A causal essay is a type of essay that requires examining a particular situation or event, and determining the causal relationship. Start by choosing a topic. Then, do some preliminary research and take notes to include in the essay. Once your research is complete, outline your essay based on your thesis statement and write an initial draft. After that, edit the draft carefully and have someone else do it too.
Step
Part 1 of 3: Preparing to Write
Step 1. Record the details of the task
Write down the task requirements given by the teacher. If you get an assignment sheet, read it carefully and take note of any statements. At a minimum, you should be aware of the submission deadline, essay length, required format, and opening statement.
If you are writing these details yourself, keep the notes in a safe place as you will need them throughout the writing process
Step 2. Understand the purpose of the task
Cause and effect essays do not always address these two elements. Know whether your essay should focus on cause, effect, or both. Also make sure whether you have to discuss the topics that have been given or determine the topic yourself.
For example, if you are asked to write down the causes of the War of Independence, you must mention the entry of Europeans looking for spices into the archipelago. Or, you are asked to write about the aftermath of the War of Independence, which means you may be discussing development and other short- and long-term effects. The combined causal essay will address both perspectives
Step 3. Narrow (or broaden) the topic
If you have to choose a topic yourself, it's a good idea to start looking for ideas. Write down all the topics that come to mind. Choose five that interest you the most. Consider how much information you can fit into an essay of the requested page length. Try breaking the topic into sections, and pick one.
- Check again to make sure your idea falls within the subject parameters requested by the teacher.
- Consider writing about moments close to your lifetime, such as events that impacted your life directly or indirectly. For example, the war period in your own time. Or, choose a controversial topic, such as the consequences of eating fast food. Another approach is to take the historical angle of events such as the War of Independence.
- Flexibly adjust the breadth or depth of the topic throughout the writing. At one point, you may need to add or remove certain topics to fit the task. For example, if you are writing about various acts of Sukarno during the War of Independence, you may need to narrow your focus and cover only one particular act.
Step 4. Read the material provided
If the teacher gives an article or assignment as part of the essay material, read it as soon as possible. The material can help you narrow the topic or to understand the topic. You can also use your own notes as a guide when you start writing.
This material is usually great for researching the topic further
Step 5. Do some background research
Look for sources (books, articles, etc.) that cover the topic from a variety of perspectives. Go through a lot of material as a starting point, reading whatever you can. Narrow your search once you find useful information. Be sure to jot down the information while doing your research so you can quote it correctly and avoid plagiarism.
- Check whether the source is in accordance with the guidelines provided by the teacher.
- If you're discussing a new topic, such as the impact of fast food production, you might want to use hands-on experience in your essay, which is also called a primary source.
Step 6. Ask the teacher questions
If there's something you want to ask during the writing process, contact the teacher by email (if possible) or ask in person. It's a good idea to write down your questions before meeting the teacher. You can also talk to other students this teacher has mentored and see if they can clarify the assignment.
One of the questions you can ask is, “Is there a minimum number of resources for this task?” Just make sure the question hasn't been answered in the worksheet
Part 2 of 3: Drafting an Essay
Step 1. Develop a thesis statement
After studying your notes, you will need to make a thesis statement, or argument, to guide the essay. This statement is what you have to prove in your essay. The thesis must be debatable and supported by facts that you discovered during your research.
- The thesis statement can be one sentence or several sentences, depending on what you are discussing. The thesis cannot be a quote, general fact, or question.
- When drafting a thesis statement, it's a good idea to consider what your evidence provides. Is the cause and/or effect clearly illustrated by the source? For example, if a number of sources state that disruptions in financial system stability were one of the causes of the 1998 Monetary Crisis, you might state that “The instability of the financial system in the 1990s was part of the factor that led to the 1998 Monetary Crisis.”
Step 2. Create the outline
Determine at least three broad themes or ideas that support the main thesis. This theme will separate the discussion sections. Place a smaller or more detailed idea or concept under this big idea. In the end, all parts of the framework contribute to proving the thesis.
- A five-paragraph essay usually contains three ideas, but you may have more to include. Adjust the number of ideas according to the topic and essay length requested.
- The outline should be flexible enough because you will find areas that need to be expanded or trimmed once you start writing.
- It may seem easy at first, but you don't have to limit your writing to a five-paragraph essay format, unless your teacher asks you to. If not, feel free to add paragraphs to the page limit to create a stronger argument.
