Khóa luận A study on how to write an effective cause and effect essay in english

Nội dung text: Khóa luận A study on how to write an effective cause and effect essay in english

1. BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC DÂN LẬP HẢI PHÒNG ISO 9001 : 2008 KHÓA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP NGÀNH: NGOẠI NGỮ HẢI PHÒNG - 2010 1
2. HAIPHONG PRIVATE UNIVESITY FOREIGN LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT GRADUATION PAFER A STUDY ON HOW TO WRITE AN EFFECTIVE CAUSE AND EFFECT ESSAY IN ENGLISH By: NGUYEN THI LIEN Class: NA1003 Supervisor: NGUYEN THI THU HUYEN, M.A HAI PHONG - 2010 2
3. BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC DÂN LẬP HẢI PHÒNG Nhiệm vụ đề tài tốt nghiệp Sinh viên: Mã số: Lớp: Ngành: Tên đề tài: 3
4. Nhiệm vụ đề tài 1. Nội dung và các yêu cầu cần giải quyết trong nhiệm vụ đề tài tốt nghiệp ( về lý luận, thực tiễn, các số liệu cần tính toán và các bản vẽ). 2. Các số liệu cần thiết để thiết kế, tính toán. 3. Địa điểm thực tập tốt nghiệp. 4
5. CÁN BỘ HƯỚNG DẪN ĐỀ TÀI Người hướng dẫn thứ nhất: Họ và tên: Học hàm, học vị: Cơ quan công tác: Nội dung hướng dẫn: Người hướng dẫn thứ hai: Họ và tên: Học hàm, học vị: Cơ quan công tác: Nội dung hướng dẫn: Đề tài tốt nghiệp được giao ngày 12 tháng 04 năm 2010 Yêu cầu phải hoàn thành xong trước ngày 10 tháng 07 năm 2010 Đã nhận nhiệm vụ ĐTTN Đã giao nhiệm vụ ĐTTN Sinh viên Người hướng dẫn Hải Phòng, ngày tháng năm 2010 HIỆU TRƯỞNG GS.TS.NGƯT Trần Hữu Nghị 5
6. PHẦN NHẬN XÉT TÓM TẮT CỦA CÁN BỘ HƯỚNG DẪN 1. Tinh thần thái độ của sinh viên trong quá trình làm đề tài tốt nghiệp: 2. Đánh giá chất lượng của khóa luận (so với nội dung yêu cầu đã đề ra trong nhiệm vụ Đ.T. T.N trên các mặt lý luận, thực tiễn, tính toán số liệu ): 3. Cho điểm của cán bộ hướng dẫn (ghi bằng cả số và chữ): Hải Phòng, ngày tháng năm 2010 Cán bộ hướng dẫn (họ tên và chữ ký) 6
7. NHẬN XÉT ĐÁNH GIÁ CỦA NGƯỜI CHẤM PHẢN BIỆN ĐỀ TÀI TỐT NGHIỆP 1. Đánh giá chất lượng đề tài tốt nghiệp về các mặt thu thập và phân tích tài liệu, số liệu ban đầu, giá trị lí luận và thực tiễn của đề tài. 2. Cho điểm của người chấm phản biện : (Điểm ghi bằng số và chữ) Ngày tháng năm 2010 Người chấm phản biện 7
8. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I am extremely grateful to all people for helping me to finish my graduation paper. Firstly, I would like to express my sincere and deep gratitude to my supervisor- Ms Nguyen Thi Thu Huyen for her whole-hearted guidance and valuable suggestion during the process of doing this research. Secondly, I am also grateful to all teachers of Foreign Language Department of Haiphong Private University for their enthusiastic assistance during the time I study at my university. Last but not least, I wish to take this opportunity to thank my parents and my friends for whatever they support and encourage me both mentally and physically in this time. Hai Phong, June, 2010 Nguyen Thi Lien 8
9. TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgement PART ONE : INTRODUCTON 1 1. Rationale 1 2. Aims of the study 2 3. Methods of the study 3 4. Scope of the study 3 5. Design of the study 4 PART TWO : DEVELOPMENT 5 CHAPTER I : THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 5 1. An overview on academic writing 5 1.1 What is Academic writing? 5 1.2 Characteristic features 5 1.2.1. Audience 5 1.2.2. Tone 6 1.2.3. Purpose 6 2 : An overview on essay 7 2.1. What is an essay? 7 2.2. The structural parts of an essay 7 2.2.1. Introduction 7 2.2.2. Body 8 2.2.3. Conclusion 8 3. An overview on Cause and Effect essay 8 3.1. Definition 8 3.2. Structure of Cause and Effect Essay 9 CHAPTER II: AN ANALYSIS ON PROCEDURE OF WRITING A CAUSE AND EFFECT ESSAY 21 1. Process of a cause and effect essay 21 1.1. Stimulating ideas 21 9
10. 1.2. Brainstorming and Outlining 22 1.3. Developing ideas 24 1.3.1. Cause Connectors 24 1.3.2. Effect Connectors 26 2. Rules for a good cause and effect essay 27 CHAPTER III : SUGGESTIONS ON HOW TO WRITE A CAUSE AND EFFECT ESSAY IN ENGLISH EFFECTIVELY 30 1. Some possible problems encountered by Vietnamese learners 30 1.1. Repeating transitional words in an essay 30 1.2. Omitting transition words in an essay 32 1.3. Incorrect form of topic sentences in body paragraphs 34 2. Some suggestions to improve writing cause and effect essay 36 2.1. Using various transition words 36 2.2 Writing correct topic sentences in body paragraphs 42 PART THREE: CONCLUSION 44 REFERENCE 45 APPENDIX 47 10
11. PART ONE : INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale Nowadays, almost countries in the world speak English and English can be considered one of the most essential languages for international communication. In Vietnam, there are a lot of foreign investors, they establish their own companies in Vietnam. They all speak English and of course, they will employ the people who have ability of using English. Therefore, English is an important criteria to find a good job in Vietnam. It becomes the second language to many people. When we learn English, we can widen knowledge about culture, customs, and lifestyle of this country. However, it is not easy to learn a foreign language well. In order to use English fluently, I think the learners have to pay attention to four skills: reading, writing, Listening and Speaking. Of four skills, writing is considered the most difficult to many. Different from the rest, writing requires not only the learners to have knowledge of grammar (grammatical structures) but also plentiful source of vocabulary to write a paragraph as well as an essay completely. Many learners think that when they can speak well, they will automatically write well. However, when they begin writing first sentence, everything is not easy as they expected. There are many differences between spoken and written languages. So, writing requires much patience and constant practice. In all walks of life, people use writing as a basic working skill. It is a process, a skill of hard- work and people must perform almost daily. As a student, you will have a lot of writing tasks such as: assignments, essays, graduation training report, graduation paper Therefore, we should think clearly about what to write, how to write in order to have a good writing If you want to write an essay effectively, first of all, you must write paragraphs well. To my knowledge, there are many factors which help the learners to write an essay successfully. During of studying writing skill, especially writing essay, I am very interested in Cause and Effect essay , I realized how 11
12. important it is and its effects when being used to write a paragraph or essay. But due to the limitation of time, the study on how to write a Cause and Effect essay effectively is not introduced clearly in writing subject. Students do not have chance to understand much about them. With the hope that I can study more about Cause and Effect essay deeply and share with everybody the useful knowledge of transition signals. Thus, I decided to choose a study on how to write a Cause and Effect essay in writing an English paragraph as my graduation paper. 2. Aims of the study It is not easy for us to study any subject because we have to spend a lot of time to research all factors related to it. Similarly, to study Cause and Effect essay in English, we have to consider and study the theory of writing, specially the basic theory of essay. Basing on that foundation, my study aims at the following concrete goals: Providing learners with the theoretical background of writing, such as the theory of academic writing, essay and especially, the theory of Cause and Effect essay. Studying the processes of writing Cause and Effect essay in detail Pointing out the common mistakes facing the learners in the process of writing Case and Effect essay Giving some suggested advices and specific exercises to help English learners improve writing Cause and Effect effectively. 3. Methods of the study Getting a scientific method of study is very important. In order to finish my graduation paper, I try with my best effort to search the necessary documents in reference books or from web pages on internet. After reading clearly those references, I tried to get and select the valuable information relating to my study. Therefore, most examples are collected from many different writing materials and grammar books. 12
