Due by midnight, Wednesday, November 14, 2007 via email
Essay #5—Causal Analysis Essay
Cause and effect relationships are something we learn as very young children: If I break mommy’s vase, she will be mad. If I throw a temper tantrum, I get put in time-out. If I touch a hot stove, it hurts and I have a boo boo. However, as we age and mature, those relationships get much more sophisticated and we need to be able to discuss them. For example, what happens if you get a speeding ticket? There’s no, one, single effect of that one action. It’s a much more complex issue. The goal of exploring this way of organizing an essay is to become more adept at discussion the causes and effects of those more sophisticated issues that we confront every day.
Before you write:
Review pages 263-265 in Steps to Writing Well.
Decide on a topic. If you are having trouble thinking of a topic, there is a list of potential topics in Steps to Writing Well.
As you write:
Decide on your purpose for writing—that is what is the main point of your essay? Decide which item of comparison is the preferred one and make that clear in your thesis.
Organize your ideas—use some sort of invention strategy (brainstorming, clustering, free writing, etc)
Visualize your audience—picture the person you are writing this essay for.
Keep in mind the needs of your audience—what are you trying to communicate through this essay? What does your audience need you to do to be able to visualize what you are describing? What does your audience need you to do to feel the sensations that you want them to feel?
What background information does your audience need to understand the context of the situation?
Make sure that you present the causes and analyze the effects.
Include description and figurative language (pp 310-311 in Steps to Writing Well)
Be sure to use sensory details
Make sure that you have an introduction which contains a thesis statement and a conclusion to the essay. Your introduction should use an identifiable introduction strategy.
The writing assignment:
Write a 5-7 page essay in which analyze the causes and effects of an issue or situation. Your essay could be humorous or serious. As always, your essay will be better if you write what you know or something you know a great deal about. Please avoid topics about boyfriends, girlfriends, spouses, significant others.
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