cause and effect essay worksheet pdf

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Cause and Effect Essays EAP Worksheets

• Upper-intermediate ( B2 )

EAP Cause and Effect Essays Worksheet - Reading and Writing Exercises: Matching, Gap-fill, Writing an Outline and Essay - Speaking Activity: Discussion - Group Work - Upper-intermediate (B2) - 90 minutes

Cause and Effect Essays 1

Eap cause and effect essays worksheet - writing exercises: categorising, gap-fill, identifying, listing, creating an essay outline, writing an essay, peer review - upper-intermediate (b2) - 90 minutes.

Cause and Effect Signal Words

Eap cause and effect essays worksheet - grammar and writing exercises: identifying, combining sentences, writing an outline and essay - upper-intermediate (b2) - 90 minutes.

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Cause and Effect Worksheets

Everything that happens in the world is a result of cause and effect and because of this, even non-fiction literature and articles often have these cause and effect references. These concepts are important for readers to understand what they’re reading and think about the causes and effects the author presented. To help students understand this, allow them to practice using cause and effect worksheets.

What is cause and effect?  

Cause and effect is a relationship between events or things, where one is the result of the other – a combination of action and reaction. In literature, cause and effect reading passages are a common method of organizing information. For instance, paragraphs with a cause and effect structure can explain the reasons behind an occurrence.

Cause and effect exercises are commonly used in persuasive and expository writing styles. For instance, when an author gives the reasons for something happening, he is simply providing an explanation of the cause of an effect – the reason is the cause and what happened is the effect.

When an author provides an explanation for the results of a specific action, he is also explaining the effects of the cause – the result is the effect and the thing that happened is the cause. This structure is very common even you would have probably composed your own paragraph with it.

Why do you need cause and effect worksheets?  

Cause and effect worksheets include situations where an event occurs and a cause why it happened. There is always a relationship between a cause and an effect. For students, learning through cause and effect activities can help them understand the structures of stories and situations.

There are several cause and effect exercises and worksheets you can use for different grade levels. You can easily download these worksheets from there, customize them as needed. Encourage your students to learn more about this concept through constant practice by reading cause and effect reading passages.

Cause and effect is an essential element of reading comprehension. Sadly, even students who attend grammar school sometimes struggle to understand its meaning. As a teacher, you can help your students perfect this essential skill through cause and effect activities and worksheets.

Cause and Effect Exercises

Other methods of teaching cause and effect  .

Aside from using cause and effect worksheets, you can introduce to your students, other simple ideas or methods to help students master cause and effect 4th grade, 5th grade, 6th grade, and so on. Here are some methods to consider:

Use concrete examples

Gather some good cause-and-effect examples you can use in class. Use examples that demonstrate the concept clearly. Use these to make cause and effect exercises so students can easily identify which is the cause and which is the effect.

Make sentence strips for matching

On long strips of paper, write the causes and the matching effects. You should make enough of these for the entire class. Give a sentence strip to each student that contains either an “effect” or a “cause.” When you give the “Go” signal, the kids start walking around the room until they locate their match.

When everyone finds their partner, they can then quickly share their combined answers. This cause and effect activity will pique the students’ interests as it will get them out of their chairs.

Play a pairing card game with cause and effect passages

Cut out cards from two construction paper of two different colors. After arranging your students into pairs, give each of them two cards of each color. One of the colors is for the causes and the other color is for the effects.

Next, the pairs should work together to think of different cause-and-effect events that they will write down on their cards. Once they have finished their events, they mix them up, place them inside an envelope and write their names on the front.

The next day, set the envelopes around the room as if having a scavenger hunt. Have pairs of students go around the classroom to open the envelopes then match the cause and effect cards.

Use pictures cards for your students to infer cause and effect

This would be a good exercise for students who have already mastered the basics.  First, collect a lot of interesting pictures from magazines or download them online from royalty-free sites. Make sure that the pictures generate interest so your students can find several cause-and-effects using them.

Paste the pictures on a piece of chart or construction paper. Underneath each of the pictures, divide the space in half. Write “cause” at the top and “effect” at the bottom. Your students can have a brainstorming session and jot down as many different causes and effects for a single picture by looking at it in different ways.

Read picture books

You can find many wonderful picture books that show the cause-and-effect concept. Some of these may be a bit outlandish but students always enjoy and find something memorable in such wild scenes.

Play a cause-and-effect game

One effective way to reinforce a lesson is through games. Such activities are also very interesting for students of all ages. As an added incentive, you can even play these games independently. When one of your students finishes his assignments early and has some free time to spare, let him test his mastery of cause and effect by having him play cause-and-effect games that could both challenge him and reinforce what you have taught.