13. Besides, I also provided the learners with a lot of specific samples to demonstrate and help them understand deeply about Cause and Effect essay in each example. I applied my knowledge and experience achieved in the process of the study at Haiphong Private University on this subject. Especially, my supervisor as well as my friends have given me lots of useful advices. 4. Scope of the study Cause and Effect essay is used in every types of discourse, such as speaking, reading, listening and especially in writing. However, due to the limitation of time, of knowledge and materials, I can only focus on theory of Cause and Effect essay, types of Cause and Effect essay and methods to help students write such essay effectively 5. Design of the study This paper consists of three parts: Part one: Introduction- shows the rationale, aims, methods, scope and design of the study. Part two: Development ( the main part of the study) is divided into three chapter: Chapter I: Theoretical background – provides an overview of Academic writing, essay, Cause and Effect essay ( definition, structural parts and types of Cause and Effect essay) Chapter II: Studies on how to write a Cause and Effect essay in English effectively. It presents the processes; the rules and transition words of Cause and Effect essay Chapter III: The implication of the study - states the problems facing learners and suggested solution in writing Cause and Effect essay Part three: Conclusion: - Summarizes the main points of the study. - Suggestion for further study. 13
14. PART TWO:DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I : THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 1 : An overview on academic writing 1.1. What is academic writing? In college or university, as a student, you need to write stories that you have experienced, events that make you most impressive, or describe objects, etc. These all are called academic writing. So what is academic writing? Oshima (2004.Addition Wesley Publishing Company) says that “Academic writing, as the name implies, is kind of writing that you are inquired to do in college or university” Stephen Bailey (2006.Routledge Publishing Company) defines : “Writing Essays and dissertations can be a major concern for overseas students studying at English-medium colleges and universities, almost courses are assessed by written work. Academic writing is a new kind of writing course for all international students who have to write coursework or exams in English.” 1.2. Characteristic features: According to Oshima, “Academic writing is different from the other kinds of writing (personal, literary, journalistic, business, etc) in several ways. The difference between academic writing and other can explain by its special audience, tone and purpose”. (Oshima, A, 2004: 03) 1.2.1. Audience: Whenever you write, consider your audience, that is, the people who will read what you have written. Knowing your audience, will help you reach the goal of communication clearly and effectively. In Academic writing, your audience is primarily your instructors and professors. (Oshima, A, 2004: 03) 14
15. 1.2.2. Tone Not only should you be concerned with you audience, but you should also be concerned with the tone of writing, which depends on your subject matter and your audience. Tone is your style or manner of expression. It is revealed your attitude towards your subject by choice of words, grammatical structures and even by the length of your sentence. The tone of the piece of writing can be, for example, serious, amusing, personal, or impersonal. It is determined more by its intended audience than by its subject matter. Academic writing is always formal in tone. However, not all academic writing is extremely formal. The choice of language and structure in a paragraph or essay may be deliberately less formal to facilitate communication with the reader. (Oshima, A, 2007: 05) 1.2.3. Purpose No matter what kind of writing you do, you should have a special and clear purpose. In Academic writing, your purpose is usually to explain. It may be also to persuade or to convince your audience of the correctness of your point of view on a particular issue. The purpose of a piece of writing will determine the rhetorical form chosen it. A persuasive essay will be organized in one way and an expository essay in another way. (Oshima, A, 2007: 01) 2 . An overview on essay 2.1. What is an essay? According to Oshima, Alice and Hogue Ann (2004:16)– the authors of English grammar : “An essay is a piece of writing consisting of several paragraphs long instead of just one or two paragraphs. It is written about one topic, just as a paragraph is. However, the topic of an essay is too long and too complex to discuss in paragraph. Therefore you must divide the topic into 15
16. several paragraphs, one for each major point. Then you must tie all of the separate paragraphs together by adding an introduction and a conclusion.” 2.2. The structural parts of an essay An essay has three main parts: Introduction, Body and Conclusion 2.2.1. Introduction: It occupies about 10% of the total length, maybe one or several paragraphs depending on the essay length. Consisting of two parts - General statements : Introduce the topic, provide background information and limit the scope of discussion. - Thesis statements : Define the topic, and present the plan of coverage including your line of argument/viewpoint/conclusion. In short, these statements are from general to more specific. 2.2.2. Body Including one or more paragraph. Each paragraph has one main point ( topic sentence) and link together. 2.2.3. Conclusion Summing up argument or information with reference to the essay question. Wider implication or future direction is mentioned 3. An overview on Cause and Effect essay 3.1. Definition The cause and effect essay explains why or how some event happened, and what resulted from the event. This type of essay is a study of the relationship between two or more events or experiences. The essay could discuss both causes and effects, or it could simply address one or the other. A cause essay usually discusses the reasons why something happened. An effect essay discusses what happens after a specific event or circumstance According to Boardman, A.C.& Frydenberg, J. (2001), a cause and effect essay deals with explaining, examining or exposing two events or actions ( which could be thought of as topics) and how each has an effect on the other 16
17. and/or the results of these events or actions. Topic always have a number of possible causes and effects Example : Marriage and happiness – When marriage is the cause, most people assume that the effect is happiness. However, what if the marriage was arranged, or was the result of a pregnancy, or done out of pure convenience? Would the cause and effect follow a logical sequence? Or could the cause be happiness and marriage the effect? 3.2. Structure of Cause and Effect Essay As aforementioned, cause and effect writing gives reasons and explanations for events, conditions, or behaviors. The following is a common structure of a cause and effect essay. a, Introduction Hook: introduces the causes/effects Background information helps the readers understand the causes and effects. It can give historical information. Thesis statement showing a relation between causes and effects b,Body Body paragraph 1 (cause1/effect1) Topic sentence Supporting details Body paragraph 2 (cause 2/effect2) Topic sentence Supporting details Body paragraph 3 (cause 3/effect 3) Topic sentence Supporting details c, Conclusion Restatement/Summary Final comment Sample 1 : Cause and Effect essay 17
18. Rebels with causes and Effects The anthropologist Margaret mead is well-known for her studies of adolescents in various societies, particularly in primitive ones. She believes that transition from a child to adult does not always have to Hook be difficult one. Nevertheless, it seems to be full of problems in many Western societies. In the United Sates, for example, going through the teenage years is challenging for both teenagers and their parents. Background information We can take comfort; however, in the fact that there are many reasons that teenagers rebel against their parents and in the fact that there are also positive effects. Thesis statement Probably the most primitive reasons for teenagers rebelliousness is Cause1+Effect1 physical in nature. At about the beginning of adolescence, children Topic sentence are undergoing profound hormonal changes as their bodies go through puberty. Their bodies are telling them that they are no longer children, and yet their parents are still treating them as children. Psychologically, they need to distance themselves from their parents to establish themselves as adult, and this psychological Supporting distance is accompanied by physical distance. At the same time, ideas teenagers want to become more like their friends; therefore, everything that has to do with their parents must be avoided. In fact, often parents represent “ the establishment” and, in the extreme, all the evil that it has created in the world. There do seem to be benefits to this difficult time; however, while teenagers are going through this rebellious period, they are also Cause and Effect 2 learning to think for themselves and to evaluate the world around :topic them. They becoming socialized and independent from their families. sentence They are forming relationships outside the family, which is very important if they are going to survive as individuals. The experimentation of this period is also important as long as it is taken to extremes. By experimenting, teenagers gain experience and the 18
