Cause and Effect Analysis

1. Cause and Effect Analysis Kamber Fishbein, Corey Harris, Grace Lubin, Susannah Oleson, Paige Petrashko

2. Definition of Cause-and-Effect Cause-and-Effect Analysis is the method of dividing occurrences into their elements to find relationships among them

3. How to Read Cause-and-Effect • In arguing with cause and effect analysis, they try to demonstrate why one explanation of causes is more accurate than another or now a proposed action will produce desirable or undesirable consequences • Related events sometimes overlap, sometimes follow one another immediately, and sometimes connect over gaps in time. They vary in their duration, complexity, and importance. Analyzing causes and effects thus requires not only identifying them but also discerning their relationships accurately and weighing their significance fairly. • Causes and effects usually occur in a sequence known as a casual chain. Identifying a casual chain requires sorting out events in time as either immediate or remote and identifying their relative importance in the sequence as major or minor. • Immediate causes or effects occur nearest an event. • Remote causes or effects occur further away in time. • Major causes are directly and primarily responsible for the outcome. • Minor causes merely contribute to the outcome.

4. Analyzing Cause-and-Effect I still live in the vicinity of Kyoto, in a two-room apartment that makes my old monastic cell look almost luxurious by comparison…I have no bicycle, no car, no television I can understand, no media-and the days seem to stretch into eternities,and I can’t think of a single thing I lack. I’m no Buddhist monk, and I can’t say I’m in love with renunciation in itself, or traveling an hour or more to print out an article I’ve written, or missing out on the NBA Finals. But at some point, I decided that, for me at least, happiness arose out of all I didn’t want or need, not all I did.  And it seemed quite useful to take a clear, hard look at what really led to peace of mind or absorption (the closest I’ve come to understanding happiness).  Not having a car gives me volumes not to think or worry about, and makes walks around the neighborhood a daily adventure.Lacking a cell phone and high-speed Internet, I have time to play ping-pong every evening, to write long letters to old friends, and to go shopping for my sweetheart (or to track down old baubles for two kids who are now out in the world). 

5. Developing a Cause-and-Effect Essay Thesis: • State your subject, your perspective on it, and your purpose; use an explanatory or persuasive thesis Organizing: • The intro should describe the situation whose causes of effects you plan to analyze, or summarize the analysis of causes or effects that the essay disputes • Body paragraphs with chronological sequence or in order of increasing importance • Conclusion that restates the thesis and summarizes points Drafting: • Strive for clarity: details, strong examples, concrete explanation; use facts

6. Revising and Editing Cause-and-Effect Essay Have you explained the causes or effects clearly and specifically? • Explain the sequence and importance of events using facts, examples, and other evidence so readers accept your analysis Have you demonstrated that causes are not merely coincidences? • Do not assume that one event is caused by another just because of the order; Explain that one event causes another using ample evidence Have you considered all possible causes or effects? • Do not oversimplify the cause-and-effect relationships; present them with all their complexity Have you represented the cause-and-effect relationships honestly? • Don’t deliberately ignore or exaggerate causes or effects to strengthen your argument. If it doesn’t support your thesis but still doesn’t invalidate it, mention the cause and explain why you believe it to be unimportant. If a cause will have bad effects as well as good, mention the bad effects and explain how they are outweighed by the good. If your reasoning and evidence are good, the readers will appreciate your fairness. Have you used transitions to signal the sequence and relative importance of events? • Transitions pinpoint causes and effects (as a result) clarify the steps of a sequence (first), link events in time (in the same month), specify duration (a year later), and indicate importance (even more crucial).

7. Five Points to Remember When Writing Cause-and-Effect • Broad subjects should be narrowed to something whose complexities can be covered adequately • When developing a thesis, state the subject, your perspective, and your purpose for writing the essay; can be explanatory of persuasive • Arrange the causes or effects in sequence and weigh their relative importance in body paragraphs • Use accurate facts or quotations from experts to support the assertions given and prove validity • Focus on clarity and conciseness by removing excess details in order to move main ideas to the front

8. Homework Read “The Backdraft of Technology” by Stephanie Alaimo and Mark Koester, then write a practice précis

9. Practice Précis In “The Backdraft of Technology” (2006), Stephanie Alaimo and Mark Koester claim that the mechanization of the service industry has “only increased profit margins for large corporations and have reduced the need to hire employees” (7).  Alaimo and Koester describe the technological disaster in the typical “automated grocery store. ‘Please scan your next item,’ a repetitively chilling, mechanical voice orders you” (2).  They describe the role of technology in the service industry in order to prove that “choosing convenience often translates to eliminating actual jobs that provide livelihoods and opportunities to many” and urge shoppers to “think before you simply follow the next technological innovation” (12-14).  Alaimo and Koester address the common consumer who chooses convenient, mechanical service tools and advises them to “say ‘no’ to self-checkout” because their choice can ruin the career of a typical service worker.