How to Write Cause and Effect Sentences and Paragraphs for Better Documents

Introduction

When writing, it’s important to use clear and concise sentences. This includes using proper grammar, punctuation, and organization. Another important aspect of writing is using cause-and-effect sentences and paragraphs.

What are Cause and Effect Sentences?

Cause and effect sentences are a very helpful tool for the writer to use to tell the story of their writing.

Once you understand how they work, you will be able to use them in all types of writing: documents, essays, short stories, and novels.

The first step is to identify your cause and effect.

By definition, “cause” is the action that makes something happen while “effect” is what happens as a result of that action.

These are the sentences that explain how one thing led to another. They are often used in writing to explain the results of a particular event or action.

Example

“The election of Donald Trump as president led to protests throughout the country.”

In this sentence, the election of Donald Trump is the cause and the protests throughout the country are the effect.

Positive and Negative Outcomes

These types of sentences can be used to explain both positive and negative outcomes.

Example

Here’s another example:

“Buying a new car led to me being able to save money on transportation costs.”

In this sentence, the cause is buying a new car and the effect is being able to save money on transportation costs.

What are the 5 Examples of Cause and Effect?

Cause: I drank too much last night. Effect: Now I have a headache.
Cause: He sent her a dozen red roses. Effect: She sent him a Thank You card.
Cause: He lost all his money at the poker table. Effect: Now he is on Welfare.
Cause: I had all my Covid-19 shots and boosters on time. Effect: I did not catch Covid.
Cause: The prices skyrocketed in the tourism sector. Effect: The number of tourists dropped.

How to Write Cause and Effect Sentences

Chronological Order

• Write in chronological order. Begin by writing the cause, then write the effect.

“The election of Donald Trump as president led to protests throughout the country.”

“Buying a new car led to me being able to save money on transportation costs.”

Short and Simple

• Keep it short and simple. Try not to use more than two sentences for each cause and effect.

“The election of Donald Trump as president led to protests throughout the country. In turn, these protests have pushed Congress to consider impeachment proceedings against President Trump.”

Avoid Long Sentences

• Avoid writing long sentences. Long sentences are difficult to follow and make your writing hard to understand. Instead, try writing several short sentences about the same cause and effect.

“The election of Donald Trump as president led to protests throughout the country. These protests have had a number of different effects, including pushing Congress to consider impeachment proceedings against President Trump.”

How to Write Cause and Effect Paragraphs

Cause and effect paragraphs are similar to cause and effect sentences, but they are longer and integrate multiple sentences. Here’s an example:

“The election of Donald Trump as president was a shocking result, and it led to protests throughout the country. These protests have had a number of different effects, including pushing Congress to consider impeachment proceedings against President Trump. Similarly, these protests have encouraged more people to vote in local elections. On the other hand, these protests have encouraged hate crimes against racial and religious minorities.”

In writing a cause and effect paragraph, follow the same rules as writing a cause and effect sentence. Be sure to write in chronological order, avoid writing long sentences, and keep it short and simple.

How can you use cause and effect paragraphs in your writing?

Cause and effect paragraphs can be used to explain the results of a particular event or action. They can also be used to compare and contrast different effects.

Here’s an example:

“The election of Donald Trump as president had both positive and negative effects. The positive effects include the passage of the Republican tax bill and the appointment of conservative judges. The negative effects include the increase in hate crimes and the departure of key White House staff.”

In this paragraph, the election of Donald Trump as president is the cause and the positive and negative effects are the effects. This paragraph can be used to compare and contrast the positive and negative effects of the election.

Results of a Particular Event or Action

Cause and effect paragraphs can also be used to explain the results of a particular event or action.

Example

“The election of Donald Trump as president led to protests throughout the country. These protests have had a number of different effects, including pushing Congress to consider impeachment proceedings against President Trump. Similarly, these protests have encouraged more people to vote in local elections. On the other hand, these protests have encouraged hate crimes against racial and religious minorities.”

In this paragraph, the cause is the election of Donald Trump as president and the effects are the positive and negative outcomes it has had on society. This paragraph can be used to explain what happened as a result of the election. It can also be used to compare and contrast the positive and negative effects of the election.

Cause and effect paragraphs can be used in a number of different ways, but the most important thing is to be clear and concise. Follow the tips above to write effective cause and effect paragraphs.

Cause and Effect Sentence Construction

Writing a cause-and-effect sentence is very commonplace in both fiction and non-fiction works.

Its structure is very simple and straightforward.

There are two basic types of cause and effect sentences:

1) You start with a CAUSE, then connect it to an EFFECT with a CONJUNCTION.

2) You start with an EFFECT, then connect it to a CAUSE with a CONJUNCTION.
An alternative form starts with the CONJUNCTION:

3) You start with a CONJUNCTION, then follow it with a CAUSE, comma, and an EFFECT.

What is a “Conjunction”?

A conjunction is a sentence component that JOINS two clauses, two parts of a sentence.

Although it sounds complicated, actually it’s not since you already know and use dozens of conjunctions in daily life.

For example, every time you use AND you are using a conjunction.

Other examples: OR, NOR, YET, THEREFORE, BECAUSE, SO, WHEN, AFTER, BEFORE, SINCE, etc.

1) Sentences that start with a CAUSE and end with an EFFECT

“He studied hard for the SAT exam [CAUSE] and [CONJUNCTION] got a perfect 800 [EFFECT].”
“They trained hard [CAUSE] but [CONJUNCTION] they still lost the match [EFFECT].”

2) Sentences that start with an EFFECT and end with a CAUSE

“She has been unhappy [EFFECT] since [CONJUNCTION] she was assigned to this case [CAUSE].”
“We chose him [EFFECT] due to [CONJUNCTION] his MBA [CAUSE].”

3) Sentences that start with a CONJUNCTION

“Because [CONJUNCTION] of the severe weather alert [CAUSE], all flights have been cancelled [EFFECT].”
“Now that [CONJUNCTION] you’ve seen the evidence [CAUSE], I’m sure you can write a better report [EFFECT].”

Cause and Effect Paragraphs

Writing a cause and effect paragraph is not that hard: you can either start with a cause and then explain the effects; or the other way around – start with the effect and explain the causes.

Let’s examine these two different types of paragraphs one by one:

1) Paragraphs that start with a CAUSE

Let’s say you start your paragraph with “rising fertility rate in rural villages.” That’s a CAUSE.

What would be the effects? Let’s mention three:

Population increase.
Falling living standards (if agricultural productivity remains the same).
Thus eventually a migration to cities.

Importance of Assumptions

Here as you can see the crucial component is the ASSUMPTION that agricultural productivity will remain the same. This is important because if the productivity goes up it can support a growing population and thus there won’t be any urban migration.

You start with a TOPIC SENTENCE which describes the CAUSE. Then you continue by listing the EFFECTS. Important thing is to make clear what your ASSUMPTIONS are including in your reasoning and mentioned very clearly.

Example

“Fertility rate has risen 7% in Western XYZ between 1990-2010 [THE CAUSE].

One effect of this would be increased pressure on food resources, if we assume that the agricultural productivity remains the same [THE ASSUMPTION].

A second and related effect would be dropping standard of living in Western XYZ.

We should expect this to lead to an eventual migration to the cities in the region like La Capital [THE EFFECT].”

2) Paragraphs that start with an EFFECT

You start with a TOPIC SENTENCE which describes the EFFECT. Then you continue by listing the CAUSES. Important thing again is to make clear what your ASSUMPTIONS are.

Example

“Those with a college degree are shown to earn a million dollars more over a lifetime than those who do not go to college at all [THE EFFECT].

One reason why this is so is the higher paying jobs available to college graduates [CAUSE 1].

Another reason is college graduates are more comfortable with high-technology which helps them start high-profit businesses [CAUSE 2].
Of course, we are here assuming that the two groups (college and non-college) start off their adult lives more or less from the similar socioeconomic backgrounds.”

As you can see, even though there is a structure to the way a cause-paragraph is written [TOPIC SENTENCE first, followed by supporting effect or cause sentences], there are no standard phrases or keywords that you need to use while writing them.