Global Warming on Culture

Essay 2 Analyze a Situation: Cause and Effect Final Draft: 100 pts

Length = 1200–1300 words. = 30 points

Proper MLA format throughout = 10 points

Thesis that sets-up analytical method being used = 15 points

Body paragraphs that develop analytical method = 30 points

Grammar = 15

Run-on, comma splice, fragment -2

Pronouns that do not agree with noun replaced -2

Proper use of possessive case -1/ea.

Proper spelling, including homophones -1/ea.

Contractions -2

Second person “you” -2

Ending sentence with preposition -1

Ambiguous pronoun reference -1

Shifting pronouns -2

Shifting verb tense -2

Cause/Effect is any argument that uses the term because in it. If you argue “I got a bad grade because…” then you are emphasizing the Causes. If you argue “Because I got a bad grade, these things happened” then you are emphasizing the effects. Most cause/effect essays will reflect one side or the other of the equation, not both. Trying to explain both causes AND effects for an argument can become quite lengthy, quite quickly.

To produce an acceptable cause/effect essay, the writer should:

— use grammatically appropriate sentence structures

— Organize the essay around a cause/effect argument utilizing direct evidence

— Use appropriate paragraph breaks to control the flow of information

— Use transitions both within and between the paragraphs

— Develop and explain the essay content completely

— Communicate a clear and specific purpose to an audience

— Incorporate evidence from outside sources ethically, effectively, and appropriately

Option 1: Traditional

Pick a subject from current events and explain the causes and/or effects associated with that event. For example, with the fighting in Syria, a student could write an essay trying to explain what caused the fighting, with those causes being immediate past, or ranging back into long-term history. An effect based essay could discuss the potential effects on regional stability, or the damages caused by left-over landmines or children growing up underneath sniper fire.

Option 2: Business

Review the literature for your career field. At the very least, look at Fortune, Forbes, Barron’s, The Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, or their websites, to see what issues they are discussing. Choose one that seems especially interesting to you and then prepare a report for your boss (your current boss or your potential boss) indicating either where this issue has come from, or how it’s going to affect your particular field/organization.

For Example, you might see several articles dealing with unisex bathrooms as the wave of the future. You might explain in your report to your boss why this is becoming such an issue now so that s/he is prepared when the issue arises at your organization. Or you might use your report to show how this trend is going to affect your organization in terms of cost of remodeling, training, etc. Or you might deal with both aspects, but that would probably make for too long of a report. Better to be as specific as possible.

Option 3: Fun

Find something that has either currently become popular or just lost its popularity: Pokemon, horror movies, Latin music, Beanie Babies, gameshows, etc. Explain your theory on either what made that particular subject popular in the first place or what caused it to fall out of favor. Or you can explain what the effects of this trend might be or have been on American culture.

Purpose:

Remember that you are writing this essay to explain WHY something happened, or WHAT has or will happen because of the original situation. Your subject itself is either the end point of the causes or the starting point of the effects. The reader needs to know how this information will help them understand things better. You are NOT just proving that these situations or circumstances are connected. Even if it is just an understanding that the subject is more complex than the reader originally thought, there needs to be some value added to the subject.

Always remember that you are presenting us with a possible cause or effect. There are always multiple ways to interpret the situation. You are simply presenting us with your best understanding/interpretation of the situation.

Organization:

Be aware of the difference between immediate and remote causes and effects (see PowerPoint on Cause and Effect under “Lessons”). The farther away from the subject you get with remote causes and/or effects, the more carefully you have to explain the connections or links between your subject and the cause/effect.

You can choose to emphasize one cause or effect if you wish, but realize that it will require much more development and explanation. If you choose to deal with several causes or effects, make sure that you indicate which ones are the most significant, and organize accordingly.

Audience:

Try to remember that your audience does not know as much as you do. Even if they know more facts about the subject, they don’t know YOUR understanding as well as you do. Your job is to explain to the reader how YOU interpret the information and how YOU see things fitting together.

Argumentation:

Be careful of what is called a faulty cause/effect argument. You MUST have evidence that there is a connection. Simply indicating that the factory is by the river, and the river is polluted, therefore the factory caused the pollution is not good enough. Just because things happen in the right time sequence does not mean that they are connected. You MUST have direct evidence showing the cause/effect relationship, not just circumstantial geographic or chronological connections.

This is why it is necessary to have at LEAST two sources for this paper. These sources can come from anywhere, but should be the most trustworthy sources that you can find. You are writing a college level paper; make sure that you are using college level sources. Cite your sources using MLA style with a Works Cited page.