Causal Essays Unveiled: A Comprehensive Writing Guide

An essay that describes cause and effect (explains how individual factors affect results and why) is called causal. This type of essay best reveals environmental and political issues and is built around facts that lead to or are the causes and consequences of a particular situation.

The causal essay begins with a description of the state of affairs that aroused the author’s interest. Next, the causes and consequences of this situation are considered, similarly grouped, analyzed, and evaluated by the author. The final thesis indicates, as a rule, the importance of the impact of the above situation on the described facts.

Specificity of Causal Essay Writing

In modern methodology, it is accepted to allocate the following analysis stages of a causal essay:

• Choice of topic and formulation of research task (preparatory);
• Search for sources and literature, processing of materials (information);
• Formation and approval of the plan (the content of the work) for writing the text of the work;
• Establishment of facts, their verification (reconstruction);
• Interpretation of facts, establishing connections and dependencies between events and phenomena (analytical);
• Creating the text of the causal essay (narrative).

Preparatory Stage

When choosing a topic, you should take into account some universal rules: the topic should be narrow enough to be considered more or less fully within a relatively small volume of analysis work. However, it must be, at the same time, important enough, worthy of the author’s attention. Materials for research and analysis on the topic should be available either in the college library or in other libraries in the city. You should choose topics within your own competence. Last but not least, the topic should be of interest to the student, or at least contain a certain aspect that is of particular interest to him.

Information Stage

It involves the search for the necessary literature in libraries and archives and its processing. Fragments of documents and scientific literature, which the student later plans to use in the course text, should be stored in the form of notes.

Analysis of the collected material involves its sorting and critical evaluation. It is important to follow a certain technique of such research, which saves time and effort. First of all, it is necessary to establish the scientific value of each individual position of the collected literature. This value determines the order of analysis of this literature. At the same time, it should be borne in mind that newer essays are usually more complete and accurate.

Reconstruction Stage

It involves establishing the facts. Facts are the framework of any study, and therefore verification of their truth is inseparable from working with the reference apparatus.

Doing the analysis the accuracy of the information may require various mental operations. Sometimes the most effective steps may be to refer to the reference literature or a comparative analysis of the information contained in the various documents. It is also important to decide whether the statement comes from a reliable source. It is worth paying attention to the reputation of the source of information and the competence of its author. Additionally, you should pay attention to whether the source to which the author refers is primary or secondary. It is also useful to know what subjective motives may have influenced the author’s conclusions (religious and political beliefs, personal and historical circumstances).

Explanatory or Theoretical Stage

At this step, one’s own scientific analysis knowledge is created. Suppose the previous movements were devoted mainly to work with empirical (factual, research) material. In that case, it involves a series of logical operations aimed at its description, analysis, search for connections, and relationships between events and phenomena. The researcher tries to comprehend and compare the facts at his disposal, to compare these facts, to track trends and patterns. The student fully realizes his right to his own understanding of the phenomenon or plot, which is the causal essay topic. Such an explanation involves the application of a certain idea, theory, and theoretical knowledge.

Narrative Stage

This is the stage of writing and designing the text of a causal essay. The causal essay usually consists of the following parts:

• Title page;
• Work plan (content);
• Introduction;
• The major part (divided into several sections and subsections);
• Conclusions;
• List of used literature (sources);
• Appendixes.

When writing a causal essay, you should pay the most attention to such parts as the introduction, main body, and conclusion. The quality of causal essay analysis as a whole depends on their successful completion.

Introduction

The analysis task of the introductory part is to orient the reader in the subject of the work, to present the topic of the causal essay and research task, to explain how important or interesting it is to address a specific topic and to describe the broader historical, social or intellectual context to which the phenomenon belongs. It is also necessary to provide a concise review of the literature on which the author relied.

It is very desirable in the introduction to describe the methods used in working on the theme and explain the principles of structural construction of the work. The introduction to a causal essay must present to the reader the main idea of ​​the causal essay, the main conclusion, or conclusions that the author came to in the process of work and which he substantiates and defends in the main part of the work.

The Main Part of the Essay

The analysis task of the sections of the main part is to convincingly prove and illustrate the author’s main idea. The basis of the text is arguments – that is, statements accompanied by logical evidence or factual illustrations.

In order to make the text more readable and structured, try to follow the following rules:

• Dedicate at least 1 paragraph to each main argument;
• Arguments ‘against’ (views contrary to those held by the author) must be refuted;
• Each paragraph should be united by one thought and marked by meaningful and stylistic unity.

Conclusion

Making this analysis part is an opportunity to look back and once again summarize what the student has achieved in his work. In other words, if the introduction introduces the reader to the topic, the conclusion should summarize. Therefore, it is highly undesirable to introduce new facts, ideas, and arguments at this step! The conclusion is an opportunity to emphasize what has already been said in the main part of the work and not to formulate a new opinion.

Good Topics for Causal Essay Writing

If you are currently looking for an idea to create your causal essay, consider the lists below. Maybe, you will find some good ideas there.

Technology and IT 

Pay attention to the following technology and IT ideas:

1. Is information technology the basis of the information industry?;
2. Malware and protection against it;
3. Informatization of research activities and the role of IT in research in the specialty;
4. Methods of relevant search of scientific information on the Internet;
5. Social causes and consequences of informatization of society.

Environment and Nature

Here is a list of environment and nature themes:

1. Mining and manufacturing industries and their negative impact on the environment;
2. Industrial enterprises of thermal energy and ferrous metallurgy, which pollute the environment the most;
3. Transport network as a network of environmental pollution;
4. Causes and consequences of depletion and destruction of soil cover;
5. Crop production, animal husbandry, and their negative impact on the environment.

Political Science

Here are some interesting ideas on political science:

1. Formal and informal instruments of influencing political culture;
2. Causes and signs of a political party;
3. European ‘color’ revolutions: causes and consequences;
4. The impact of globalization on the system of political analysis and its causes;
5. The results of political transformations in post-socialist countries.

Education and Youth

If you are interested in education and youth themes, you can choose one of the following problems for your causal essay:

1. Innovative University as a factor in the modernization of the educational and scientific sphere and the development of the knowledge society;
2. The problem of adaptation of entrants to the educational process in higher education;
3. Requirements for the level of pedagogical skills, abilities, and knowledge of the teacher;
4. Contradictions and crises of student age;
5. The nature of pedagogical conflicts and technology to prevent their occurrence.

Social Issues

And here also are several social issues ideas:

1. Social roles of the individual and their relationship with the social position of man in society;
2. Marginality as a cause and consequence of the process of social mobility. Historical types of marginalized strata in society;
3. The main causes of deviation: biological, psychological, and sociological;
4. Causes, manifestations, and consequences of interethnic conflicts, ways to prevent and overcome them;
5. Functions of social organizations. Causes, manifestations of dysfunction of organizations, and methods of their regulation.

To further enhance your writing skills, we recommend exploring our other articles, ‘Writing Conventions‘ and ‘Creative Writing Prompts’.

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