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Causal Analysis Essays: An Introduction and Overview
By Darren Chiang-Schultheiss English Department Fullerton College
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Process Analysis Vs. Causal Analysis
Process focuses on describing the sequence of events Cause-and-effect writing focuses on why one event causes another to occur. It is concerned mainly about relationships among actions and events
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Causation can be expressed in several ways:
why the Civil War was fought the reasons your friend Nga joined the Army your motivation for going to college what brought about changes in the law what makes a person commit a crime what produces nuclear fusion what gives rise to the parking problem at FC
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Causal analysis is used to describe/explain why a person, event, or situation brings about a certain result.
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Effect can be described in various ways as well:
Outcome of a lawsuit consequences of waiting too long to study for a test results of expanding commercial air traffic a development arising from new environmental concerns the product created by the process of clear thinking
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Types of Causes An immediate cause takes place just before a result emerges and is directly responsible A remote cause is further removed from the effect it generates and may have a more profound importance than do immediate causes
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Example:
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Types of Effects An immediate effect follows directly after an event.
e.g.: the car halts after running out of gas A remote effect occurs long after its cause and any immediate effects. e.g.: the final grade may be lower than expected Effects differ in their nature and seriousness
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Patterns of Cause and Effect
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A single cause with a single effect:
The heavy traffic made me late to work. The earthquake cracked the plaster on my wall.
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A single cause with multiple effects:
The storm damaged crops, flooded roads, and causes schools to be closed. Exercise strengthens the heart, reduces blood pressure and stress, and helps you lose weight.
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Multiple causes with a single effect:
Pruning and feeding roses regularly will produce more blooms. High blood pressure, stress, obesity, and the lack of exercise all contribute to heart disease.
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Multiple causes with multiple effects:
Drunk driving and speeding are the two biggest reasons for accidents and deaths on the highway. An unstable economy, lack of food and clothing, and a complete mistrust of the government led to riots in the capital and strikes in all the factories.
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Notice that all of the previous statements of cause-and-effect patterns also could be used as the thesis statement of an essay. Use these as examples of how to write a thesis statement in your own essay; you need to give a clear “map” of the major points you intend to discuss and analyze in your essay.
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Causal Chain: In a causal chain, the individual causes of the effect or effects are linked to each other. The causal chain may be circular in its pattern. Take a look at this example paragraph...
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A Causal Chain Once Mike got promoted to production manager, his ambition increased. He went back to college for a master’s degree to get a job with Smith & Taylor, a large manufacturing firm. His experience there gave him the expertise to start his own company three years ago, and he used the profits from that company to start two additional manufacturing plants and a retail store in Chicago.
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Avoid illogical reasoning:
Post hoc ergo propter hoc (Latin for “after this, therefore, because of this”) Just because it rained Thursday and you got fired Thursday doesn’t mean the rain caused you to get fired. Associated condition Beware of mistaking an associated condition with either a cause or an effect in a given situation. You have to demonstrate the cause-and-effect relationship between events before claiming one caused or resulted from the other.
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Order Causes and Effects Effectively
Discuss causes and their effects in the order that makes them clearest for your reader. Begin with the known and work to the less known. Treat content chronologically. Discuss content by arranging causes or effects according to increasing order of importance (or decreasing order of importance, if you like)
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