When you’re assigned to write a cause and effect for college, you can breathe easily. The point here is that this type of academic assignment is one of the easiest to deal with. A cause and effect essay is an academic project that focuses on an event or situation and examines the causes or/and effects of it. Let’s say, you’re writing an essay on poverty. You could either discuss the possible causes of poverty in African countries (lack of access to health care, absence of social services, unemployment, etc.) OR you could focus on the effects of poverty (lack of education, poor health, crime, and so on). Doesn’t sound that difficult, right? Here are some other recommendations on crafting a cause and effect essay of the finest quality.
Structure
Once you know what topic you’d like to discuss, start researching it. Your task here is to find the most reliable sources for your facts and the latest news on your topic. Cause and effect essays usually require using stats that will help you prove your viewpoint; however, ensure to use only credible numbers.
The structure of the essay is similar to the one of the other academic papers. Make sure to start it with the introductory section that includes your thesis statement, support your viewpoint with data and facts in the body, and sum up your topic in the conclusion.
The Introduction
If you check professionally written cause and effect essay examples, you’ll see that the introduction is the beginning of the paper. In this section, you give some background details on the chosen topic and include your thesis statement. Besides, you can also give some stats to help your target readers get a better idea of your topic and why it is important. Use some interesting facts as a hook to ensure your readers will get interested in further reading.
Thesis Statement
This is the heart of your work. Your thesis statement summarizes your thoughts, facts, and ideas in a single sentence. Thus, your readers understand the purpose of your cause and effect essay. It is important to sum up your main idea – the link between cause and effect. For example:
“Global warming is known as a human-induced warming of the system of our planet, thus, there should be created more organizations that are oriented towards combating climate chaos.”
The Body
The body paragraphs of your project should cover the cause (or several causes) and the effect (or a range of effects) and how they correlate.
At this point, you can use various methods to prove your viewpoint – trusted resources, related researchers, situation modeling, stats, quotes, and so on. There’s no need to persuade your readers. Instead, you have to provide logical connections and introduce the problem under discussion from different angles.
Don’t jump from one thought or fact to the other chaotically. Provide the so-called transitions. The last sentence of every paragraph can become a great transition line to the next logical section.
Conclusion
The conclusion section of the cause and effect essay sums up your ideas. In this section, you have to restate the key points of your paper and your thesis statement (make sure to paraphrase them!).
To end your project on a powerful note, add some CTA or suggestions for future research. For instance, if you’re writing about poverty in African countries, you can end your cause and effect essay with some suggestions on how both local and world authorities can help improve the situation by implementing policies to cut poverty.
Simple enough, right?
