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Cause and Effect Essay Outline: Types, Examples and Writing Tips

Cause and Effect Essay Outline: Types, Examples and Writing Tips
What is a Cause and Effect Essay?
A cause and effect essay is the type of paper that author is using to analyze the causes and effects of a particular action or event. A curriculum usually includes this type of exercise to test your ability to understand the logic of certain events or actions.


If you can see the logic behind cause and effect in the world around you, you will encounter fewer problems when writing. If not, writing this kind of paper will give you the chance to improve your skillset and your brain’s ability to reason.


― Ralph Waldo Emerson


In this article, we’ll find out how to create an outline for your cause and effect essay – the key to successful essay writing.


Before writing this kind of essay, you need to draft the structure. A good structure will result in a good paper, so it’s important to have a plan before you start. /But remember/, there’s no need to reinvent the wheel: just about every type of structure has already been formulated by someone.


If you are still unsure about the definition of the essay, find that out with our guide: What is an Essay?


Generally speaking, there are three types of cause and effect essays. We usually differentiate them by the number of and relationships between the causes and the effects. Let’s take a quick look at the various kinds:


This kind of essay illustrates how different causes can lead to one effect. The idea here is to try and examine a variety of causes, preferably ones that come from different fields, and prove how they contributed to a particular effect. If you are writing about World War I, for example, mention the political, cultural, and historic factors that led to the great war.


By examining a range of fundamental causes, you will be able to demonstrate your mastery of the topic.


Here is how to structure this type of essay:


This type of cause and effect essay is constructed to show the various effects of a particular event, problem, or decision. Once again, you will have to demonstrate your comprehensive knowledge and analytical mastery of the field. There is no need to persuade the reader or present your argument. When writing this kind of essay, an in-depth knowledge of the problem or event’s roots will be of great benefit. If you know why it happened, it will be much easier to write about the effects.


Here is the structure for this kind of essay:


This is the most challenging type. You need to maintain a chain of logic that demonstrates a sequence of actions and consequences, leading to the end of the chain. Although this is usually the most interesting kind of cause and effect essay, it can also be the most difficult to write.


Here is the outline structure:


Let’s take a look at an example. Below, you will find an outline for the topic “The causes of obesity” /(Type 1)/:


As you can see, we used a blended strategy here. When writing about the ever-increasing consumption of unhealthy food, it is logical to talk about the marketing strategies that encourage people to buy fast foods. If you are discussing fitness trainers, it is important to mention that people need to be checked by a doctor more often, etc.


How do I start writing once I have drafted the structure?
If you start by structuring each paragraph and collecting suitable examples, the writing process will be much simpler. The final essay might not come up as a classic five paragraph essay – it all depends on the cause-effect chain and the number of statements of your essay.


In the Introduction, try to give the reader a general idea of what the cause and effect essay will contain. For an experienced reader, a thesis statement will be an indication that you know what you are writing about. It is also important to emphasize how and why this problem is relevant to modern life. If you ever need to write about the Caribbean crisis, for instance, state that the effects of the Cold War are still apparent in contemporary global politics.


In the Body, provide plenty of details about what causes led to the effects. Once again, if you have already assembled all the causes and effects with their relevant examples when writing your plan, you shouldn’t have any problems. But, there are some things to which you must pay particular attention. To begin with, try to make each paragraph the same length: it looks better visually. Then, try to avoid weak or unconvincing causes. This is a common mistake, and the reader will quickly realize that you are just trying to write enough characters to reach the required word count.


Moreover, you need to make sure that your causes are actually linked to their effects. This is particularly important when you write a “chained” cause and effect essay /(type 3)/. You need to be able to demonstrate that each cause was actually relevant to the final result. As I mentioned before, writing the Body without preparing a thorough and logical outline is often an omission.


The Conclusion must be a summary of the thesis statement that you proposed in the Introduction. An effective Conclusion means that you have a well-developed understanding of the subject. Writing the Conclusion can be one of the most challenging parts of this kind of project. You typically write the Conclusion once you have finished the Body, but in practice, you will sometimes find that a well-written conclusion will reveal a few mistakes of logic in the Body!


Be sure to check the sample essay, completed by our writers. Use it as an example to write your own cause and effect essay. Link: cause and effect essay sample: advertising ethic issues.



Pay attention to the language you use. Informal writing is not the best choice for this type of essay because they are academic works. But be aware that using an obscure vocabulary and complicated constructions can make your essay difficult to read.
Express your own opinions on a topic, not ones that belong to a researcher. The best way to do this is to be familiar with all the different research on the theme and use your critical thinking skills to construct your own arguments about the problem.


Don’t think you can write an excellent essay if you haven’t investigated the topic thoroughly. Dedicate time to reading the works of researchers who have studied the problem before you. If you do this, your readers will see that your essay is well-researched, and you will look more professional.
Don’t let the essay become illogical. This can happen to both beginners and advanced students. Beginners often don’t know enough to make the essay exciting and convincing, while more advanced students sometimes try to write everything that they know (ideas, history, theory, or facts). Make sure that your essay is logical, clear, and concise.

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