Consider a topic such as "Air Pollution in Mexico City" as an example. If you were to write a twenty-page, exhaustive study about air pollution in Mexico City, perhaps it would be possible to write about both the causes and effects, ten pages describing the causes of air pollution and then ten pages describing the effects of air pollution. However, when writing two or three pages about "Air Pollution in Mexico City," it is necessary to limit your topic so you can cover it thoroughly. Using air pollution in Mexico City as an example, it would be very easy to develop a paper about the causes of air pollution in Mexico City as follows:

What are the causes of air pollution in Mexico City, for example?  Students in the past have said (1) exhaust from automobiles and trucks, (2) soot from industry smokestacks, (3) geography, (4) speed bumps, (5) corruption at emissions inspection stations, (6) more high pollution cars as a result of no-drive days, (7) insufficient low pollution public transportation, etc. Any of these ideas about the causes of air pollution can be developed into a two or three page essay. It would be possible to write about just one cause, the main cause, and explore it in depth, or it would be possible to write about the three main causes, for example.

On the other hand, what are the effects of air pollution in Mexico City?  Students in the past have said (1) poor visibility, (2) headaches, (3) emphysema, (4) allergies, (5) runny eyes and nose, (6) shorter life span for Mexico City's residents, (7) lower quality of life for Mexico City's residents, (8) necessity to stay indoors, (9) more sitting in front of the television, (10) destruction of wildlife, (11) negative world attention, (12) decrease in tourism, etc. Any of these ideas about the effects of air pollution can be developed into a two or three page essay. As above, it would be possible to write about just one effect, the main effect, or it would be possible to write about the three main effects.

Points to remember when writing a Cause or Effect essay.

1. State your organization. In all compositions for an academic audience, you should state your organization. Stating your organization means that you should (1) tell your audience what you are going to tell them, (2) then tell them, and (3) then tell them what you told them.

2. List all of the causes or all of the effects, not necessarily in your essay, but before you begin to write your essay. On a piece of paper before beginning to write your essay, list as many causes or effects you can think of. Using the above example about the effects of pollution in Mexico City, you may write your ideas as follows:

When looking at all these effects of air pollution in Mexico City—there are twelve of them—it is necessary to consider which ones you want to write about.  It would be impractical to write about the first effect and the second effect all the way up to the eleventh and the twelfth effect.  In a short essay, listing them all would never work.  But would it be possible to list several effects under a single heading such as health effects as shown in the chart on the right? 

From the list above, what other effects could be listed as health effects besides runny eyes and nose and emphysema?  There are at least four or five additional apparent health effects listed.  Please include them under health effects on the right.

Obviously, if you were to write about the Effects of air pollution in Mexico City, health effects would be an important part of your essay.

The full list of the twelve effects listed above contains other negative effects such as (1) negative world attention and (2) decrease of tourism.  How can these effects of air pollution be categorized, and what other effects could be listed in this category? 

 Finally, another important effect of air pollution in Mexico City relates to lifestyle effects.  Pollution effects the day-to-day living among many of Mexico City's residents, especially the aged and the young.  Besides those listed above and in the chart on the right, can you add other lifestyle effects of air pollution?

Question: Is it possible to categorize any other effects of air pollution in Mexico City? Your goal should be to try to organize your information into three or four main points, if possible, so it can be presented to the reader clearly and concisely. If you were to write an essay about the effects of air pollution in Mexico, what are the three or four main categories that you would include? List them in the following spaces.

1. ______________________________________________

2. ______________________________________________

3. ______________________________________________

(4.) ____________________________________________

Other points to remember when writing a Cause or Effect essay are as follows:

3. Support all causes or effects with supporting details. If you believe, for example, that an important effect of air pollution in Mexico City is a lower quality of life for the city's residents, state your point clearly at the beginning of a paragraph and then provide support to help your reader understand how or why that is true.

4. Have a rationale for the order in which you present your information.  There is often one major cause or effect that is most important.  Some sources recommend that you save your most important cause or effect until last.  By saving your most important cause or effect until last, they say, you leave your reader with a very strong impression.  Others say to start with the most important cause or effect because that helps capture your reader's attention.  In reality, there is no single, best answer for the order of major causes or effects.  Experiment, and develop your own rationale for the order in which you present your information.

5. Finally, maintain your focus. In a short cause or effect essay of 350-400 words, limit the range of your topic to either the causes or effects of something. A cause or effect essay doesn't recommend how to change the situation or give opinions about why the situation is good or bad. It simply examines the reasons for it.

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