19. confidence that comes with it. Ultimately, the teenagers reaches adulthood with the social and psychological strength it takes to become a productive member of society. In conclusion, despite the difficulty and awkwardness of adolescence, it is a necessary step in creating responsible, thinking adults.In Restateme nt addition, while teenagers and parents alike may not think that they get through it, most do. In fact, they are usually better and stronger Final comment people because of it. ( Boardman, A.C & Frydenberg.J , 2001, pp. 106:107) 3.2.1. Structure of the Cause Essay a, Introduction The introduction of a cause paper will usually contain a brief description of the effect. Therefore, you should provide thesis, basis for causal chain, and identify effect or effects; the key question is what causes this For example, in an essay with the thesis “Government policies have made fuel shortages more severe than they used to be”, the introduction would discuss the fuel shortages that resulted from government policies. b, Body Discuss various links in the causal chain, either tracing it backwards from effect to first cause, or beginning with the first cause. Use transitions flexibly and appropriately c, Conclusion Return to thesis, and then speculate on possible first causes to right a bad effect or possible other causes that might have destroyed or otherwise altered the good effect. In a cause essay, we have the block style : Multiple causes -> effect Listing the causes of a situation. a, Introduction : Effect of causes 19
20. b, Body: Paragraph 1 Cause 1 Paragraph 2 Cause 2 Paragraph 3 Cause 3 c, Conclusion Essay conclusion Sample 2 : Cause Essay Causes of happiness What are the cause of happiness ? The causes of happiness can be physical, emotional, or behavioral things which you gain in your life. Firstly, physical things such as peace of mind, be physically active, and stay energized for the day make you happy.If you have peace of Cause 1 mind you should not have many worries. If you want to be physically active, you should play sports. Sports keep you in shape and healthy so you are happy. You are energized for the day so you will not be tired and you will feel refreshed. Getting a good night sleep is a way to be energized for the day. Secondly, emotional things give you happy when you have friends or family, a good self-esteem, and personal control. If you have family Cause 2 or friends to talk to you and help you get through stuffs that you cannot handle by yourself, you will feel happy. Having a good self- esteem keeps you feeling good about yourself. If you have personal control you will feel better about yourself. The final thing is behavioral happiness that you gain by socially involved with others, have a positive attitude, and a positive Cause 3 personality. When you want to have behavioral happiness you should have a better behavior. You should be socially involved with others 20
21. and maintain steady partnerships. You should also have a positive attitude because your attitude affects others and their attitude too. Personality is the way you express who you are as a person and this is how others determine their opinion of you. In conclusion, happiness can be found through physical, emotional, and behavioral happiness. You should follow these three things to live a happy life. 3.2.2. Structure of the Effect Essay a, Introduction The introduction to an effect paper will naturally reverse the procedure of a cause paper by briefly describing or discussing the cause. Therefore, you should provide thesis and basis for effects; describe primary cause; may use more than one paragraph. The key question is what effects result from this cause For example, in an essay with the thesis “ Passage of a national health program will result in heavy burdens on doctors”, the introduction should discuss the health insurance program b, Body Discuss each effect, tracing its path back to the casual chain and the root cause. c, Conclusion Return to thesis; speculate in possible first cause to right each bad effect 21
22. Sample 3 : Effect Essay Positive and negative effects of internet 1996 was the year of Internet. We constantly saw and heard the word "Internet" everywhere last year. The beginning of the Internet was the computer network called ARPA (Advanced Research Projects Agency) which started in 1969 and was supported by the Department of Defense in America since they wanted the webbed network which cannot be severed easily. At the beginning, ARPA had been used for the military need; and when it became more commercialized, it came to be called 'Internet'. Accordingly, you can say that the need of defense caused Internet to begin. Currently, Internet is now changing the concept of nation, the means to communicate with people and even your view of life. Then what should we do to deal with it? Can we be only a fanatic of Internet or be an anti- Internet? First, I'd like to show the positive effects that Internet has caused; then, I will move on to the negative side. Maybe you can come up with many positive effects of Internet. First, you can get the latest news on the web anytime everywhere. It Positive Effect 1 must be interesting if students make a good use of the web because what teachers teach you is not always the latest thing. Even though the teacher say something to students, they can reply like this; `No, that's not true, Mr. Blank, I asked Dr. Know-it-all at Top University just a few minutes ago on the web, and he said Blank-sensei is totally wrong, the correct information is . . .You can have an opportunity to keep in touch with things new and what is happening in the world now. This was not possible a decade ago. Second, Internet is changing the concept of organization or system like a nation, an ethnic group, a company and a network of people. Positive Effect 2 Imagine you are Japanese living in Sweden you cannot speak 22
23. Swedish, you don't have any Japanese friends living your neighboring city. Maybe you'll become nervous because you can't get any Japanese news other than the letters from your friends. You don't have enough money to call Japan since it is too expensive. Once you get on Internet account, your problem will all be gone! You can chat with your Japanese friends on the web at a low price and can get any information that you want. Actually, Chinese people living all over the world are now making a network which supports them each other on the Internet. For them, Internet is a very practical means to confirm their nationality and unify them as Chinese. You can be one of them (the Chinese) wherever you are. The borders between countries are fading by Internet in this way. In case of company, the differences between the classes are now fading slowly in Japan. You can say what you want to tell your boss Positive Effect 3 or a company president by sending E-mail directly. Consequently, the relationship among people in the company is changing since you don't need someone to communicate with your superior anymore. The working style is also changing; you don't have to go to the company everyday because you can do your work at home and send what you've done by E-mail. You can have more free time and can change your lifestyle as you like. Fourth, concerning a network of people, Internet helped to connect and gather volunteers after the big earthquake had rocked the city Positive Effect 4 of Kobe in 1995. The homepage made by one of the volunteer posted lots of information such as what refugees in Kobe need and which shelter needs helpers. Fifth, Internet is a good means to express yourself. You can make your homepage and introduce yourself there. Then some people Positive Effect 5 23
24. who saw your homepage would be interested in you or your information offered on the homepage and would contact you. It can be someone from unfamiliar country that you've never been to. Isn't that kind of a great meeting? Maybe you want to found your own company on the web. It's possible now. Internet is very useful if you have something that you want to do or express. Now I would like to state the negative effects of Internet. First, an infringement of copyright (or piracy) on the web is one of the most Negative Effect 1 controversial problem that Internet has caused. It is very hard to protect the copyright since you can get any information on the web any time. You can draw some pictures offered in someone's homepage into yours and you can copy everything that is shown on the web-which you're supposed not to do so. Secondly, subversive materials posted on the web are also a big problem. It's obvious that subversive materials like porno or the Negative Effect 2 picture of a dead body are not good for you or for children. It can happen that innocent kids cruising the web to find a toy company's homepage stumble across the place where many horrible pictures are posted. Though Singapore's government now started controlling and policing those obscene materials on the web, there is a question to be raised: doesn't the regulation offend the freedom of speech? The same question has also been raised from the United States when the obscene pictures on the web were prosecuted. Then, how should we protect our children from those subversive materials on Internet? Is there any way to measure the degree of the obscene materials? To make matters worse, there is currently no universal law that can supervise those problems. As you know, since Internet is worldwide, all countries must cooperate to restrict something on 24
