After Reading >> Writing Practice – Cause and Effect Essays

I. Introduction

Cause and effect essays are concerned with why things happen (causes) and what happens as a result (effects). Cause and effect is a common method of organizing and discussing ideas.

II. Procedure

Cause and effect essays are concerned with why things happen (causes) and what happens as a result (effects). Cause and effect is a common method of organizing and discussing ideas.

Follow these steps when writing a cause and effect essay.

1) Distinguish between cause and effect.

2) Develop your thesis statement. 

3) Find and organize supporting details.

• Chronological

• Order of importance

• Categorical

4) Using appropriate transitions.

Chronological:

thought about a friend → forgot to buy gas → car wouldn’t start → missed math exam →failed math course 

Categorical：

III. Useful Expressions

IV. Homework

Describe some of the problems caused by overcrowding in cities and suggest at least one possible solution.

Model:

The twentieth century saw a major increase in the world’s population. Yet large parts of the globe remain uninhabitable, so people are drawn towards living in existing towns and cities. As a result our modern-day cities face a number of serious problems, which are due to overcrowding. Cities teeming with people are put under great strain to supply housing, health care, education, jobs and a certain quality of life for the inhabitants. The consequence of too dense a population is that one or all of these areas must suffer. Owing to being over-peopled, Britain’s main cities all have a number of people living on the streets. Life must be extremely hard for these people and one effect of such a lifestyle is that drug abuse and crime rates rise.

For this reason, we must look for some solutions to solve these problems. First of all, the over-populated cities have to be restructured. More community clinics and educational institutions are expected to be established to meet people’s growing demand of healthcare and education. Second, the suburban areas around the crowded cities should be developed so as to direct some people from cities to suburbs. However, since over-population is the root of all these headaches, the final key to these problems is to alter people’s outdated way of thinking — a belief that the more children you have, the happier you would be. Therefore, the society has to boost a kind of modern and scientific family structure among people.