Introduction to cause and effect

1. Cause and Effect

2. Causes
◦ To find the cause of something you need to ask why something
happened.
◦ For example: “The use of cars in the city caused pollution levels
to rise”
◦ So, why did pollution levels rise?
◦ Because of the use of cars in the city (the cars caused the rise)

3. Effects
◦ To find the effect of something you need to ask what happened.
◦ For example: “The use of cars in the city caused pollution levels to
rise”
◦ So, what happened because of the use of cars?
◦ Pollution levels rose (pollution was the effect produced by the
cars)

4. Cause or Effect?
◦ Depending on what you want to emphasise, you can start with the
cause…………
◦
Cause verb Effect
Heavy traffic causes lots of pollution
Using sources effectively
in essays
leads to better academic writing
Leaving assignments until
the last moment
produces increased stress
Reading a lot results in increased knowledge

5. Cause or Effect?
◦ ………..or you can start with the effect:
( note: “is caused by”, “is developed by” and “is produced by” are examples of passive
language – see our section on “active and passive” to learn more about this)
Effect verb Cause
Lot of pollution is caused by heavy traffic
Better academic writing is developed by using effective sources
effectively
More stress is produced by leaving assignments until
the last moment
Increased knowledge results from reading a lot

6. Cause and Effect Language
◦ There are many, many, many examples of cause and effect language!
◦ Obviously you don’t need to remember them all, but it is good to be able to
use different ones
◦ Also, remember that some are very similar e.g. “results in” ( is used to
introduce effects), but “results from” (is used to introduce causes)
◦ So take your time when you are writing, so you don’t confuse the person
marking your work

7. Language Examples
◦ The previous slides had examples of different verbs you can use, but you can
also use a range of linking words/phrases
Some examples:
Introducing a cause Introducing an effect
because of therefore
as consequently
since hence
due to for this reason
owing to which is why
give rise to meaning that

8. Language Examples
Because of / due to / owing to the increase in cars, the air is now more polluted.
Note: these words need a noun phrase after them (“the increase in cars”)
As / Since using cars has increased, the air is now more polluted.
Note: these words need a verb after them (“using”)
(remember : you can also change these sentences and start with the effect
e.g. the air is now more polluted, because of the increase in cars)
Because of / Due to / Owing to / Since
As / Since

9. Practice
◦ Complete each sentence logically using either :
a) because of / due to
b) result from
c) influenced by
1) Increases in greenhouse gases are part of larger group of general climate
changes that ______________ human behaviour.
2) Most of the general public appear to be ___________________ the various
elements of fake news that are constantly circulated.
3) The plagiarism was found to be so widespread _____________________
the student not finding the time to undertake extensive research

10. Answers
◦ 1) Increases in greenhouse gases are part of larger group of
general climate changes that result from human behaviour.
◦ 2) Most of the general public appear to be influenced by
◦ the various elements of fake news that are constantly circulated.
◦ 3) The plagiarism was found to be so widespread because of /
due to the student not finding the time to undertake extensive
research.

11. Cause and Effect Chains
◦ When we write, we will often have a range of ideas to include, so we can
connect different cause and effect relationships and make a longer pattern
Look at the paragraph and see if you can identify the cause and effect links:
“In terms of physical health, there are other risks arising from young people's use
of social media. Eye diseases can be caused by spending long periods online, as the
decreased blink-rate when staring at the computer or mobile screens can lead to eyes
becoming too dry (Patel et al. 1991).”

12. The links are:
spending time online causes eye diseases
dry eyes are due to reduction in the blink rate
Notice how the causes/effects are linked in one long sentence and how the
first link (eye diseases can be caused by spending long periods online) feeds
into the second.
“In terms of physical health, there are other risks arising from young people's use
of social media. Eye diseases can be caused by spending long periods
online, as the decreased blink-rate when staring at the computer or mobile
screens can lead to eyes becoming too dry (Patel et al. 1991).”

13. Cause and Effect Chains
◦ Read and identify and cause and effect language and relationships :
◦ “Obesity is a leading threat to public health in the U.K. Due to
significant increases in consumption of high calorie and sugar-rich
foods, obesity is now a major concern for the U.K. government and
the NHS. Not only does the disease give rise to dangerously
overweight people, it also puts a financial strain on the NHS, due to
treatments and interventions required at different nursing levels.
There is a broad consensus, that if parents do not set good examples
to children, or do not moderate their child’s intake of unhealthy
foods, that this will result in generations of obese individuals, and
therefore increases in diabetes and weight-related cancers.”

14. Cause and Effect Chains
◦ “Obesity is a leading threat to public health in the U.K. Due to
significant increases in consumption of high calorie and sugar-rich
foods, obesity is now a major concern for the U.K. government and
the NHS. Not only does the disease give rise to dangerously
overweight people, it also puts a financial strain on the NHS, owing
to treatments and interventions required at different nursing levels.
There is a broad consensus, that if parents do not set good examples
to children, or do not moderate their child’s intake of unhealthy
foods, that this will result in generations of obese individuals, and
therefore increases in diabetes and weight-related cancers.”

15. Cause-effect / Effect-cause
You can change your ideas so the cause comes before the effect:
e.g. therefore the epidemic resulted in thousands of deaths
or the effect comes before the cause
e.g. therefore thousands of deaths were a result of the epidemic
Doing this means you can change the emphasis of your ideas, and
also vary your sentence structures.

16. Remember:
• Be clear how a particular cause – effect relationship works
• Choose an appropriate verb or phrase to begin or introduce
your cause / effect
•You can begin with either the cause or effect first – decide
which you want to emphasise
•Connect the different relationships together in paragraphs to
form cause-effect relationship chains

17. Extra Practice
Use the links on this Canvas page for further examples of
cause and effect language and use