25. the web; otherwise, you can do it in the country where the law is not enforced. (Negative Effect 3)Thirdly, you have to be concerned about the crime on the web. Because you can offer some information anonymously on Internet, some people can also trespass upon your privacy through Internet by spreading some information that you want to private. Furthermore, a crime on the web can sometimes be very serious. If you are a computer specialist, you could steal a secret information like the military secrets of another country. It actually happened a few years ago: a guy from Brazil stole through Internet military secrets from the Department of Defense in U.S.A. Fourthly, as some people say, the Internet is a box of waste since most of the information which is offered on the web is junk. All you Negative Effect 4 do on the web is just wasting your time. In addition, E-mails sometimes bother people; you can't write back to a hundred mails! Some mails may even have nothing to do with you. Dealing with E- mail could waste a lot of your time. As I said earlier, Internet, which was first created for military use, causes both positive and negative effects today. Nevertheless, you just can't complain all the time about the negative effects of Internet. You know that it's too late to stop the expanding of Internet. You won't be able to live without it. What is now demanded for us is to deal with both positive and negative side of Internet and, hopefully, to change its negative effects for the better. In short, a cause-effect analysis is an important analytical skill to develop. Writing the essay that analyzes causes and effects will require examining the topic carefully in order to be complete and logical. ( 25
26. CHAPTER II: AN ANALYSIS ON PROCEDURE OF WRITING A CAUSE AND EFFECT ESSAY 1. Processes of a cause and effect essay Whenever we want to write any types of essay, we must do 3 necessary following processes : 1. Stimulating ideas 2. Brainstorming and Outlining 3. Developing ideas 1.1. Stimulating ideas Firstly, when you have a topic to write, you do not know how to write it, you need some knowledge about the topic that you write about. Therefore, stimulating ideas is necessary for us. For instance, you have a topic : “ Many people travel great distances to find happiness. Others find happiness in the world around them. In your opinion, what are the causes of happiness?” Step 1 :When you meet this topic, the first thing you have to do is thinking about the topic by making notes what makes you happy (memories, actions, words, etc). If you are not sure you should discuss with your friends to find out the answers. Step 2: After thinking, you should read some model essays about what makes happiness to provide some deep insights. Step 3: After that, you must understand what those model essays talk about by making some questions to confirm whether your questions are true or false. Step 4: Certainly, after making questions, you have to answer them yourself. Step 5 : All of the above doing will help you do the last step : free writing. You write for ten to fifteen minutes on the topic above to express yourself as well as you can and not to worry about mistakes. While writing, you should make questions for this topic like that : - People find happiness in different ways. How do you find it? + What are some of the physical, emotional and psychological things in life that make you happy? 26
27. + How do you express your happiness? + How does it affect the people around you? 1.2. Brainstorming and Outlining Finishing process 1, you have motivation to do the next process : Brainstorming and outlining. Step 1 : Brainstorming ideas. You try to think about 3 causes that make happiness and then detail them with explanation, examples or facts Cause of happiness : Physical things Emotional things Behavioral things Step 2 : Brainstorming vocabulary Give some vocabularies are useful for writing about happiness and write related words that will add details to your essay For example : 1. Happiness : fulfillment, contentment, satisfaction, peace of mind 2. Actions : achieve, accomplish, succeed, relaxed, pleasant 3. Results : bring about, result in, lead to, reap, make After that you combine them by make a sentence like this way: Achieving job satisfaction results in feelings of contentment. Step 3 : Outlining This step requires you to review your brainstorming ideas and free writing and write an outline for this topic about the physical, emotional or psychological causes of happiness in the form of cause and effect essay. When you do this process, you should remember that : “ A cause and effect essay explains why certain action, situations, and behaviors happen. The essay can start with an effect, such as success, and find its causes, which might be education or talent. Or the essay can begin with a cause and describe its effects”. (Alice, S & Patricia. M, 2006:65) 27
28. Sample Outlining : Causes of happiness a, Introduction : The causes of happiness can be physical, emotional, or behavioral things which you gain in your life. b, Body: Paragraph 1 : Physical things such as peace of mind, be physically active, and stay energized for the day make you happy. Peace of mind : no need to worry anything. Physical activeness : playing sports Getting a good night sleep : energy for the day. Paragraph 2 : Emotional things which give you happy when you have friends or family, a good self-esteem, and personal control Having family or friends to talk and help to get through difficulties. Paragraph 3 : Behavioral happiness that you gain by socially involved with others, have a positive attitude, and a positive personality. Positive behaviors: feeling happy. c, Conclusion : Happiness can be found through physical, emotional, and behavioral satisfactions. 1.3. Developing ideas To develop ideas, you must use connectors to create coherence among ideas in sentence. 1.3.1. Cause Connectors We have two kinds of connector divided by theirs using a, Connectors introducing a clause Use because or since to introduce a dependent clause. A dependent clause must be attached to a main clause in order to be a sentence 28
29. Remember, both dependent and main clauses contain a subject and a verb Note that when the dependent clause comes at the beginning of the sentence, it is followed by a comma. When the dependent clause comes at the end of the sentence, no comma is used. Dependent clause Main clause Because/Since the traffic was heavy, we were late for class Main clause Dependent clause We were late for class because/since the traffic was heavy For example: Because you have family and friends, when you get difficulties, they will give you helping hands, support you, encourage you. Since the work load is too great, you may get stressful; you need someone to share it with you. At that time, your family and friends will be an emotional support to help you overcome every obstacle. b, Connectors introducing a Noun Phrase Use due to, because of, and as a result of to introduce a noun phrase A noun phrase is formed by a noun and its modifiers, for example, heavy traffic. It has no verb. When the noun phrase comes at the beginning of a sentence, it is followed by a comma. When the noun phrase comes at the end of a sentence, no comma is used. Due to the heavy traffic, we were late for class We were late for class due to the heavy traffic (Alice .S &Patricia. M, 2006:72) E.g: Because of wrong decision, some students waste time and money in universities to learn the major that they are not interested in. For instance, 29
