Cause and Effect Guidelines and Annotations

Here are some guidelines and an example of a good cause and effect essay.

Click each guideline to see how it works in the example essay.

A cause and effect paper
¥	clearly describes the event or situation to be explained
¥	gives the causes or effects of the event or situation
¥	uses evidence to support each cause or effect
¥	organizes the causes and effects in a logical way

Annotations

¥	The paper clearly describes the event or situation to be explained. Readers know 	
	that the paper will explain how the clock affects a student's daily life.

¥	The paper gives four effects of the clock on Susan's school day. One effect is how 	
	Susan dresses and what she eats in the morning. Other effects are on Susan's 	
	schedule at school, her use of the computer after school, and her dreams.

¥	Evidence supports each effect. Evidence includes descriptive details and 	explanations.

¥	The paper is organized by chronological order. The first effect is in the morning; 		
	the last is at night.