How to Write Cause and Effect Essays (including several examples)

Cause and Effect EssayWhat is a cause and effect essay?Cause and effect essays are concerned with why things happen (causes) and what happens as a result (effects). Cause and effect is a common method of organizing and discussing ideas. Follow these steps when writing a cause and effect essay1.Distinguish between cause and effect. To determine causes, ask, "Why did thishappen?" To identify effects, ask, "What happened because of this?" The following is an example of one cause producing one effect: CauseYou are out of gas.EffectYour car won't start.Sometimes, many causes contribute to a single effect or many effects may result froma single cause. (Your instructor will specify which cause/effect method to use.) Thefollowing are examples:Causesliked business in high schoolsalaries in the field are highhave an aunt who is an accountantam good with numbersEffectchoose to major in accountingCausereduce work hoursEffectsless incomeemployer is irritatedmore time to studymore time for family and friendsHowever, most situations are more complicated. The following is an example of a chain reaction:Thinking about friend…forgot to buy gas…car wouldn't start…missed math exam…failed math course.2.Develop your thesis statement. State clearly whether you are discussing causes,effects, or both. Introduce your main idea, using the terms "cause" and/or "effect."3.Find and organize supporting details. Back up your thesis with relevant and sufficientdetails that are organized. You can organize details in the following ways:•Chronological. Details are arranged in the order in which the events occurred.•Order of importance. Details are arranged from least to most important or vice versa.•Categorical. Details are arranged by dividing the topic into parts or categories.e appropriate transitions. To blend details smoothly in cause and effect essays, usethe transitional words and phrases listed below. For causesbecause, due to, one cause is, another is, since, for, first, secondFor Effectsconsequently, as a result, thus, resulted in, one result is, another is, thereforeWhen writing your essay, keep the following suggestions in mind:•Remember your purpose. Decide if your are writing to inform or persuade.•Focus on immediate and direct causes (or effects.) Limit yourself to causes that are close in time and related, as opposed to remote and indirect causes, whichoccur later and are related indirectly.•Strengthen your essay by using supporting evidence. Define terms, offer facts and statistics, or provide examples, anecdotes, or personal observations thatsupport your ideas.•Qualify or limit your statements about cause and effect. Unless there is clear evidence that one event is related to another, qualify your statements withphrases such as "It appears that the cause was" or "It seems likely" or "Theevidence may indicate" or "Available evidence suggests."5.To evaluate the effectiveness of a cause and effect essay, ask the followingquestions:What are the causes? What are the effects? Which should be emphasized? Are there single or multiple causes? Single or multiple effects? Is a chain reaction involved?The Causes of Poverty in MexicoAre you aware that 20 million people in Mexico live on less than two dollars a day? Sixty million people, half the Mexican population, live in poverty, and 20 million of them live in extreme poverty. Most of the time, garbage is their food, and some days, they don’t even eat anything. This critical situation in Mexico is caused by individual, geographic and political factors. The purpose of this essay is to analyze these three main causes of poverty in Mexico.The first and immediate cause of poverty in Mexico is the individual condition. This cause refers to circumstances and characteristics of poor people. For example, the amount of education, skill, intelligence, health, and prejudice all have an influence on poverty . The lack of education is one of the most significant factors that contributes to poverty. There is no access to jobs for non-educated people.The second cause of poverty has to do with geography. For example, statistics show that people who live in rural areas far away from the cities are poorer. This is caused by the lack of communication and transportation in remote rural areas. Because of this, governments can’t provide essential services such as potable water, affordable food, primary health care, and education. People who live there are totally isolated from the rest of the society.The third and most significant cause of poverty in Mexico is the political economy of the country. The International Monetary Fund and World Bank-prescribed structural adjustment policies have been applied in Mexico because the government doesn’t carry out enough policies to encourage successful development. They cannot, for these international institutions lend money to Mexico on the condition that the nation open up its economy and cut social expenditures to repay the loans. The IMF and World Bank programs are supposed to reduce poverty, but actually they are increasing it.Unless the Mexican government works on the causes of the poverty which are the individual condition, the geographic factor, and the political economy of the country, the problem is going to get worse. Nobody likes to see poor children eating out of garbage cans. Mexico needs a new political economy designed by Mexican economists and politicians, people who are committed to Mexico and to the future of its society.The Effects of Cigarette SmokingThere have been numerous campaigns against cigarette smoking communicating that this vice causes death. But a threat to health doesn’t seem to be a good reason for quitting anymore. People somehow block themselves and ignore all the information that is given to them. The purpose of this essay is to discuss three effects of cigarette smoking, besides the broadly mentioned possibility of developing cancer or dying, which are the smell of smoke, the stained teeth, and the cost of doing it. The first effect of cigarette smoking, and probably the one that the non-smokers hate the most, is that it permeates everything around it. Smokers usually have smelly hair, breath, clothes, and, if they smoke indoors, a smelly room. The stench of cigarette smoke is very penetrating and hard to remove. Even if the person quits smoking the odor remains for a long time. The second effect of cigarette smoking is one that most people don’t even take into consideration. It stains the teeth yellow or sometimes even brown. Since this effect is long term, most people are not aware of it when they begin smoking. The truth is that a cigarette stain is very hard to eliminate from the teeth, and it will probably end up costing a considerable amount of money. Yellow teeth are disgusting because they give an unhygienic image and make people look older.The third effect of smoking is that it will eventually end up affecting the smoker’s personal economy. Depending on the country the prices of cigarettes can differ. But even at an affordable price the regular consumption of cigarettes will eventually take its economic toll.These are only three out of many other effects that cigarette smoking can have, but to any sensible person they are more than enough to realize that smoking is bad. People can’t possibly be proud of calling themselves smokers. It is terrible for health as well as personal appearance. In the end, those who live in poverty, stink of smoke, and have yellow teeth are the people who are affected the most by this life threatening activity.Causes of AnorexiaHave you ever felt afraid of gaining weight? If the answer is affirmative, just be careful. Sometimes wishing to have a perfect body can be dangerous. Desires like those could be the origin to a very well known disease called anorexia which is an eating disorder characterized by low body weight and fear of becoming fat. Even when anorexia is linked to a physical condition, the real causes of anorexia are related to an individual’s emotionality. The purpose of this essay is to discuss the main causes of anorexia which are worthless personal feelings, stressful events in life, and cultural influence of the country where the person is living.The first cause of anorexia and, in my opinion, the most important is a worthless personal feeling. A person who has a low self-esteem usually feels useless and valueless, despite achievements in his life, and he doesn’t like the way he looks. These feelings cause the individual to feel rejection and an alleged pressure from the society. As a consequence, an anorexic person is always looking for the perfection.The second and an important cause of Anorexia is the existence of stressful events in life. It is usually that you feel stressed and worried when you are working under pressure, or it is common that you suffer nervousness as a consequence of experience life changes. These situations begin to affect your schedule and you stop doing some vital activities to stay healthy. In the case of anorexia, a person begins to stop eating in the right times or even stop eating.The third and final cause of anorexia is the cultural influence of the country where the person is living. It is very common that some societies consider that the ideal beauty is based in extreme thinness. Nowadays, this idea has caused thousands of women and men to go on starvation diets or use products that supposedly make them lose weight in few days. The use of these products is originated just by the idea of body perfection.As you can see, the causes of anorexia which are worthless personal feelings, stressful events in life, and cultural influence of the country where the person is living, are situations that can look normal, but that can have deathly consequences.。