30. students may have very high expectations and select a major that presents demand they cannot meet. In some cases, they find themselves on a career path they do not even enjoy. They may have to change their major or drop out of college due to the realizing that they cannot keep up their grades. 1.3.2. Effect Connectors Use therefore, as a result, or consequently to introduce effect clauses. These connectors always come between two main clauses. One clause shows a cause and the other shows an effect When the clauses are joined into one sentence, the connector is always preceded by a semicolon and followed by a comma Cause Effect I studied all weekend for the test; as a result, I got an A The connector may also begin a separate sentence. In this case, it is followed by a comma. Cause Effect I studied all weekend for the test. Consequently, I got an A (Alice. S &Patricia. M, 2006: 74) E.g: Students need to keep up the motivation they need to study. Probably, students have many duties to fulfill, such as completing homework assignments and research projects, study for exams. Many students work after school and arrive home late at night. As a result, they work so hard in a day, they get tired, and only want to rest. They can undo the exercises by going to bed. Only responsible students will push themselves to finish their work before going to bed. Consequently, responsible students might be exhausted both physically and emotionally. (Alice .S &Patricia. M, 2006:69) 30
31. 2. Rules for a good cause and effect essay Unlike process analysis, the relationship among events in cause-and effect analysis is not chronological; it is causal; something causes something else, or many things cause something; something results from something else, or many things result from one thing In the introduction, provide the necessary background to introduce your reader to your topic, and then write a thesis statement that clearly indicates whether your essay will discuss causes or effects Provide in your thesis statement an indication of the nature of the (typically three or four) causes or effects that you will discuss In the body paragraph, analyze the causes or effects, giving a paragraph to each major cause or effect Use proper word indicators to show causes or to show effects Use appropriate transitions Explore each cause or effect thoroughly; do not just write a list Do not shift away from the causes or effects. For instance, do not discuss ways to avoid sunburn in a paper whose purpose is to discuss the causes of sunburn Regularly remind your reader of your main idea or state the importance of the topic When you analyze causes, you should attempt to understand the relationship of events that brought about an outcome, but in this case one that was probably unexpected and not likely to be repeated in exactly the same way. When we analyze effects, we consider the results of some action When you are discussing multiple causes for an effect, you need to be aware of the types of causes you are analyzing. The causes may be unrelated to each other, but all are related to the effect. These types of causes are often called factors; they are not causally related to each other, but they do work to contribute to the effect 31
32. Do not have too much information to cover or introduce into your argument because you are not writing a dissertation. Avoid falling into a never-ending cycle of ideas; be concise, get to the point Some topics may have many causes and effects with which to deal. Therefore, give some thought to how many and which ones you want to use; some may be more useful than others Discuss causes or effects in a logical order: -Least obvious to most obvious, or -Most obvious to least obvious, or -Most important to least important, or -Least important to most important, or -Sequence (first, second, third [or final]) When you are analyzing causes that are not of equal importance or that are immediate and remote, it is generally a good idea to organize the paragraphs beginning with the immediate and proceeding to the remote, or from the less important to the most important. 32
33. CHAPTER III : SUGGESTIONS ON HOW TO WRITE A CAUSE AND EFFECT ESSAY IN ENGLISH EFFECTIVELY Writing is very difficult and nobody can affirm that he or she never makes any mistakes during the process of writing. In this chapter, I want to point out some possible problems encountered by Vietnamese learners and some suggestions to overcome these mistakes. 1. Some possible problems in writing cause and effect essay encountered by Vietnamese learners. 1.1. Repeating transitional words in an essay. Almost Vietnamese learners have the same habit when they write essay: they always use a transitional word many times. Although that transition word makes coherence for writing, overuse of them is considered poor style in Academic writing, which causes the confusing and boring for readers. The following is an example of the overuse transition words. Sample Essay 4 Factors that lead to Success in College The road to success in college is full of difficulties that might cause obstacles with students reaching their goals. Despite these, students can achieve their dream of earning their degree. They need support from family and friends, strong motivation, and ability to focus. The first cause is that students need the support of their families to succeed. If they are lucky, they have families that protect and encourage them, and their family members act as helping hands, friends who they can depend on. Students need these supports to help them realize their own capacity because there is a time when they doubt themselves. For example, because the work load id too huge or the exams are too hard, student may get stressful. Families can encourage them to continue their duties. Because of expensive tuition and the cost of living, some students are forced to work past-time. If they receive money from their families, they can concentrate all their time to study. 33
34. The second cause is that students need to keep up the motivation they need to study, because students have many duties to fulfill, such as completing homework assignments and research projects, study for exams. Many students work after school and arrive home late at night. Because they work so hard in a day, they get tired, and only want to rest. They can undo the exercises by going to bed. Only responsible students will push themselves to finish their work before going to bed. Because of that, responsible students might be exhausted both physically and emotionally. The third cause is that students need to focus on their goals in universities. Many students are not aware if the importance of selecting the right college and major. Because of wrong decision, they may waste their time and money in universities. For example, students may have high expectation and select a major that presents demands they cannot meet, so they choose the major that they are not interested in. Therefore, they may have to change their major or drop out of colleges or universities when they realize that they cannot keep up their grades. If they are more focus on what they want, the better their chances will be to achieve their goals. If students are enthusiastic about what they are studying, concentrate to their goals and receive support from their families, the college journey will be easier. Therefore, they need to transform themselves into eagles. An eagle knows how to focus on what it wants and capture it even when the distance is great. (Alice .S &Patricia. M, 2006:70) 1.2. Omitting transition words in an essay. Except for repeating transitional words, learners may omit transitional words in an essay; sometimes, learners only write sentences what they have in mind like brainstorming. They may not notice that sentences or paragraphs need unity and coherence. Thus, they omit necessary transition words in their essay. This mistake also makes readers confused and the essay not effective. 34
35. Sample 5 : Causes of Overpopulation Overpopulation is the condition where the number of organisms exceeds the carrying capacity of their habitat. We are facing the effects of overpopulation in our daily lives. Overpopulation has impacted the life of common man and has proved to be one of the gravest difficulties that have to be fought. Overpopulation implies scarcity of resources and economic inflation; these are the monsters which can make life miserable. Living through the negative effects of overpopulation has made us realize serious problems associated with it. It is high time we wake up and find the causes of overpopulation and work on them. The fall in death rates that is decline in mortality rate is one fundamental cause of overpopulation. The advancements in medicine, man has found cures to the previously fatal diseases. The new inventions in medicine have brought in treatments for most of the dreadful diseases. This has resulted in an increase in the life expectancy of individuals. Mortality rate has declined leading to an increase in population. Modern medications and improved treatments to various illnesses, the overall death rate has gone down. The brighter side of it is that we have been able to fight many diseases and prevent deaths. On the other hand, the medical boon has brought with it, the curse of overpopulation. The new discoveries in nutritional science, we have been able to bring in increase in the fertility rates of human beings. Medicines of today can boost the reproductive rate in human beings. There are medicines and treatments, which can help in conception. Science has led to an increase in birth rate. This is certainly a reason to be proud and happy but advances in medicine have also become a cause of overpopulation. Immigration ,a problem in some parts of the world, also brings about the high density of population . If the inhabitants of various countries migrate to a particular part of the world and settle over there, the area is bound to suffer 35
