How To Write A Cause And Effect Essay 2023: Topics, Structure, Examples

Essay writing is an essential part of the academic learning process. Whether you are studying Languages, Literature, or any other subject, it is natural to come across assignments where you would have to write completely original pieces on different topics.

An essay is a piece of writing where a writer explores a topic and unearth a new dimension for the discourse. It does not have to be a reiteration of old ideas alone, but rather building on them and exploring new things in the field. 

There are different types of essays, based on their focal points and structures. The most common ones in schools and colleges are narrative essays, descriptive essays, argumentative essays, and expository essays. Since this blog is about cause and effect essays, which is one of the types of expository essays, we will define and explain it before getting into its mechanics.

Cause And Effect Essay 101

If the name is any indication, a cause and effect essay is a type of research-based writing that is based on finding causes or reasons behind an event or a phenomenon. The list of potential topics and focus areas can go on from simple correlations to complex ideas baked into different sections of the essay.

Take an example of deforestation as a focal point with the topic “causes and effects of deforestation in contemporary climate changes”. The causes behind deforestation will highlight the need for industrial fuel and other strategic needs, while the effects showcase the drastic changes in the climate.

This is what professional academic writers from top companies do when they provide the best essay help in Canada to students in schools and colleges. They receive instructions, do research, and come up with enough data to write the whole essay. In the end, they proofread and edit it to ensure everything is there. 

Purpose of Cause And Effect Essay Writing

One of the most effective ways to understand and learn about different types of essays is to understand the rationale behind writing them. While narrative essays can capture the imagination of the readers and descriptive essays can draw mental pictures, cause and effect essays have more “practical” or “pure” reasons. Writers compose riveting essays to educate the readers about the subject matter. They rely on certain formatting and structure to ensure that readers can understand the concepts behind the topic.

Elements of Cause And Effect Essay Writing

Being a type of expository essay, writers need to rely on objective information and a neutral voice and tone while explaining all the fine points. They cannot argue about one thing while rejecting the other but only present the two sides and let readers decide for themselves. They have factual information, even backed by empirical evidence, so that readers do not have a hard time understanding the matter.

Outlining A Cause And Effect Essay

First, there are polarizing opinions about outlining an essay, whether it is a comparative essay or a cause and effect one. Many writers believe that mapping out the whole essay potentially kills all the creativity and spontaneity out of the process. Whereas proponents say that outlining is always flexible and can accommodate better ideas in later drafts. It is done to speed up the initial drafting process so that novice writers and students do not get stuck on the first pages.

Since we are practitioners of outlining the cause and effect essays, we use it to speed up the process for our clients when they ask the question: “Can you do my essay for me?”

So, let’s go through the outlining process before we move on to the format or structuring of the paper.

• Introduction
  • Hook
  • Context
  • Thesis Statement
• Main Body
  • Causes
  • Effects
  • Evidence
• Conclusion
  • Rephrasing of Thesis
  • Summary of Main Points
  • Departing Thoughts

Based on this outline, writers can easily accommodate their text and ensure that they are sending their points across without losing anything in the translation.

Cause And Effect Essay Format

The format of the essay is the flow of the content and overall structure of the writing. Depending on the scope of the topic and the requirements of the instructors, it can be different for the same type of essay. The most common elements of the format are the referencing styles, including APA, Chicago Style, MLA, and so on. 

These elements are more on the advanced side of the academic aisle. For most students in high schools and colleges, writing a cause and effect essay is about structuring it in such a way that all the main points become cohesive and clear. With that in mind, let us go through the main sections that comprise an essay.

Introduction

This is where all the action starts. Since a cause and effect essay is a type of expository essay, writers need to provide only objective information in a neutral voice and tone. That means they cannot use hooks that are overly ambitious or dramatic hook. Still, they need to capture the imagination of the readers with something moving. That’s why they can even use the thesis, in the beginning, to move through the barriers. After providing some context after the opening lines, they need to round off the opening section and pave the way for the main body paragraphs. 

Body Paragraphs

In a 5-paragraph essay, the main body gets at least three to make and prove a point. This makes this section the bulk of the essay. First, writers think that they have much to work on in this section so it is alright to beat around the bush. Ideally, they need to make every word count so that the continuity and flow of the text from the opening and the main body to the conclusion stays the same.

The body paragraphs, all three of them, can be treated according to the scope of the topic and the choice of the writer. The two most common practices for cause and effect essays are blocks and chains. In the block style of writing, writers provide causes and their effects in the same place. However, the latter style deals with the same issue but highlights all the causes once and then all the effects later on.

What works best for the writer is his choice, especially when it is not prescribed by the instructors.

Conclusion

The closing paragraph of the essay is the most significant one, in terms of connecting with the readers and making the writing better for them. Many novice writers and students make the mistake of going through this section half-heartedly resulting in poor engagement and lasting effect on scholars.

The start of the conclusion should rephrase or restate the thesis. This will circle back to the main point at the opening of the essay. Then, all the main ideas and points discussed in the body paragraphs should be summarized. Once it is done, writers need to come up with moving and catchy departing lines to ensure that readers have something effective and memorable from the essay.

Best Cause And Effect Essay Topics

One of the problems that many students face is that they have to come up with a topic and then turn it into a title for their cause and effect essays. This is an added step to the whole process which is full of uncertainty and issues. Still, they can use the power of the internet and find resources like this one to not only get ideas for topics but also learn the mechanics and dynamics of cause and effect essay writing. 

For those who cannot write their essays and have requests like “do my homework for me” where they need to submit original cause and effect essays, we can certainly help them with that.

As for the topics shared in this section, students can pick them as they are or they can experiment with them, adding new dimensions and angles, to come up with something truly original. So, let’s get started!

