Posted: May 23rd, 2015

Why more and more students are taking online classes

Description:
Cause and effect essays are used to show how one thing causes another thing to happen. The result is the effect.
Essay Part Scope Purpose (not all necessary for every essay)
Introduction General Background for the topic
Setting out the issues
Focusing the argument—the purpose of the essay

Description of the “Cause” Begins general; becomes increasingly specific What the specific conditions are
Specific illustrations of these conditions
How these specific illustrations are representative of (can stand in for) other situations
In this first part of the analysis, the writer needs to provide enough detail for the reader so the reader can understand the present situation. In addition, the writer needs to focus the description of the situation in such a way as to prepare for the “effect” that the writer is arguing for. For example, if the writer wants to argue that the loss of privacy has led to (or will lead to) a loss of individual freedom, then the description of how technology affects our privacy should focus on technologies that affect an individual’s freedom to act.

Description of the “Effect” Begins general; becomes increasingly specific What the specific effect is (or effects are)
How we get from the specific conditions to the specific effects
Specific illustrations of these effects
How these specific illustrations are representative of (can stand in for) others
In this second part of the analysis, the writer needs to walk the reader through the logical steps the writer has used to move from cause to effect. For example, if the writer argues that loss of privacy leads to loss of individual freedom, the writer needs to explain carefully how privacy and freedom are linked. So perhaps the writer might claim that privacy allows an individual to be free from the observation of others. With our privacy becoming increasingly limited by surveillance, we are no longer free from the observation of others. If we believe that we are always being watched, we will probably change our behavior and be less willing to take chances or act independently. If we feel we cannot act independently then we are no longer free.

Explanation of the meaning of the cause-and-effect relationship More General Why this analysis is important
How we might act upon the ideas the writer has presented
In this third part of the analysis, the writer argues for the importance of the argument’s findings, often by putting in perspective the short-term or long-term consequences of the “effect.” In addition, in this part the writer usually makes some sort of recommendation (what we should do). So if the writer is arguing that loss of privacy leads to loss of freedom, in this part the writer might speculate one what might happen if this trend towards further loss of privacy continues. In addition, the writer might describe some of the specific actions we can take to safeguard our existing privacy, or how legislation might provide such safeguards.

Conclusion General Summing up
How our understanding of the larger issue might be changed by the writer’s analysis
Appeal to the reader—how this situation affects us