36. from the ill effects of overpopulation. If the rates of emigration from a certain nation do not match the rates of immigration to that country, overpopulation makes its way. The country becomes overly populated. Crowding of immigrants in certain parts of the world, results in an imbalance in the density of population. Illiteracy is another important cause of overpopulation. Those lacking education fail to understand the need to prevent excessive growth of population. They are unable to understand the harmful effects that overpopulation has. They are unaware of the ways to control population. Lack of family planning is commonly seen in the illiterate lot of the world. This is one of the major factors leading to overpopulation. Ignorance, they do not take to family planning measures, thus contributing to a rise in population. Viewing the issue of increasing population optimistically, one may say that overpopulation means the increase in human resources. The increase in the number of people is the increase in the number of productive hands and creative minds. We cannot ignore the fact that the increase in the number producers implies an increase in the number of consumers. Greater number of people requires a greater number of resources. Not every nation is capable of providing its people with the adequate amount of resources. The ever-increasing population will eventually leave no nation capable of providing its people with the resources they need to thrive. When the environment fails to accommodate the living beings that inhabit it, overpopulation becomes a disaster. ( 1.3. Incorrect topic sentences in body paragraphs Some students, after giving the thesis statement in introduction part, when they write the body paragraphs, they omit topic sentences for each paragraph. This problem is caused by the habit of having only one topic sentence in the introduction part when they write paragraphs. We can see this problem from the following essay: 36
37. Causes of Divorce You know that divorce is more common nowadays, but do you know the causes? According to the statistics offered by INEGI in a survey practiced in 2005, 70% of the couples who get married take the decision of getting divorce. There are many reasons why they make this decision, but there are three main causes which are lack of communication, financial issues, and abuse. The first cause is the main causes of divorce. A marriage is on the rocks when the lines of communication fail. You cannot have an ineffective relationship if either one of you does not discuss about his/her feelings, cannot talk about his/her mutual or personal issues, and expects his/her partner to guess what the whole problem is about. Next is another cause of divorce. Money or aspects related to it are of course a possible cause of disagreement between couples. Married couples could squabble over such issues as shared financial responsibility, unequal financial status, undisclosed financial state, over spending, and lack of financial support. Finally is the last cause of divorce. This does not just include intentional and habitual physical abuse. It may also come in the form of sexual abuse and emotional abuse. One partner may actively seek to degrade his/her partner through harsh language. Drug and alcohol make the person so violent; in addition, there may be no physical or verbal abuse, but the other partner would understandably have a difficult time managing finances and daily life with an addicted spouse. Now we know that lack of communication, financial problems, and violence are the main causes why people get divorce. May be you should consider living in free union for a short time before you get married, by doing this, you can meet your partner well. It is not the best option, but if you are really in love, you can get married without any problem. 37
38. ( divorce.html) From the above example, we can realize that all of the topic sentences of body paragraphs are incorrect in form. The topic of a paragraph must state the main idea of it. Incorrect : The first cause is the main causes of divorce Correct: Lack of communication is one of the main causes of divorce. Incorrect : Next is another cause of divorce. Correct : Another cause of divorce are financial issues. Incorrect : Finally is the last cause of divorce. Correct : The last causes of divorce are the ways of abuse. 2. Some suggestions to improve writing cause and effect essay. 2.1. Using various transitional words. Depending on the kinds of paragraph as well as the purpose of writer, a variety of transition words should be used appropriately. In fact, each paragraph has is own transition signals. Therefore, the writers should learn to use them effectively in writing. Do not always use the same transitional words many times. In paragraph (2),(3),(4) the writer use a lot of “ because”, “because of”, “cause” so the paragraphs become boring and ineffective. To write a paragraph of cause and effect, we can use a lot of transitional words. The writer use not only “because or because of”, but also “due to, the consequence of, as the result of, in fact, consequently, etc”. In addition, we can also common transition signals, such as : the first, the second, in addition, if, etc. Similarly, the word “for example” can be substituted by “for instance”. The word “therefore” is changed by “ thus, hence, as a result, indeed, etc”. We can edit Sample Essay 4 by using various transition words. 38
39. Edited Essay 4: Factors that lead to Success in College The road to success in college is full of difficulties that might cause obstacles with students reaching their goals. Despite these, students can achieve their dream of earning their degree. They need support from family and friends, strong motivation, and ability to focus. First, students need the support of their families to succeed. If they are lucky, they have families that protect and encourage them, and their family members act as helping hands, friends who they can depend on. Students need these supports to help them realize their own capacity ;in fact, there is a time when they doubt themselves. For example, the work load id too huge or the exams are too hard, student may get stressful. Families can encourage them to continue their duties. In addition, tuition and the cost of living are very expensive, some students are forced to work past-time. If they receive money from their families, they can concentrate all their time to study. Secondly, students need to keep up the motivation they need to study, Probably, students have many duties to fulfill, such as completing homework assignments and research projects, study for exams. Many students work after school and arrive home late at night. As a result, they work so hard in a day, they get tired, and only want to rest. They can undo the exercises by going to bed. Only responsible students will push themselves to finish their work before going to bed. Consequently, responsible students might be exhausted both physically and emotionally. Thirdly, students need to focus on their goals in universities. Many students are not aware if the importance of selecting the right college and major. Wrong decision, they may waste their time and money in universities. For instance, students may have high expectation and select a major that presents demands they cannot meet, so they choose the major that they are not interested in. Thus, they may have to change their major or drop out of colleges or universities when they realize that they cannot keep up their 39
40. grades. If they are more focus on what they want, the better their chances will be to achieve their goals. If students are enthusiastic about what they are studying, concentrate to their goals and receive support from their families, the college journey will be easier. Hence, they need to transform themselves into eagles. An eagle knows how to focus on what it wants and capture it even when the distance is great. (Alice.S& Patricia.M, 2006:70) Cause-effect writing gives reasons and explanations for events, conditions, or behavior. It answers the need most of us have to understand the world around us. Some common transitional words used in essays are listed below: Transitions Conjunctions Prepositions Subordinating Coordinating Cause Because/Since/ For Because of/ As If .then/ Due to/ One reason Owing to/ On why/ The main account of/ reasons why/ Thanks to There are other reasons that Effect As a result/ If .then Consequently/ Therefore/Thus/Henc e/As a consequence/ For this reason Degrees Certainly/Necessarily/ Beyond any shadow of a of Perhaps/Possibly/ doubt that/ Probably/Undoutedly/ There is no doubt that/ certaint Unquestionably It is obvious that/ y It is inevitable that 40
