GUIDE TO WRITING A CAUSAL ARGUMENT

GUIDE TO WRITING A CAUSAL ARGUMENT

to writing a causal argument

Finding a Topic

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You’re entering a causal argument when you:

  • state a cause and then examine its effects: The ongoing economic downturn has led more people to return to college to enhance their job market credentials.

  • describe an effect and trace it back to its causes: There has been a recent surge in the hiring of part-time contract workers, likely due to the reluctance of businesses to hire permanent employees who would be subject to new health care regulations.

  • trace a string of causes to figure out why something happened: The housing and financial markets collapsed in 2008 after government mandates to encourage homeownership led banks to invent questionable financial schemes in order to offer subprime mortgages to borrowers who bought homes they could not afford with loans they could not pay back.

  • explore plausible consequences (intended or not) of a particular action, policy, or change: The ban on incandescent lightbulbs may draw more attention to climate change than any previous government action.

Spend time brainstorming possibilities for causal arguments. Many public issues lend themselves to causal analysis and argument: browse the homepage of a newspaper or news source on any given day to discover plausible topics. Consider topics that grow from your own experiences.

It’s fair game, too, to question the accuracy or adequacy of existing arguments about causality. You can write a strong paper by raising doubts about the facts or assumptions that others have made and perhaps offering a better causal explanation on your own.

Researching Your Topic

Causal arguments will lead you to many different resources:

  • current news media — especially magazines and newspapers (online or in print)

  • online databases

  • scholarly journals

  • books written on your subject (here you can do a keyword search, either in your library or online)

  • blogs, Web sites, or social networking sites

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In addition, why not carry out some field research? Conduct interviews with appropriate authorities on your subject, create a questionnaire aimed at establishing a range of opinions on your subject, or arrange a discussion forum among people with a stake in the issue. The information you get from interviews, questionnaires, or open-ended dialogue might provide ideas to enrich your argument or evidence to back up your claims.

Formulating a Claim

For a conventional causal analysis, try to formulate a claim that lets readers know where you stand on some issue involving causes and effects. First, identify the kind of causal argument that you expect to make (see “Understanding Causal Arguments” for a review of these kinds of arguments) or decide whether you intend, instead, to debunk an existing cause-and-effect claim. Then explore your relationship to the claim. What do you know about the subject and its causes and effects? Why do you favor (or disagree with) the claim? What significant reasons can you offer in support of your position?

End this process by formulating a thesis — a complete sentence that says, in effect, A causes (or does not cause or is caused by) B, followed by a summary of the reasons supporting this causal relationship. Make your thesis as specific as possible and be sure that it’s sufficiently controversial or intriguing to hold a reader’s interest. Of course, feel free to revise any such claim as you learn more about a subject.

For causal topics that are more open-ended and exploratory, you may not want to take a strong position, particularly at the outset. Instead, your argument might simply present a variety of reasonable (and possibly competing) explanations and scenarios.

Examples of Causal Claims

  • Right-to-carry gun laws have led to increased rates of crime in states that have approved such legislation.

  • Sophisticated use of social media is now a must for any political candidate who hopes to win.

  • Grade inflation is lowering the value of a college education.

  • The proliferation of images in film, television, and computer-generated texts is changing the way we read and use information.

  • Experts don’t yet agree on the long-term impact that sophisticated use of social media will have on American political campaigns, though some effects are already evident.

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Preparing a Proposal

If your instructor asks you to prepare a proposal for your project, here’s a format that may help:

State your thesis completely. If you’re having trouble doing so, try outlining it in Toulmin terms:

Claim:

Reason(s):

Warrant(s):

Alternatively, you might indicate an intention to explore a particular causal question in your project, with the thesis perhaps coming later.

  • Explain why this issue deserves attention. What’s at stake?

  • Identify whom you hope to reach through your argument and why this group of readers would be interested in it.

  • Briefly discuss the key challenges you anticipate in preparing your argument.

  • Determine what research strategies you’ll use. What sources do you expect to consult?

  • Briefly identify and explore the major stakeholders in your argument and what alternative perspectives you may need to consider as you formulate your argument.

Considering Format and Media

Your instructor may specify that you use a particular format and/or medium. If not, ask yourself these questions to help you make a good choice:

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  • What format is most appropriate for your causal argument? Does it call for an academic essay, a report, an infographic, a brochure, or something else?

  • What medium is most appropriate for your argument? Would it be best delivered orally to a live audience? Presented as an audio essay or podcast? Presented in print only or in print with illustrations?

  • Will you need visuals, such as moving or still images, maps, graphs, charts — and what function will they play in your argument? Make sure they are not just “added on” but are necessary components of the argument.

Thinking about Organization

Your causal argument will likely include elements such as the following:

  • a specific causal claim somewhere in the paper — or the identification of a significant causal issue

  • an explanation of the claim’s significance or importance

  • evidence sufficient to support each cause or effect — or, in an argument based on a series of causal links, evidence to support the relationships among the links

  • a consideration of other plausible causes and effects, and evidence that you have thought carefully about these alternatives before offering your own ideas

Getting and Giving Response: Questions for Peer Response

Your instructor may assign you to a group for the purpose of reading and responding to each other’s drafts. If not, ask for responses from serious readers or consultants at a writing center. Use the following questions to evaluate a colleague’s draft. Be sure to illustrate your comments with examples; specific comments help more than general observations.

The Claim

  • Does the claim state a causal argument?

  • Does the claim identify clearly what causes and effects are being examined?

  • What about the claim will make it appeal to readers?

  • Is the claim too sweeping? Does it need to be qualified? How might it be narrowed and focused?

  • How strong is the relationship between the claim and the reasons given to support it? How could that relationship be made more explicit?

Evidence for the Claim

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  • What’s the strongest evidence offered for the claim? What, if any, evidence needs to be strengthened?

  • Is enough evidence offered to show that these causes are responsible for the identified effect, that these effects result from the identified cause, or that a series of causes and effects are linked? If not, what additional evidence is needed? What kinds of sources might provide this evidence?

  • How credible will the sources be to potential readers? What other sources might be more persuasive?

  • Is evidence in support of the claim analyzed logically? Is more discussion needed?

  • Have alternative causes and effects been considered? Have objections to the claim been carefully considered and presented fairly? Have these objections been discussed?

Organization and Style

  • How are the parts of the argument organized? Is this organization effective?

  • Will readers understand the relationships among the claims, supporting reasons, warrants, and evidence? If not, how might those connections be clearer? Is the function of every visual clear? Are more transitions needed? Would headings or graphic devices help?

  • Are the transitions or links from point to point, sentence to sentence, and paragraph to paragraph clear and effective? If not, how could they be improved?

  • Are all visuals (or other elements such as audio or video clips) carefully integrated into the text? Is each visual introduced and commented on to point out its significance? Is each visual labeled as a figure or a table and given a caption as well as a citation?

  • Is the style suited to the subject? Is it too formal, casual, or technical? Can it be improved?

  • Which sentences seem effective? Which ones seem weaker, and how could they be improved? Should short sentences be combined, and any longer ones be broken up?

  • How effective are the paragraphs? Too short or too long? How can they be improved?

  • Which words or phrases seem effective? Do any seem vague or inappropriate for the audience or the writer’s purpose? Are technical or unfamiliar terms defined?

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Spelling, Punctuation, Mechanics, Documentation, and Format

  • Are there any errors in spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and the like?

  • Is the documentation appropriate and consistent? (See Chapter 22.)

  • Does the paper or project follow an appropriate format? Is it appropriately designed and attractively presented?