Cause and effect essays focus on why things occurred and what happened
as a result. Cause and effect essay topics can vary from the personal to
the analytic. A writer might discuss what factors led him or her to pursue
a career as a writer (reading every day as a child, having a parent who
works as a newspaper reporter, always being surrounded by books and writers).
Or, a writer may want to analyze what events led up to a protest or riot.
It is important for a cause and effect essay writer to keep in mind that
the supporting sentences of an essay are reasons that explain the effect
mentioned in the topic sentence. The chart below explains this.
CAUSES(Supporting
Sentences)
Companies shut down and left town.
Better schools attracted families to move to the suburbs.
As more families moved to the suburbs, places of entertainment and culture popped up in the suburbs as well.
Companies shut down and left town.
Better schools attracted families to move to the suburbs.
As more families moved to the suburbs, places of entertainment and culture popped up in the suburbs as well.
EFFECT(Topic
Sentence)
City X has become a “donut hole.”
City X has become a “donut hole.”
City X has become a “donut hole.”
City X has become a “donut hole.”
City X has become a “donut hole.”
City X has become a “donut hole.”
Southern Illinois University
Edwardsville
