Learning from Other Writers

The following essays explore causes and effects, each examining a different environment. To help you begin to analyze the first reading, look at the notes in the margin. They identify features such as the thesis, or main idea, and the first of the causes or effects that the paper analyzes.

As You Read These Cause-and-Effect Essays

As you read these essays, ask yourself the following questions:

  1. Does the writer explain causes? Or effects? Or both? Why?
  2. Does the writer perceive and explain a chain or series of causal relationships? If so, how are the various causes and effects connected?
  3. What evidence does the writer supply? Is the evidence sufficient to clarify the causal relationships and to provide credibility to the essay?