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As you read the selections in this chapter, you will see how different authors make a provocative causal argument:

Analyzing how these writers present their subjects to their readers, persuade readers that their cause-effect reasoning is plausible, respond to alternative viewpoints, and organize their writing will help you see how you can employ similar strategies to make your own causal argument clear and compelling for your readers.

Determine the writer’s purpose and audience.

In analyzing possible causes or effects, writers exercise their imagination along with their logical thinking skills, but they also want to influence the way their readers think. As you read the causal arguments that follow, ask yourself questions like these:

What seems to be the writer’s main purpose in arguing for a cause or effect?

What does the author assume about the audience?

Assess the genre’s basic features.

As you analyze the causal arguments in this chapter, consider how different authors incorporate the basic features of the genre. The examples that follow are taken from the reading selections that appear later in this Guide to Reading.

A WELL-PRESENTED SUBJECT

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Look first at the title and opening paragraphs to see what the subject is and whether it is clearly and vividly established. Frequently, the title of a causal argument will identify the focus:

#socialnetworking: Why It’s Really So Popular (Pangelinan, title)

Why We Crave Horror Movies (King, title)

To establish the subject, a writer may cite statistics or provide graphic illustrations:

As Figure 1 below shows, the rise in popularity [of social media] cuts across all age groups. The most dramatic growth has been among young adults. . . . A 2015 survey reported that 71% of all teens use Facebook, along with sites like Instagram and Snapchat (Lenhart). Facebook has tended to outpace other networking outlets for adults as well, with 71% of online adults reporting they use Facebook (“Social Networking Fact Sheet”). (Pangelinan, par. 1)

A common approach to arousing the reader’s curiosity is to begin with a compelling anecdote:

It’s 9:30 p.m., and Stephen and Georgina Cox know exactly where their children are. Well, their bodies, at least. Piers, 14, is holed up in his bedroom — eyes fixed on his computer screen. . . . His twin sister Bronte is planted in the living room, having commandeered her dad’s iMac — as usual. (Wallis, par. 1)

The Insiko 1907 was a tramp tanker that roamed the Pacific Ocean. . . . The ship was about eight hundred miles south of Hawaii’s Big Island, and adrift. Its crew could not call on anyone for help, and no one who could help knew of the Insiko’s existence, let alone its problems. (Vendantam, par. 1)

Another common strategy for stimulating the audience to read on is to pose why questions:

The fact that social networking is popular is well established. The question is why is it so popular? (Pangelinan, par. 2)

When we [see] a horror movie, we are daring the nightmare. Why? Some of the reasons are simple and obvious. . . . (King, par. 2)

Why did so many people come forward to save Hokget? . . . Why did they feel a single abandoned dog on a stateless ship was their problem? (Vedantam, par. 11)

Why can we so easily walk down the street while engrossed in a deep conversation? Why can we chop onions while watching Jeopardy? (Wallis, par. 16)

A WELL-SUPPORTED CAUSAL ANALYSIS

Find where the writer identifies and discusses each possible cause or effect, and note which one(s) the writer favors as being the most plausible (the most likely to have played a significant role) as well as the most interesting (possibly because the cause or effect has been overlooked or underappreciated).

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Then assess the persuasiveness of the supporting evidence:

Although such habits may prepare kids for today’s frenzied workplace, many cognitive scientists are positively alarmed by the trend. “Kids that are instant messaging while doing homework, playing games online and watching TV, I predict, aren’t going to do well in the long run,” says Jordan Grafman, chief of the cognitive neuroscience section of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). . . . (Wallis, par. 13).

The evidence for what I am going to call the telescope effect comes from a series of fascinating experiments. . . . (Vedantam, par. 14)

Also check that the cause-effect argument makes sense — in particular, that the cause (or causes) could actually bring about the effect (or effects). Note whether either of these logical fallacies or errors of causal reasoning have been made:

AN EFFECTIVE RESPONSE TO OBJECTIONS AND ALTERNATIVE CAUSES OR EFFECTS

Notice where the author anticipates and responds to objections and alternative causes or effects. Often writers mention the well-known, predictable causes or effects first, but quickly put them aside to make room for a more detailed consideration of the writer’s preferred cause or effect. Here are a couple of sentence strategies that you might look for, followed by examples of these strategies in context:

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A CLEAR, LOGICAL ORGANIZATION

Read to see if the writer provides cues to help readers follow the logic of the causal argument. Essays arguing for causes or effects tend to be rather complicated because the writer has to establish that the subject exists, present a variety of causes or effects, and argue for those that are more likely to play an important role. So cues to help readers follow the argument are needed. Notice whether the writer asserts the preferred cause or effect in a thesis statement:

I believe our inability to wrap our minds around large numbers is responsible for our apathy toward mass suffering. (Vedantam, par. 9)

Some thesis statements may also include a forecasting statement. Typically, a forecasting statement in a causal argument identifies the main causes, effects, key supporting topics, or examples in the order they will be explored in the essay.

The fact that social networking is popular is well established. The question is why is it so popular? The most basic answer is that social networking is popular because it’s available. . . . A better answer, though, is that social media offer people a way to satisfy their desire to connect with others and maybe also be “world-famous for fifteen minutes” (to quote Andy Warhol). (Pangelinan, par. 2)

Writers may cue readers by repeating key terms from the forecasting statement. They may also repeat sentence patterns from the forecasting statement in the essay’s topic sentences to emphasize that another cause or effect, response to objections, or supporting example is coming.

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By repeating the same subject (we) and an active verb (can, are, go), King helps readers identify each new cause.

Writers may also use parallel grammatical structures to help readers recognize a series of supporting examples:

Consider the story of Emmalene Pruden, a YouTube sensation who began posting her video blogs on YouTube. . . . Consider also the story of Lisa Sargese, who “started blogging as a way to tell the truth about her life. . . .” (Pangelinan, pars. 3–4)

Each of these examples provides support for the claim that “our wiring impels us not only to share, but also to hear” (par. 2). Other cues writers may provide to guide readers include the following: