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Still Writing Good Paragraphs

C&E Writing
A cause and effect piece of writing seeks to

examine the reasons for and/or results of an


event, such as a war or a fire or a political
revolution
Sometimes its one- causes for
Sometimes its the other- effects of
And sometimes its both- causes for and
effects of
It depends on length and needs of the
particular assignment

C&E
It first puts forth a thesis statement proposing

just one cause or a list of causes- or just one


effect or a list of effects for said event
Then spends the remainder of the paper
proving that the event was a direct result of
the listed causes and/or that the event
directly resulted in the listed effects
Think about books written that discuss the
causes for and/or results of the American Civil
War

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Cause and effect writing is organized by most to least

important point or vice versa


For example, if you were writing over causes for the
Civil War, you might lead with slavery as the most
important cause, then cover economic differences
between the North and South, then cover cultural
differences between the two
On the other hand, you might lead with culture,
followed by economics, ending strongly with slavery
It all depends upon which method of organization you
are more comfortable with as a writer- ending or
beginning strongly

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The simplest definition of a cause and effect

piece of writing is that its a narrative


Youre telling a story
Youre just not telling the whole story
Youre telling the story of the causes which led
up to the core event
And/or the story of the effects which rippled out
through time as a result of the core event
As opposed to the entire story of the event
itself

C&E
And as I said, cause and effect writing is

organized by most to least important point or


vice versa
Not chronological order- not time orderbecause if you try to do that, then youll slip
into narration, telling the whole story
Which you DO NOT want to do
That will be too broad
We want something more specific

C&E
So for this assignment, I want you to write a 1

page or more long cause and effect paragraph


Heres your topic: choose one of your favorite,
what you believe to be one of the most interesting
or influential events in world history- and discuss
the three causes which led up to said event OR
the three effects that said event had afterwards
So for starters, you need a singular event in time
(so not the development of the first computer
which took place over an extended and rather
indefinite period of time)

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And dont pick anything too big and

unfocused (for example all of World War II as


opposed to just the attack on Pearl Harbor)
Next, decide whether or not you want to focus
on causes OR effects
YOU MAY NOT DO BOTH
You need 3 causes
Or 3 effects
Youre welcome to go over 3

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After that, unless youre a history buff or a history

major, more than likely youre going to need a


good source
You may only use one, so make it a good one
And lets focus this time around on choosing
reliable and reputable sources
(aka NOT Wikipedia or any source like that on
which just anyone can post as opposed to
academic and scholarly sources)
If youre at all unsure whether or not you have a
good source, run it by me first

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So start the paragraph with a topic sentence
For example- One of the single most interesting

events in world history is the Trojan War (were


going with a semi-fictional event for our example
so I dont tread on anyones idea for their paper)
And then move into a forecast listing the 3
causes for or 3 effects of
For example- The causes which led up to this
societal-altering event include the affair between
Leda and Zeus, Eris anger and the Apple of
Discord, and the Judgment of Paris

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Then move into your body section, where you go

into some detail on each of your three causes- in the


same order they were listed in the forecast- using
transitions as you move through the three- for
example
The first cause of the Trojan War was seemingly
innocuous. The Queen of Sparta, Leda, had an affair
with Zeus, the king of the gods. Whether or not this
was voluntary or involuntary is unclear. What is clear
is that Leda gave birth to four children afterward,
including Helen. Many years later, the second cause
arose.

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The goddess of discord, Eris, wasnt invited to a

wedding, and got mad about the slight, so she


conjured a magical golden apple that read, to
the fairest on the side, and tossed it into the
wedding feast. It landed in between Hera,
Athena, and Aphrodite, who all lunged for it,
and started bickering over it. The third cause
was a direct result of the second. All three
goddesses wanted the apple, they asked Zeus
to decide who deserved it, and Zeus smartly
handed the job over to Paris, Prince of Troy.

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He chose Aphrodite, mainly because she

promised him the most beautiful woman in


the world if he picked her, but the most
beautiful woman in the world was already
married. However, a promise is a promise, and
so Helen of Greece fell in love with Paris of
Troy, and they ran off together. The whole of
Greece went after her, laying siege to Troy.

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You need at the very least three or more

sentences on each cause


Or if you decide to do effects, then it will run the
same way- pick three- start with a topic sentencelist the three in a forecast after that- and go
Supposedly, the Trojan War lasted for some ten
years, and so of course, many, many men lost
their lives in the ongoing battle. Some 10,000. In
addition, the inevitable fall and complete
annihilation of Troy via the infamous Trojan Horse.
An incredibly smart plan of Odysseus.

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Another huge effect was the beginning of the end of

Greek civilization. It isnt like Greek civilization


ceased to exist overnight, yet this marks the
beginning of the end. As Aeneas, one of the only
Trojans to escape, fled to Italy and founded the third
effect of the war, Roman civilization. Eventually, the
Romans wiped out Greek civilization, co-opting many
of their traditions, strategies, and gods. The very
gods who started the whole mess in the first place.
Now mine arent all in complete sentences in order to
save room- however, notice that again were
shooting for at least 3 sentences on each

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Keep in mind that more detail = longer and better

paper
Dont forget a concluding sentence at the end to wrap
things up and leave the reader with something to think
about
For example- All in all, it is quite unfair to blame the
Trojan War on Helen, the face that launched a
thousand ships, which is usually the case. Perhaps
instead, were all meant to learn a valuable lesson from
this event: affairs are bad, and never trust Greeks
bearing gifts, especially giant wooden horses.
And dont forget to type this up in MLA format

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If you use a source, make sure you do so in your own

words
No quotes allowed
But you will still need to cite it
So wherever in the paragraph you stop using the
source for good, cite
Author last name and page
Or title and page
Depending on whats available
In parentheses- at the end of a sentence- period goes
after

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This also means youll need to list the source

at the end
So after the paragraph center Works Cited on
the page
And list the source in MLA format
Depending on what kind of source it is
Following the directions from the MLA guide in
our grammar book

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Now, you have to choose a topic first- and

post it to the discussion board for approval


Then write your own rough draft
Post it to the discussion board
To get help from your fellow classmates
And to give help to at least one of your
classmates
And while you do that, Ill be revising and
editing you

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Turning your final draft into the content

section- for 75 points


For more help, read Ch. 11 and the sample
essays- We Cant Wish Away Climate Change
and Black Men and Public Space
Good luck

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