Step 3. Create a solid introduction
The introduction is the first paragraph of the essay and is very important. The introduction must be able to attract the attention of the reader. This section should introduce the reader to the general topic. In addition, it also contains a thesis statement, usually in the last one or two sentences. For a cause-and-effect essay, you will need to explain whether you plan to cover both aspects or just one.
You can grab the reader's attention with an introduction in the form of a catchy quote, citing a source, or an anecdote. However, make sure it's brief. The introduction should be a shorter paragraph than the discussion paragraph
Step 4. Write a discussion paragraph
This is where you outline the outline. Each paragraph should address one particular element of the argument. In the cause section, you must describe the event and create a connection from the beginning with the effect section that follows. In the effect section, you should explain to the reader how you got from point A (cause) to point B (effect).
Don't forget to add at least one paragraph explaining why the relationship is important to readers on an individual or group level. This explanation can also be included in the cause and effect paragraph. This is an opportunity to make a weighty statement about the short-term and long-term impacts of the causal cycle. Basically, explain why the reader should care
Step 5. Emphasize the chronological order of cause and effect
When writing, make sure you emphasize that the cause being discussed occurs before the effect. And when writing an effect, make sure you can prove it happened after a certain cause. Avoid overlapping cause and effect so that there is no causal relationship.
For example, if you think that the 1998 Monetary Crisis caused an increase in unemployment, you must have statistics to support that perspective. However, unemployment existed before and after the crisis so the causal relationship should be clarified again
Step 6. Acknowledge or disprove other explanations
You must convince the reader that you are aware of any alternative arguments or approaches. When outlining the purpose of cause and effect, don't belittle other opinions or promise more than you can prove. Instead, use the evidence you have to show that while there are other causes or effects, the most important relationships are the ones discussed in your essay.
- For example, if you are writing about the causes of the 1998 Monetary Crisis, you should not only discuss domestic inflation, but also economic changes outside of energy. Or, if you focus solely on the relationship of the 1998 Monetary Crisis to inflation, don't forget to mention that you acknowledge there are other causes, along with a statement that you choose to focus on this aspect only.
- Proven points can be big or small. Its purpose is simply to explain how cause and effect are related.
Step 7. Draw solid conclusions
Use the concluding paragraph to summarize the thesis and the main supporting points. However, make sure your conclusion is brief, as this paragraph should be roughly the same length as the introduction. You can also indicate that your findings may change in the future if conditions or interpretations change.
Step 8. Combine specific details and broader statements
Throughout the discussion paragraph, you need to develop and present a natural combination of detailed evidence and a description or opinion. Without details, the essay will be too vague. Without an opinion, the reader only sees a list of facts without analysis.
Part 3 of 3: Refining the Final Draft
Step 1. Set aside for a while
After completing the first draft, put it aside for a while. Ideally, edit in a day or two, but that's not really possible if you're chasing a deadline. Taking your attention away from an essay is helpful because it allows you to look at it again with a new perspective. You will see errors and development areas that were not previously considered.
This is one reason not to procrastinate writing an essay like this. You need enough time to finish the process patiently in order to produce the best work
Step 2. Have a friend read it
Once you find out that you have an essay writing assignment, it's a good idea to ask your friend to check the rough draft. Before the essay is submitted, let them know if there are any 'difficult areas' you would like them to focus on.
For example, say "Please focus on the choice of words because that's my weakness."
Step 3. Read again and make revisions
After taking a short break from your essay and having someone else review it, begin the revision process. Find a quiet place to sit and read the essay word for word. Look for macro (major, major) and micro (smaller, detail) issues and make the necessary changes.
- Some people prefer to revise writing in the printed version. It can also save you the trouble if something goes wrong with the computer.
- One strategy is to divide the revision into two stages. One stage is for grammatical and spelling revision, and the other stage is checking arrangement and content.
Step 4. Pay attention to the transitions
When writing 'separate' essays, such as comparison/contrast or cause/effect essays, transitions should be clearly defined. This signals to the reader that you are moving from one area to another. Good transition words include “therefore”, “thus”, “as a result”, and more.
Tips
- Sometimes it helps if you read your essay aloud while editing. This allows you to spot errors that you might have missed if you read silently.
- You can also ask the teacher to see the initial draft, if he or she wishes.
Warning
- Be careful not to plagiarize or commit academic lies. Create your own work and ask the teacher for help if you need it.
- Make sure you save the essay that was written during the work. Computer problems can happen and you certainly don't want to lose any completed work.