41. Levels Above all/ What is more important is / Equally/Importantly/Most of The most important is / importantly/ One of the most important importa More importantly/ reasons why nce First and foremost/ Ultimately/First/Initially/ Primarily/Second/Finally Table 1 : Suggested transitional words in cause and effect essay Basing on these transitional words, we can edit the Sample Essay 5 as follows: Edited Essay 5: Causes of Overpopulation Overpopulation is the condition where the number of organisms exceeds the carrying capacity of their habitat. We are facing the effects of overpopulation in our daily lives. Overpopulation has impacted the life of common man and has proved to be one of the gravest difficulties that have to be fought. Moreover, overpopulation implies scarcity of resources and economic inflation; these are the monsters which can make life miserable. Living through the negative effects of overpopulation has made us realize serious problems associated with it. It is high time we wake up and find the causes of overpopulation and work on them. Firstly, The fall in death rates that is decline in mortality rate is one fundamental causes of overpopulation. Owing to the advancements in medicine, man has found cures to the previously fatal diseases. The new inventions in medicine have brought in treatments for most of the dreadful diseases. This has resulted in an increase in the life expectancy of individuals. Mortality rate has declined leading to an increase in population. Due to modern medications and improved treatments to various illnesses, the overall death rate has gone down. The brighter side of it is that we have been able to 41
42. fight many diseases and prevent deaths. On the other hand, the medical boon has brought with it, the curse of overpopulation. Secondly, thanks to the new discoveries in nutritional science, we have been able to bring in increase in the fertility rates of human beings. Medicines of today can boost the reproductive rate in human beings. There are medicines and treatments, which can help in conception. Thus, science has led to an increase in birth rate. This is certainly a reason to be proud and happy but advances in medicine have also become a cause of overpopulation. Thirdly, immigration is a problem in some parts of the world. If the inhabitants of various countries migrate to a particular part of the world and settle over there, the area is bound to suffer from the ill effects of overpopulation. If the rates of emigration from a certain nation do not match the rates of immigration to that country, overpopulation makes its way. The country becomes overly populated. Crowding of immigrants in certain parts of the world, results in an imbalance in the density of population. Fourthly, illiteracy is another important cause of overpopulation. Those lacking education fail to understand the need to prevent excessive growth of population. They are unable to understand the harmful effects that overpopulation has. They are unaware of the ways to control population. Lack of family planning is commonly seen in the illiterate lot of the world. This is one of the major factors leading to overpopulation. Due to ignorance, they do not take to family planning measures, thus contributing to a rise in population. Viewing the issue of increasing population optimistically, one may say that overpopulation means the increase in human resources. The increase in the number of people is the increase in the number of productive hands and creative minds. But we cannot ignore the fact that the increase in the number producers implies an increase in the number of consumers. Greater number of people requires a greater number of resources. Not every nation is capable of providing its people with the adequate amount of resources. The ever-increasing population will eventually leave no nation 42
43. capable of providing its people with the resources they need to thrive. When the environment fails to accommodate the living beings that inhabit it, overpopulation becomes a disaster. 2.2. Writing correct topic sentences in body paragraphs. The topic of a paragraph must state the main ideas of it. It not only names the topic of paragraph, but it also limits the topic to one or two areas that can be discussed completely in the space of a single paragraph. Therefore, topic sentence states both the topic and the controlling ideas. We can rewrite the above essay by using correct topic sentences. Cause of Divorce You know that divorce is more common nowadays, but do you know the causes? According to the statistics offered by INEGI in a survey practiced in 2005, 70% of the couples who get married take the decision of getting divorce. There are many reasons why they make this decision, but there are three main causes which are lack of communication, financial problems, and abuse. Lack of communication is one of the main causes of divorce. A marriage is on the rocks when the lines of communication fail. You cannot have an ineffective relationship if either one of you does not discuss about his/her feelings, cannot talk about his/her mutual or personal issues, and expects his/her partner to guess what the whole problem is about. Another cause of divorce is financial issues. Money or aspects related to it is of course possible cause of disagreement between couples. Married couples could squabble over such issues as shared financial responsibility, unequal financial status, undisclosed financial state, over spending, and lack of financial support. The last cause of divorce is the ways of abuse. This does not just include intentional and habitual physical abuse. It may also come in the form of sexual abuse and emotional abuse. One partner may actively seek to degrade his/her partner through harsh language. Drug and alcohol make the person so 43
44. violent; in addition, there may be no physical or verbal abuse, but the other partner would understandably have a difficult time managing finances and daily life with an addicted spouse. Now we know that lack of communication, financial problems, and violence are the main causes why people get divorce. May be you should consider living in free union for a short time before you get married, by doing this, you can meet your partner well. It is not the best option, but if you are really in love, you can get married without any problem. 44
45. PART THREE : CONCLUSION There are many important factors to write a good Cause and Effect essay. With my experience and knowledge learned at University, I have tried to provide learners with the most basic knowledge about Cause and Effect essay, and the easiest method to write a Cause and Effect essay effectively. In the study, the rationale, aims, method, scope and design of the study are mentioned in part one in hope that the readers can have an overview of my study. Part two includes three chapters Chapter one introduce the theoretical background including an overview of Academic writing, an overview of essay, an overview of Cause and Effect essay: definitions and structural parts of t Cause and Effect essay. In chapter two, I present how to write a Cause and Effect essay effectively. I go into the noticeable processes and rules to make a good Cause and Effect essay so that learners can collect necessary information of it. And then, some common mistakes facing Vietnamese learners and some suggestions are given in chapter three, which helps learners avoid such mistakes and perfect their ability of writing Cause and Effect essay Chapter two and three are considered the most important parts of my study. I am fully aware that shortcomings and mistakes are unavoidable. I wish to receive any comments and contributing ideas from others . I also hope that my Graduation paper will be a very useful reference for those who learn English. 45
46. References I . In English : 1.Alice. S & Patricia. M. (2006). Effective academic writing. Oxford University Press. 2 Oshima, A. and Hogue, A. (2004). Writing Academic English (A third edition). Addison Wesley Publishing Company. 3. Quirk, R. and Greenbaum. (1973). A university Grammar of English. David Campbell Publishers Ltd. 4. Stephen.B. (2006). A handbook for International Students.(A Second Edition) Routledge Publishing Company. II. In Vietnamese : 1.Tran Le Duyen & Duong Thi Thuc. (2009). Academic paragraphs and essays in English. Scientific and Society Publishing. III. Websites. writing.suite101.com/article.cfm/how_to_write_a_cause_effect_essay 46
