essay writing prompts

What Words To Use When Writing Cause/Effect Essays

A cause and effect essay is a piece of academic writing wherein you are tasked with writing about the causes of something or the effects of it. The writing should take a personal position in the matter and support it adequately enough to convince the reader that it is the best position in the discussion. Some examples include:

  • Writing about the causes of home invasions
  • Writing about the effects of regular exercise and diet

At times you may be tasked with writing on both the causes and effects, but more often than not you will be tasked with writing one or the other.

A good cause and effect essay is broken down into at least three areas:

  1. introduction
  2. body
  3. conclusion

    4. Your first paragraph should grab the attention of the reader. It should serve to introduce the topic and the main points you will cover.

    The body of the paper includes three or four paragraphs, each of which present a main point and supply support or evidence to support the main point.

    The final paragraph is the conclusion wherein you summarize your essay and leave a solid impression upon your reader.

    If you can do all of these in the aforementioned order, you will have a great paper.

    But for now, let us look at each part in more depth.

    The introduction should get the attention of the reader while also telling them what your essay will be about. If it is done well, the introduction will let your reader anticipate not just what comes next, but how your paper will be organized.

    The body should present the three causes or the three effects you will cover. If you are covering both, you can create two large paragraphs in the body, one for each, or four smaller paragraphs wherein you present two points from each side. The decision here is up to you. Some writers prefer putting the most important point in the first paragraph in order to get the attention of the readers while others like to save the best for last. The order is up to you. There is no right or wrong answer here. The key is to ensure there is a good transition in between each paragraph.

    The conclusion is where you summarize the main points you presented in the paper and leave the reader walking away with something. Some good words to use at the end include:

    • Keep in mind
    • The best thing
    • remember