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                        CAUSE AND EFFECT
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	Since childhood we have been discovering the causes and
effects of our actions.  At a very young age we discovered that
hot things burned us, that crying brought our parents, and that
unacceptable behavior brought punishment.  As a mode of
expository writing, cause and effect analyzes the result caused
by a combination of forces, or the force which causes various
results.  In plainer language, a cause and effect essay examines
the result of several causes, the cause for several results, or a
single cause and its effect.  The writer of such a paper will
often find it necessary, due to the analytical nature of cause
and effect, to rely on other modes of expository writing.  For
example, certain causes or effects need to be described, defined,
compared or contrasted before they can be analyzed.

PRINCIPLES

	An author must keep in mind three principles of cause and
effect before he or she begins to write.  Much of the real work
in writing a cause and effect essay comes before writing, in the
pre-writing stage.  These principles will demonstrate the
importance of planning the cause and effect paper.

	First, the most damaging error to any cause and effect essay
is the creation of a "false cause."  This term comes from the
Latin formal logical fallacy entitled "post hoc ergo propter
hoc," which can be translated to "after this therefore because of
this."  In other words, just because one event occurs in time
before another event does not mean that the first event caused
the second.  Examples of this fallacy abound.  In fact, most of
our superstitions come from this sort of reasoning.  According to
superstition, black cats and broken mirrors bring bad luck, and
stepping on a crack will "break your mother's back."  When
planning your cause and effect essay be sure that you don't
commit this fallacy.

	Second, authors often commit an error related to the "post
hoc..." fallacy.  That is, often causes are cited which are
totally irrelevant to the effect merely because they happen at
the same time.  Coincidence often is the cause of such an error.
For instance, if you get the measles one day after you visit a
friend who has them, it might seem that you got the measles from
your friend.  However, the visit was not the cause; measles have
a fourteen day incubation period.

	Third, all authors of cause and effect essays must
distinguish between remote and immediate causes and effects.  In
a cause and effect essay of 500 words it is probably best to deal
with immediate causes and effects due to the length of the paper.
If the purpose of a paper were to discover why Gerald Ford
pardoned Richard Nixon and the author cited the cause "because he
was born" he would be citing a remote cause.  In this case his
birth is an accepted fact which has little to do with the paper's
purpose.  The same error would be committed if this cause were
listed:  "because Nixon was involved in Watergate."  Better
causes could be 1) political pressure, 2) governmental need, or
3) citizen outcry.

CONVENTIONS

1.  If several causes are mentioned early in the paper but you
choose to cover them in depth later, be sure to keep them in the
same order so you avoid confusing the reader.

2.  Be sure to avoid predicting contradictory effects.  No one
will believe that you get all A's on the tests but an F in the
course because the instructor disliked your last name.

3.  Closely related to the convention above is another one of the
pitfalls of the cause and effect essay--rationalization.  In
determining causes and effects don't substitute what you wish
were the case for the facts.  For example, don't blame your test
grade on the fact that the class meets at 12:30.  Cause and
effect searches for the truth.

4.  Avoid confusing cause for effect.  Dissect your topic enough
that you can be sure of the causes and effects.  For instance,
you must decide if blue jeans are the cause or the effect of our
liberated society, and you must then make your reasoning clear to
your reader.

5.  If you have found the cause but not the effect of your topic,
you might ask yourself "so what?"  On the other hand, if you've
found the result but not cause, you might ask yourself "Why?"

STRATEGIES

1.  Predict the unforeseen results of a present day cause.

2.  Use cause and effect to discover and explain your beliefs in
or against an idea.

3.  Try taking a fresh look at history.  Select an incident from
the past and persuade the reader to consider the new view.

4.  Give some thought to comparing or contrasting several causes
and/or effects.  If you keep the paper well-organized, this
method can be quite interesting.

5.  Develop a new view on an accepted fact (or cliche).  You
might come up with a thesis such as "It's not the size of the dog
in the fight, but the size of fight in the dog."
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This handout adapted and revised by the Washburn University
Writing Center from one originally prepared by the Purdue
University Writing Lab, W. Lafayette, IN.
[org-cause.wm]