Topics On Education

Education and pedagogy is one of the most debated topics in the country. People are always arguing about what is best for students, how the changes in the current system will unravel for the teachers, and so on. While students are in schools and colleges, it is good for them to take up these topics and put a twist of cause and effect on them. Anything that can be thought-provoking is good for young writers.

• The Effects of remote learning on the Academics of Students
• Longer academic hours and their outcomes for students and teachers
• Standardized tests and dropouts – causes, effects, suggestions
• The causes behind students losing motivation and how much general grading is responsible
• Why do many students find the process of learning and studying hard?
• The correlations between the adoption of technology and outcomes in the quality of education
• Why are good athletes bad students and how general play can improve academics?
• Discuss the good and bad outcomes of enforcing uniforms in schools
• What are the effects of taking gap years on a student’s academic and professional success?
• Fine arts and academic learning – the causes behind the art falling out of grace.

Topics On Social Media

Social media is a force of nature at this point. Whether you are fond of online networks or against them, there is no way you can insulate yourself and those around you from this. Since it plays a major role in all areas of life, both individual and social, students can come up with different areas of research to understand the concepts and ace the cause and effect essay.

• What is the cause behind the abnormal amount of usage of social media?
• Is social media the cause behind strains in family relations?
• The causes and effects of social media usage in children
• Why are social media channels making people more lonely?
• Effects of social media and cellphones on Teenagers
• The positive and negative effects of integrating social media with education
• The causes behind the popularity of Snapchat and Instagram
• Why do social media channels losing users in many regions around the world?

Topics On National Events

National events play a major role in the narrative that the country holds for different things. Whether students are in their high schools or colleges, it pays to take up issues from the national repository and then work on them through the angle of causes and their effects, both in the long and short term.

• Causes of the BLM Movement and its Effects on global racial relations
• What are the reasons behind police brutality toward marginalized communities?
• Was COVID-19 the only reason behind the global lockdown?
• The long-term effects of coronavirus vaccines on children and elderly
• The causality behind natural disasters
• Possible Effects of the Mars Program and its Subsequent Colonization
• Impact of Quarantine on Unemployment in the US
• Mass strikes in Brazil and their effects on the North American markets
• Social conflicts in India and their results in the region

Topics On History

History plays a major role in our lives, not only in academia but also in how we go about our practical lives. The shadows of the events of the past hardly fade away, and students in academic institutions are in a great position to study and understand the historical events and then turn them into excellent cause and effect essays.

• The ongoing effects of slavery and racial discrimination in the US
• Reasons Behind Civil War and its Effects in Today’s World
• The Assassination of John F. Kennedy and its Effects on modern politics
• Reasons for Dismantling of the USSR and the Rise of China
• Effects of the Cuban Missile Crisis on Citizens
• Causes and Effects of the Pact between Hitler and Stalin
• Causes Behind Arab Spring and its Effects on the Region
• Salem with trials – causes, and effects
• The aftermath of the Pearl Harbor attack by the Japanese Kamikaze

Topics On Politics

Politics is everywhere, in both its good and bad forms. Instead of escaping from it, students need to study it objectively and come up with different angles that can illuminate the underlying issues and their solutions. 

• Causes for the rise of the democratic system in the US
• The aspirations behind people choosing politics as a profession
• The effects of illegal immigration the society and country
• The core causes behind the success of British colonialism
• Are there any positive effects of colonialism?
• The ultimate trigger behind American Revolution
• Causes and effects of the rise in immigration rates in the US
• Possible negative implications of drug legalization
• Poor political leadership – causes, effects, remedies
• Effects of healthcare programs through the Years

How To Write A Cause And Effect Essay

At this point, we have already defined what a cause and effect essay is, its format and structuring, as well as some of the best areas of research for young scholars and writers. As a premier writing business, we can lend a word or two for writing a good one.

That’s why this section is dedicated to writing a complete cause and effect essay with ease. Since we have divided the whole process into simple steps, students will have no issue following the breadcrumbs we have laid in their paths.

Brainstorming & Testing of Ideas

Not all ideas that come into your head are great and worthy of further pursuit. But how can you know about that for sure? There is a simple exercise – brainstorming and testing of ideas. The drill is straightforward; jot down three to five good ideas and then explore them deeper to see if they hold any water. 

Developing A Thesis

A thesis statement is an essential part of an essay. No essay is complete without one. Many writers develop a thesis in the pre-writing stage as it helps them in steering the whole text in the right direction. But if you cannot do that and have some idea of what you want to write about, you can come back to the thesis part after completing the process of writing.

Mapping Out Major Paragraphs

Mapping out major paragraphs is just like outlining but with some restraint. Since many students and novice writers face difficulties down the road, they can make amends in the first place by determining the scope and extent of each paragraph. This will make a 5-paragraph essay much easier to write.

Writing The First Draft

The first draft of your essay needs to be written fast. After completing the preliminary phases, instead of taking some time off, writers need to quickly get on with the main task. There will be errors and mistakes in the text, regarding grammar, spelling, and context. But the main aim here is to go on.

Proofreading & Revisions

We asked writers to write quickly because we have a dedicated session for proofreading and editing. The mistakes you knew you made and the ones you didn’t know, all can be covered in this phase. For speeding up the process, you can use online tools, such as Grammarly and Hemingway Editor, that identify issues with your text and offer solutions.

Once you have fine-tuned the draft, it is time to submit it for evaluation.

Key Takeaways

Essay writing is a hard vocation. Writers need to go through multiple drafts and unseen problems before they can meet all the requirements. When it is about writing a cause and effect essay, they need to do a lot of research and put down their points carefully to get the best response. In this resource, we have provided everything that a novice writer or a student could ask for – explanations, topic suggestions, and guides. So, it is time to pick up the pen and start writing!