Eng 203

Academic English
Cause and Effect Paragraph

by
Engin Alkan
2020
Gazi University
Faculty of Engineering
 Cause and Effect Paragraph
by
Engin Alkan

When you use a cause-effect method of

development, this will often mean that
you are supporting your topic sentence
by listing or enumerating. What you
should remember, however, is that in a
cause-effect development, there is
always a causal relationship between the
topic sentence and the supporting
sentences, or even between major
supporting sentences and minor ones.
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 Cause and Effect Paragraph
by
Engin Alkan

ORGANIZATION OF A CAUSE AND EFFECT PARAGRAPH

The cause/effect paragraph is based on a formula:

"X (cause) produces Y (effect) "

or
"Y (effect) is produced by X (cause)."

In other words,
"Because X has taken place, Y has occurred"
or
"Y has occurred because of X."

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 Cause and Effect Paragraph
by
Engin Alkan

Based on that formula, the organization of a

cause and effect paragraph falls into two basic
pattern outlines: the cause-to-effect pattern and
the effect-to-cause pattern, each of which is
determined by the topic sentence that gives both
the cause and the effect.

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 Cause and Effect Paragraph
by
Engin Alkan

1. Focus on Cause
This means that your supporting sentences become a
list of causes (reasons or explanations why something
is the way it is, or why it happened the way it did).

Cause 1

Cause 2 EFFECTS

Cause 3

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 Cause and Effect Paragraph
by
Engin Alkan

In recent decades, cities have grown so large that now about 50% of the
Earth's population lives in urban areas. There are several reasons for this
occurrence. First, the increasing industrialization of the nineteenth century resulted
in the creation of many factory jobs, which tended to be located in cities. These jobs,
with their promise of a better material life, attracted many people from rural areas.
Second, there were many schools established to educate the children of the new
factory laborers. The promise of a better education persuaded many families to leave
farming communities and move to the cities. Finally, as the cities grew, people
established places of leisure, entertainment, and culture, such as sports stadiums,
theaters, and museums. For many people, these facilities made city life appear more
interesting than life on the farm, and therefore drew them away from rural
communities.

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 Cause and Effect Paragraph
by
Engin Alkan

Notice how each supporting sentence is a cause that explains the effect
mentioned in the topic sentence. In the chart below are the main ideas of the
above paragraph, to help you understand the relationships better:

EFFECT CAUSES
(Topic Sentence) (Supporting Sentences)

Factory jobs

Cities have grown very large. Better schools

(There are several reasons for this.)

Places of leisure, entertainment, and culture

Notice also how the topic sentence is followed by the "focusing" or "prediction"
sentence, There are several reasons for this. Such sentences help the reader
anticipate the organization of the paragraph or essay.
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 Cause and Effect Paragraph
by
Engin Alkan

Exercise: Study the information and write a paragraph to describe the causes of the
increase in traffic accidents.

CAUSES OF
ROAD
ACCIDENTS

errors weather
mechanical conditions
by too many cars
failures
drivers e.g. rain, snow

excessive speed
faulty brakes
roads wet, icy,
difficulty in heavy traffic
slippery
car not stopped stopping car

bald tyres drunk driving

hard for drivers to drivers get
car not stopped in lack of control their cars nervous
time concentration 8
 Cause and Effect Paragraph
by
Engin Alkan

1. cause-words+ a clause

Because
Since I woke up late, we missed the bus.
As

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 Cause and Effect Paragraph
by
Engin Alkan

2. cause words + noun

Because of
On account of bad weather, the match was cancelled.
Owing to
Due to

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 Cause and Effect Paragraph
by
Engin Alkan

2. Focus on Effect
This means that your supporting sentences
become a list of effects (what a certain situation has
led to or has resulted in).

EFFECT

EFFECT
CAUSE

EFFECT

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 Cause and Effect Paragraph
by
Engin Alkan

Many people are worried about what television has done to the generation of American children
who have grown up watching it. For one thing, recent studies tend to show that TV stifles creative
imagination. Some teachers feel that television has taken away the child's ability to form mental
pictures in his own mind, resulting in children who cannot understand a simple story without visual
illustrations. Secondly, too much TV too early tends to cause children to withdraw from real-life
experiences. Thus, they grow up to be passive spectators who can only respond to action, but not
initiate it. The third area for concern is the serious complaint frequently made by elementary school
teachers that children exhibit a low tolerance for the frustrations of learning. Because they have been
conditioned to see all problems resolved in 30 or 60 minutes on TV, they are quickly discouraged by
any activity that promises less than instant gratification. But perhaps the most serious result is the
impact of television violence on children, who have come to regard it as an everyday thing. Not only
does this increase their tolerance of violent behavior in others, but most authorities now concede that
under certain conditions, some children will imitate anti-social acts that they witness on television.
 Cause and Effect Paragraph
by
Engin Alkan

Effect 1…………………………….……

Effect 2…………………………….……
What television has done to children
Cause Effect 3…………………………….……

Effect Effect 4…………………………….……

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 Cause and Effect Paragraph
by
Engin Alkan

Exercise: Write a paragraph to describe the effects of pollution on human beings.

Effect paragraphs are the opposite of cause paragraphs. They describe the effects of
a given thing or event.
Brainstorming (what are the effects of pollution on humans?):

oil spills dying forests destruction of animal/human habitats

greenhouse gases rising sea levels global warming
ozone layer fertilizer animal extinction cancer
air pollution noise pollution water pollution food
illness acid rain carbon dioxide stress
poison lung diseases smog nuclear disaster/waste
rubbish health psychological problems

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 Cause and Effect Paragraph
by
Engin Alkan

Possible plan / outline:

Topic sentence: Pollution has many effects on human beings.
Major Support A: health problems
Minor Support 1: smog - lung diseases
Minor Support 2: poison – cancer
Major Support B: destruction of habitat
Minor Support 1: oil spills,
Minor Support 2: nuclear disaster
Major Support C: psychological effects
Minor Support: living in clean, unspoilt areas vs. living
in a polluted city the Swiss Alps vs. London
Concluding Sentence: Health problems, destruction of habitat and
psychological effect result from pollution.
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 Cause and Effect Paragraph
by
Engin Alkan

Sentence Connectors
Group 1

; as a result,
; consequently,
Children watch too much television ; therefore, they lose creativity.
(cause) ; because of this, (effect)
; hence,

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 Cause and Effect Paragraph
by
Engin Alkan

Group 2

are so interested in television that

watch so much television that they lose creativity.
Children
watch so many TV programs that (effect)
(cause)
watch such a lot of television that
are such avid TV watchers that

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 Cause and Effect Paragraph
by
Engin Alkan

Group 3
Children lose creative ability since they watch so much TV
because (cause)
(effect ) because of the fact that

Group 4

is the reason for

is responsible for
Watching too much television leads to loss of creative ability.
Too much television contributes to (effect)
(cause) results in
causes

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 Cause and Effect Paragraph
by
Engin Alkan

Group 5

results from
follows from watching too much television.
Loss of creativity is due to too much television.
(effect ) is a result of (cause)
is a consequence of

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Cause and Effect Paragraph
by
Engin Alkan

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 Eng 203
Academic English
Cause and Effect Paragraph

by
Engin Alkan
2020
Gazi University
Faculty of Engineering