutionize

antiipate

ange

mate

  4. t  ta ani

make dity

make appy

make tied

  5. uban

indigenou

ual

vivid

  6. onvined

doubting

deading

leaning

  7. excessive

damati

on aount o

vey little

  8. m  miitigate

deeve

ineae

mimi

  9. te main aue ___ ometing

by

o

wit

10. ___ eveywee

damatially

ubtantially

vitually

11. ___ someone’s help

aknowledge

denote

mege

consequences

og

goal

som

Aom

Coocaio 12. unintended ___ 154 

Unit 6 •

 

Cause-Effect Essays

 

Oigia se Wiig: Cae-Eec Ea In this section, you will follow the seven steps in the writing process to write a cause-eect essay. If you need help, refer to Unit 2, pages 34–46. Activity 15   sp 1: choo a top

Your rst step is to coose a topic or your essay. For a cause-eect essay, you want to coose a topic or wic you can c an develop tree causes o one eect or tree eects rom one cause. Your Your teacer may assign a topic, you may tink o one yoursel, or you may coose one rom te suggestions in te cart. As you What consider topics, ask yourself, “What do I know know? elsepossible do I need to know? Do I need to research this about topic?”this topic? What do my readers Literature: Te Literature:  Te eet o witing a novel on a ompute

Hmaiie

History: The History:  The causes of an important historical event such as World War I Philosophy: Te Philosophy:  Te eet o soate on moden tougt Biology: Te Biology:  Te aue o ane

sciece

Geology: Te Geology:  Te eet o buning oil and ga Meteorology: Te Meteorology:  Te aue o limate ange

Bie Peoa

 

Economics: Te aue o ination Economics: Te Te eet o you attitude towad allenge in lie

 1. Wat topic did you coose? 1. 2. Wy did you coose tis topic?

3. how well do you know tis topic? Wat is your experience wit it?  

   

Activity 16   sp 2: branorm

A. Use te cart to brainstorm a list o possible po ssible causes and eects or your topic. tOPIC: Cae:

Eec:

155

B. Now careully consider te causes and eects. Wic ocus do you tink would be better b etter or your essay? If you have more causes, then you should write a focus-on-causes essay with one eect. If you ave more eects, ten you sould write a ocus-on-eects essay wit one cause. Activity 17   sp 3: Ouln

Prepare a simple outline o your essay. essay. Focus eiter on causes or on eects. itle: I.  Introduction

 

A. hook:

B. Connecting inormation:

C. Tesis statement:

156 

Unit 6 •

Cause-Effect Essays

 

 II.  Body Paragrap 1 (Cause 1 or Eect Eect 1): A. B. III. Body Paragraph 2 (Cause 2 or Eect 2): A. B.

IV..  Body Paragrap 3 (Cause 3 or Eect IV Eect 3): A. B. V.  Conclusion:

Peer Editing of Outlines Excange books wit a partner partner.. Read your partner’ partner’ss outline. Ten use te ollowing questions to elp you to comment on your partner’s outline. Use your partner’s eedback to revise your outline.  1. How is this essay organized? 1.

☐ ocus-on-causes metod

☐ ocus-on-eects metod

 2. Is there any aspect of the outline that is unclear to you? Give details. 2.

 

3. Can you tink o an area in te t e outline tat needs more development? Make specic suggestions.

 

4. If you have any other ideas or suggestions, write them here.

 

   

Activity 18   sp 4: Wr Wr h Fr Draf Use te inormation rom Steps 1–3 to write te rst dra o your cause-eect essay. essay. Use at least our o te vocabulary voc abulary words or prases rom te Building Better Vocabulary Vocabulary activities in tis unit. Underline tese words and prases in your essay. ry ry to also use at least two o te words rom te Academic Word List in te Brie Writer ’s Handbook with Activities Activities on  on pages 230–231.

Activity 19   sp 5: G Fdak from a Pr

Exchange papers from Step 4 with a partner. Read your partner’s rst dra. en use Peer Editing Sheet 6 (available online at NGL.Ceng NGL.Cengage.com/GW5) age.com/GW5) to help you to comment on your partner’s partner’s writing. Be sure to oer positive suggestions and comments tat will elp your partner improve is or er essay.

157

Activity 20   sp 6: R h Fr Draf

Read the comments on Peer Editing Sheet 6 about your essay. en reread your essay. essay. Can you identify places were you sould make revisions? List te impro improvements vements you plan to make. 1.

2.

3.

Use all te inormation rom te previous steps to write te nal version o your paper. Oen, writers will need to write wr ite a tird or even a ourt dra to express teir ideas as clearly as possible. po ssible. Write Write as many dras as necessary to produce a good essay essay..

Activity 20   sp 7: Proofrad Proofrad h Fnal Draf Be sure to prooread your paper several times beore you submit it so you nd all te mistakes and correct tem..

Addonal top for Wrng here are ten more ideas or topics or additional cause-eect essay writing.   PHOO   OPIC: Look at the photo on pages 132–133. ere are several dierent types of pollution, for example, water, land, and ligt pollution. Coose one type o pollution. Wat are te causes or eects o tis type o pollution on te environment?   OPIC 2: Wat are te causes o illiteracy? 158 

Unit 6 •

Cause-Effect Essays

 

  OPIC 3: Wat are te eects o overcrowding in cities?   OPIC 4: Wat eects can one person ave on te government?   OPIC 5: Wy do many people preer oreign goods?   OPIC 6: Wat are te causes o credit card debt?   OPIC 7: Discuss ow people’s people’s cildood experiences infuence teir lives.   OPIC 8: Wat are te eects o sudden wealt (suc as wen a person wins te lottery)?   OPIC 9: Wat are te eects o poverty? OPIC 10: Wat are te causes o a recent political crisis? cr isis?

time Wiig how quickly can you write in Englis? Tere are many times wen you must write quickly, suc as on a test. It is important to feel comfortable during those times. Timed-writing practice can make you eel better about writing quickly in Englis. 1.  Read te essay guidelines below. Ten take out a piece o paper. 2.  Read te writing prompt prompt below below te guidelines. guidelines. 3.  Write a basic outline including eiter one cause and more tan one eect or a ew causes and one eect. You sould spend no more tan ve minutes on your outline. 4.  Write a ve-paragrap essay. 5.  You have 40 minutes to write your essay. Cause-Eect Essay Guidelines

• Use the focus-on-causes or the focus-on-eects organization organization for this essay. essay. Do not write about multiple causes and multiple eects. • Remember to give your essay a title. • Double-space your your essay. essay. • Write as legibly as possible (if you are are not using a computer). • Include a short short introduction (with a thesis statement), three body paragraphs, paragraphs, and a conclusion. • Try to give yourself a few minutes before the end of the activity to review your work. Check for mistakes in spelling and consistent verb tense, and look or sentence ragments.

We all ace personal troubles in our lives. Tink about a recent challenging situation in your lie at home, at work, at school, or with riends. What were the causes o this situation? What were its efects? Although you will discuss both causes and efects, remember to emphasize either the causes o the situation or the efects o the situation.

 

159