Planning a Cause Effect Essay

Planning a Cause/Effect Essay Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Liberty Students—Handout for

Cause-and-Effect (Causal) Argument

Content adapted from Chapter 11-7: Planning a Cause-and-Effect (Causal) Argument

When planning your cause-and-effect argument, follow the steps below:

1. Research the topic: social media and its effects on the culture of America to get a general feeling for the opinions asserted by other writers—both scholarly and through general Internet opinions.
2. Decide its significance. (What aspects of ‘change’ to the culture of America are important enough to gain the interest of your audience. What is your instructor trying to get you to show in your writing: argument, cause/effect relationships, and the effects of change on the American culture?)
3. Brainstorm possible causes and/or effect. (Which is most practical for your argument essay and most likely to appeal to your audience?)

Once you have made a decision as to your argument (your thesis) about the topic focus (your approach to the writing assignment—effects on American culture from social media) and mode of argument (cause/effect argument: effects on American culture caused by social media):

1.     Decide how much your audience already knows (How much background do you need to include in your essay body-paragraphs about the topic to help the reader understand/agree to your argument?)

2.   Research the topic for evidence to support your thesis argument. (Are there facts and examples in the research material to support your argument?  Remember, you have to have your thesis argument clearly in mind before locating research to support that thesis.  You will not be taking others’ view and using them to form your argument.  You will be creating your own argument/view on the issue and using limited scholarly source material to defend your argument.  Your argument needs to be yours; do not simply use other arguments from outside sources to create an argument.  Find your own voice in the argument to assert in your writing.)

3.   Explore opposing viewpoints to your proposed cause/effect argument. (Are you able to refute them and show your argument as more reasonable and appealing?  If not, you may want to reconsider some of your argument’s focus to make it stronger.)

© 2018 Jeanette L. H. Dick

For Educational Purposes Only

Planning a Cause/Effect Essay (Part 1)