How to Write an Organized-Developed Cause and Effect Essay (5-Paragraphs)

The cause and effect essay gives writers a chance to pick one element that can have several positive or negative effects. In this type of essay, the writer is able to explore how one cause can have many effects in life. Before entering advance level English courses in college, many basic college level English classes assign a mandatory 5-body paragraph cause and effect essay. The purpose of this writing is to help writers have a thought, develop that thought, organize that thought, and stay on topic with that thought. Moreover, the cause and effect essay helps writers think about how one element can really have an effect on a person or many people. Your aim in this type of essay is to make your reader more aware of the effects that one cause can create. Following these simple steps, I assure my readers that this type of writing is easy. My first step is just a few tips to keep in mind before writing your first draft of a cause and effect essay. Step 2-6 is a step-by-step recipe to follow; each step contains the ingredients that belong in each body paragraph. Furthermore, in each step, I provide a sample paragraph that compliments those ingredients.

Things You'll Need

• Time, patience, motivation, self discipline, and a place to write.

Instructions

1. 

   1. You should take some time to think about a simple element of "cause" that you want to explore. Once you decide what you your element is, be sure to think of at least "three effects" that result from this cause. Follow the recipe in the next 5 steps for a clear example.

2. 

   Introduction.
   a). Start off with about 3-4 sentences of general discussion of your topic. Think about the one term/element that you will be the direct cause of the effects. Your general statement can simply be one scenario that sets off a chain of effects.

   b). In about 2 sentences, mention various ways that this one cause can have an effect on other people.

   c. In 1 clear sentence, state your thesis. Your thesis should be 3 keywords/phrases that are direct effects from your cause. Your cause will be from the scenario that you use in your opening. Having 3 effects will allow you to have a solid and organized guide to follow for your up coming 3 body paragraphs. Each paragraph will discuss the 3 effects.

   Sample Introduction: The lower case letters in all of the 5 paragraphs are a guidline that will show how all the ingrediants from the format appear in the actual paragraph.

   (a)Imagine driving home from some function with friends, family, or work, and all of the sudden your car starts to jerk and then gradually slow down. As you pull off the side of the road, you realize that you are completely out of gas, and you are in the middle of nowhere. Running out of gas is not an uncommon situation, but when it happens you never really expected it, even if you were aware that your tank is running low. Sometimes drivers get preoccupied with other matters. (b)For some people the effect of running out of gas can cause panic or distress. For other people, running out of gas can cause a person to be late for supper or a class. (c) However, the most common effects of running out of gas are the loss of a job from being late, danger from being in an unknown place, or receiving a traffic ticket for carelessness.

3. 

   Body 1.
   a). In about 2-3 sentences, explain the first effect that you mention in your thesis. Tell why this effect is even worth discussing; tell why this effect is an important result of your cause.

   b). In about 3-4 sentences, provide a very clear and specific example to show
   your reader that this first effect is logical and easily
   convinces your reader to be more aware of such an effect. Your example should 100% support your reason from (a) in body 1.

   c). In 1 sentence, close off your paragraph.

   Sample of Body Paragraph 1:

   (a)The first effect that running out of gas can have on a person is the loss of a job. Sometimes people get preoccupied with other factors from their life, which can make a person forget about the little things, such as filling his or her tank up the night before. As a result, the person may be running late the next day for work and not have time to fill up for gas. Therefore, if that person has a demanding job with strict rules, that boss may not be understanding and fire the person for irresponsibility. (b) For example, my neighbor is always focusing on fun time rather then responsible time; he always waits until the last minute to fill his tank. Well, one day he was running late to work and had an empty tank. He believed he could make it to work and did not fill up. On his way to work, he ran out of gas and had to wait for two hours for a tow truck. When he got to work, his boss fired him, and he lost a great job. (c)If he would have always made sure that his tank was full, then he would not have faced such a horrible effect from running out of gas.

4. 

