So, what is the point of a cause-effect paper? Cause-and-effect writing seeks to determine reasons and predict results. To establish a cause, one needs to exercise critical thinking and collect sufficient evidence. Make sure you do not make assumptions or rely on first impressions.
Before you begin your causal argument, explain to your readers why you think it is important to argue it. Why, in other words, is it controversial? Why is your argument important? For whom is it important? Give your readers enough information to understand your position.
Your causal argument should take a stand on a controversial issue. Staying within the parameters of the topic you choose, make a causal claim---or claims---that you think you can prove. The causal relationship you choose to argue shouldn't be so obvious that a persuasive argument is unnecessary. For example, people would be unlikely to disagree about whether smoking cigarettes causes cancer. On the other hand, people might disagree about whether certain cigarette brands' advertising campaigns cause young people to take up smoking.
In short, to prove a cause-and-effect relationship, you need to eliminate other potential causes.
Don't confuse a time relationship for a cause. Events happen in time, whether measured in milliseconds or millions of years. Just because an event preceded another does not prove a causal relationship. The fact that Ford sales increased following a new ad campaign does not prove the commercials caused improved sales. Bad publicity about competing brands, decreased interest rates, increased employment and a number of other factors could be responsible for boosting Ford sales.
Cause and effect can be easier to ascertain if events can be repeated through research or experimentation. An ad agency that could demonstrate that its commercials consistently boosted sales for a variety of products could counter arguments that its effect on Ford sales was a fluke.
It is often easy to confuse an effect for a cause. For instance, a doctor might assume that a depressed patient's loss of appetite is caused by his or her depression. In fact, the patient's depression and loss of appetite could both be the result of an underlying medical problem. Another example: Does poverty cause crime, or are both poverty and crime the effects of racism?
Use Research
Whether detailing causes or effects, you must rest your evaluations on research or observation. Inform readers the methods you are using to make judgments. For example, based on interviews with 15 participants in the state's new welfare to work program, it is clear that the program is producing mixed results.
Address Alternative Interpretations
It is important to consider alternative viewpoints, especially about controversial subjects. For example, most people see graffiti as vandalism, caused by anger, apathy, and the like. But current research, based on interviews with "taggers," (graffiti artists) reveals that loneliness and feelings of vulnerability are the driving forces that send kids into the streets with spray cans.
Qualify Statements
Although it is important to state your thesis strongly, it is useful to qualify your remarks, admitting limitations to your interpretations. For example, demand for computer seminars is likely to decline as most freshmen learned to use computers in high school. However, if the university sees a rise in adult enrollments, there may be an increased need for these introductory courses.
Keep in mind that your paper should set forth, describe and discuss the workings of the most important cause or causes, especially as they relate to your final proposal. Perhaps you are primarily interested in helping an event repeat itself, or maybe you want to prevent it from ever happening again. Perhaps you want to speed up a trend that is moving too slowly or slow down one that is moving too quickly. Your immediate aim in the causal argument might be to explain the workings of causes in a way your reader never thought of before.