47. APPENDIX A : CHART OF TRANSITION SIGNAL Meaning/ Sentence Clause Connectors Others Function Connectors Coordinators Subordinators To introduce a Also, Too And Another similar additional Besides Nor An additional idea Furthermore (“and not”) In addition Moreover To compare Also And As As as things Likewise Both and Just as Like/ alike Similarly Not only but Just like Too also Similar to Neither nor Be alike Be similar To introduce an However But Although Despite opposite idea, In contrast Yet Even though In spite of and to contrast Instead Though Compared to/with things In/ Whereas By comparison While To introduce an For example Such as example For instance Like An example of Meaning/ Sentence Clause connectors Others Function connectors Coordinators Subordinators To introduce an Otherwise Or If alternative Unless To signal First, second, After The first, the second chronological First of all As The next, the last, the order Then, next As soon as final Now, then, soon Before ( before the lunch Last, finally Since After the war Meanwhile Until Since 19__ Gradually When In the year 20___ After that While Any time expression) Since then To indicate Above all A more important order of First and Foremost The most important 47
48. importance More/ most The second most importantly/ significant significantly The primary Primarily Meaning/ Sentence Clause connector Others Function connectors Coordinators Subordinators To emphasize In fact To explain and Indeed restate That is To introduce For Because Result from cause and reason Since Be the result of As Due to Because of The effect of The consequence of As a result of To introduce an Accordingly So Result in effect or result As a result Cause, Affect As a consequence Have an effect on Consequently The cause of Hence, thus The reason for Therefore Meaning/ Sentence Clause connectors Others Function connector Coordinators Subordinators To conclude All in all It is clear that In brief We can see that In conclusion The evidence suggests In short that In summary These example show Indeed that (Oshima, A, 2004: 254-255) 48
49. APPENDIX: EXERCISES Exercise 1: Identifying related causes and effects Write X next to the sentence that does not related to the statement 1. Strong economic growth in a country achieves many desired goals. a, More people buy houses. b, Strong economic growth followed World War I. c, There is less unemployment. 2. Weather can influence your life. a. Weather conditions in the world are changing. b. Cool climates promote hard work. c. In rainy climates people are often depressed. 3. Automobiles have changes the way people live. a. They offer increase mobility. b. Many cars have air-conditioning. c. They save commuting time. 4. Good parenting has many positive effects. a. Children treat others with respect. b. It promotes academic success. c. Good parenting takes a lot of time. 5. Pet ownership offers many rewards. a. Dogs, cats, and hamsters are popular household pets. b. Having a pet prevents many common illnesses. c. Children learn how to be responsible. 6. Listening to loud music has its consequences. a. Stress levels can increases significantly. b. The ability to concentrate is reduced. c. Young people all over the world listen to loud music. 49
50. Exercise 2 : Using connectors to show causes. Combine each pair of sentences with the connectors to show cause. You may need to change one of the sentences into a noun phrase. 1. The construction industry is thriving. There is a high demand for new housing. 2. Many young people want to go to college. The competition for jobs has become fierce. 3. People are living longer. Second careers are more common. 4. Newspapers and magazines are losing subscribers. Readers obtain more up-to-date information from the internet. 5. There is a great need for nurses. Many students are entering the profession. 6. The Suez Canal was built. Ships are able to travel faster from the west to the east. Exercise 3 : Using connectors to show effects. 1. People are cooking less. Microwaves are time-saving 2. More police patrol the streets. Crime rates are high. 3. Globalization is increasing. English has become a more popular language. 4. Consumers have more choices. Shopping malls are huge. 5. Cell phones are convenient and economical. Many people have cancelled their home service. 6. The exam was challenging. Many students failed. Exercise 4: Read the following essays and answer the following questions (1) How does the writer introduce his/her essay? (2) What is the block style used the essay? (3) How many causes are discussed in the essay? (4) How many effects are discussed in the essay? (5) How does the writer end his or her essay? It is said that for every action, there is a reaction. That saying is perfectly illustrated by the way that my parents disciplined my brothers and sisters and me. As for me, it was an ordinary family; however, I later learnt that having 50
51. ten children was anything but ordinary. It required a certain number of rules, and my parents were not shy about making those rules. The rules in our house were strict and had both short-term and long-term effects. First of all, from the time we were very young, we were responsible for keeping our rooms neat and clean. Our parents did a daily “inspection” of our own rooms that could occur at any time. If our beds were not made or our clothes were not hung up or our toys were left out, we were immediately taken to our rooms when we got home from school and told to correct the situation. When we did not keep our rooms clean, we had to help our mother for the rest of the afternoon instead of going out and playing with friends. Therefore, in fact, we kept our rooms fairly tidy, and we got to like them like that. As adults, in my opinion, we all can now appreciate this discipline of tidying up before leaving our rooms, apartments or houses. Doing as well as possible in school was also very important in our family. Homework time began right after dinner, and each child was required to explain to one or both parents what she or eh was doing. Asking for help was permitted, but being lazy was not. When we were caught daydreaming instead of doing our homework, the punishment was quick and certain: no TV for a week. Good grades were not necessarily accepted, but making a good effort was. If one of out teachers contacted my parents with s discipline problem or with a simple comment that one of us was not working up to our abilities, we all got a lecture from my parents about our responsibilities as children were. Today, my parents can boast that all ten of their children are college graduates and that among them are two doctors and two college professors. Finally, our parents always made sure that we understood how important our relationships to each other were. We were taught to love and respect our siblings, as they were the only people that we would always be able to count on. From a very early stage, we learnt to share what we had with each other. Later, we learnt to support each other through hard times at school or around the neighborhood. In my family, the result of our not caring for each other 51
52. was the look of such profound disappointment in my parents’ eyes that it would break our hearts. Our parents always forgave us in the end; nevertheless, it was a terrible feeling. The long-term result of this is that we are all very close today. Some people think my upbringing was rather strict and even cruel, but I do not. As an adult, I live in an orderly home, am very happy working in my chosen profession as a college professor, and have no better friends than my brothers and sisters. I believe that I owe my parents and their rules for the stability and contentment I have in my life. Exercise 5: Underline the part of sentence that states a cause and circle the word(s) that introduce the cause. 1. The computer is a learning tool since it helps children to master math and language skills. 2. Due to the ability of computers to keep records of sales and inventory, many big department stores rely on them. 3. A medical computer system is an aid to physicians because of its ability to interpret data from a patient’s history and provide a diagnosis. 4. Lowering the speed limit to55 MPH has cause a sharp decrease in the number of traffic deaths. 5. Public transportation is becoming popular because the cost of gasoline has been rising, Exercise 6: Underline the part of sentence that states an effect and circle the word(s) that introduce the effect 1. The performance of electric cars is inferior to the performance of cars with conventional internal combustion engines; consequently, some improvements must be made in them if they are to become popular. 2. However, electric cars are reliable, economic and nonpolluting; therefore, the government is spending millions of dollars to improve their technology. 3. Electric cars use relatively inexpensive electricity for power; thus, they cost less to operate than cars that use gasoline. 52
53. 4. His refusal to attend classes result in his dismissal from the school 5. The cost of gasoline is rising; as a result, many people are using their cars less often. 53