   Body 2:
   a). Using a transitional phrase, in another set of 2-3 sentences, explain the
   second effect from your thesis. Explain why this one effect is suitable and convincing for your reader to be more aware of the results from such a cause. Try to have a different explanation from your first.

   b) In about 3-4 sentences, provide a very clear and specific example to show
   your reader that your second effect for this cause is logical and
   easily works for you and for others. Your example should 100% support
   your reason from (a) in body 2. Try to have a different example from you
   first

   c). In 1 sentence, close off your paragraph.

   Sample of Body Paragraph 2:

   (a)Another effect that running out of gas can cause is danger. If a person is driving and he or she runs out of gas in an unknown territory, that person may very well be in danger of facing a criminal. Moreover, facing this danger is not only devastating to the victim, but it can have tremendous effects on the victims loved ones. (b)I will never forget the day that I woke up and turned on the news. The news reporter was standing at the side of an abandoned road surrounded by police. The reporter said that a young lady was found beaten to death. According to the news and her family's interview, the woman was said to be driving home from a party, and she ran out of gas and pulled over in an unsafe neighborhood. As she waited for the tow truck, two escaped convicts pulled her out of her car, beat her, and robbed her. I cannot imagine the torment that this poor lady's family must have felt knowing that this happened because she ran out of gas; I also can not imagine what this poor woman went through. (c)If this woman would have had a full tank, then chances are she would have driven home safely because she would not have had to pull over.

5. 

   Body 3:
   a). Using another transitional phrase, in another set of 2-3 sentences, explain
   the third effect from your thesis. Again, convince your reader of the effect
   that this cause can create. Try to
   have a different explanation from your first and second.

   b) In about 3-4 sentences, provide a very clear and specific example to show
   your reader that your third effect is logical and
   easily works for you and for others. Your example should 100% support
   your reason from (a) in body 3. Try to have a different type of example
   from your first and second.

   c). In 1 sentence, close off your paragraph.

   Sample of Body Paragraph 3 :

   (a)Finally, running out of gas can have the effect of a traffic violation. Receiving a traffic ticket from having an empty tank of gas is not only humiliating, but it can raise your insurance. (b)For instance, one day I was running late for school, and I did not realize that my gas tank was empty. I thought that I would still make it to school, so I drove right past the gas station. Half way to school, my car started to jerk, and before I knew it, I was pulled over with an empty tank of gas. A few minutes later, a police officer pulled up next to me and asked me if everything was okay. Unaware that an empty tank of gas could result in a ticket, I told him the problem. He got off his bike, wrote me a ticket, and humiliated me by calling me an idiot. The ticket was equivalent to a speeding ticket, and my insurance went up in monthly fees. (c)If I would have been more responsible, I would have made sure my tank was full the night before, or leave early for school to fill up. Instead, I now have an imperfect driving record.

6. 

   Conclusion:
   a). In about 2 sentences, restate your thesis. However, be sure that you
   use different wording when doing this.

   b). In about 3-4 sentences briefly re-mention all the examples of the
   effects from your cause. Simply re-
   mention the specific examples in your body paragraphs. This will allow
   you to sum up your entire essay.

   c). In about 1-2 sentences, be sure to have a closing and intelligent
   thought to seal off your entire essay.

   Sample Conclusion:

   (a)In conclusion, running out of gas can have devastating effects; these can include losing a job, facing danger from being stranded in unknown territory, and/or receiving a traffic violation. (b)If my neighbor were more responsible and have filled his tank with gas the night before, then chances are he would not have lost his job from being late. Moreover, if the young lady of the news report would have had a full tank of gas, then she and her loved ones would not have had to face the macabre of that horrible night. Finally, if I would have allowed myself enough time to fill up my tank, then I would not have received a traffic violation from that humiliating police officer, and my insurance would not have gone up in price. (c)We all face responsibilities in our everyday lives, and some responsibilities we treat with more importance than others, but one responsibility that I will never ever overlook again or treat with indifference is making sure that I always have a full tank of gas.

7. 

   Always be sure to edit for global organization and content, and be sure to proofread for any grammatical and mechanical errors within your sentence structure.

Tips & Warnings

• This is not the only way to write a cause and effect essay; this is only one format to assist with organization and development of thought.