For instance, if you have a student who is an ice cream fanatic, let him “scoop” the cause and place it on a cone where you’ve written an effect. This is a fun game you can create using an ice cream scoop, paper cones and “ice cream scoops” made of ping pong balls. If your students play by group, let them compete in a game of cause-and-effect Jeopardy!

Conduct experiments

Perhaps the best way to demonstrate the cause-and-effect concept is through an experiment. Make a quick list of simple experiments to do in class. Then in small groups or as a whole class, work together to think of a simple hypothesis. Help the students to see that the setup you have created for the experiment is the cause and what happens as a result of the experiment is the effect.

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Cause and Effect Essay Outline: Types, Examples and Writing Tips

20 June, 2020

9 minutes read

Author:  Tomas White

This is a complete guide on writing cause and effect essays. Find a link to our essay sample at the end. Let's get started!

What is a Cause and Effect Essay?

A cause and effect essay is the type of paper that the author is using to analyze the causes and effects of a particular action or event. A curriculum usually includes this type of exercise to test your ability to understand the logic of certain events or actions.

If you can see the logic behind cause and effect in the world around you, you will encounter fewer problems when writing. If not, writing this kind of paper will give you the chance to improve your skillset and your brain’s ability to reason.

“Shallow men believe in luck or in circumstance. Strong men believe in cause and effect.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

In this article, the  Handmade Writing team will find out how to create an outline for your cause and effect essay – the key to successful essay writing.

Types of the Cause and Effect Essay

Before writing this kind of essay, you need to draft the structure. A good structure will result in a good paper, so it’s important to have a plan before you start. But remember , there’s no need to reinvent the wheel: just about every type of structure has already been formulated by someone.

If you are still unsure about the definition of an essay, you can take a look at our guide:  What is an Essay?

Generally speaking, there are three types of cause and effect essays. We usually differentiate them by the number of and relationships between the different causes and the effects. Let’s take a quick look at these three different cases:

1. Many causes, one effect

This kind of essay illustrates how different causes can lead to one effect. The idea here is to try and examine a variety of causes, preferably ones that come from different fields, and prove how they contributed to a particular effect. If you are writing about World War I, for example, mention the political, cultural, and historical factors that led to the great war.

By examining a range of fundamental causes, you will be able to demonstrate your knowledge about the topic.

Here is how to structure this type of essay:

• Introduction
• Cause #3 (and so on…)
• The effect of the causes

2. One cause, many effects

This type of cause and effect essay is constructed to show the various effects of a particular event, problem, or decision. Once again, you will have to demonstrate your comprehensive knowledge and analytical mastery of the field. There is no need to persuade the reader or present your argument . When writing this kind of essay, in-depth knowledge of the problem or event’s roots will be of great benefit. If you know why it happened, it will be much easier to write about its effects.

Here is the structure for this kind of essay:

• Effect #3 (and so on…)

3. Chain of causes and effects

This is the most challenging type. You need to maintain a chain of logic that demonstrates a sequence of actions and consequences, leading to the end of the chain. Although this is usually the most interesting kind of cause and effect essay, it can also be the most difficult to write.

Here is the outline structure:

• Effect #1 = Cause #2
• Effect #2 = Cause #3
• Effect #3 = Cause #4 (and so on…)

Cause and Effect Essay Outline Example

Let’s take a look at an example. Below, you will find an outline for the topic “The causes of obesity” (Type 1) :

As you can see, we used a blended strategy here. When writing about the ever-increasing consumption of unhealthy food, it is logical to talk about the marketing strategies that encourage people to buy fast food. If you are discussing fitness trainers, it is important to mention that people need to be checked by a doctor more often, etc.

In case you face some issues with writing your Cause and Effect essay, you can always count on our Essay Writers !

How do I start writing once I have drafted the structure?

If you start by structuring each paragraph and collecting suitable examples, the writing process will be much simpler. The final essay might not come up as a classic five paragraph essay – it all depends on the cause-effect chain and the number of statements of your essay.

In the Introduction, try to give the reader a general idea of what the cause and effect essay will contain. For an experienced reader, a thesis statement will be an indication that you know what you are writing about. It is also important to emphasize how and why this problem is relevant to modern life. If you ever need to write about the Caribbean crisis, for instance, state that the effects of the Cold War are still apparent in contemporary global politics. 

Related Post: How to write an Essay introduction | How to write a Thesis statement

In the Body, provide plenty of details about what causes led to the effects. Once again, if you have already assembled all the causes and effects with their relevant examples when writing your plan, you shouldn’t have any problems. But, there are some things to which you must pay particular attention. To begin with, try to make each paragraph the same length: it looks better visually. Then, try to avoid weak or unconvincing causes. This is a common mistake, and the reader will quickly realize that you are just trying to write enough characters to reach the required word count.

Moreover, you need to make sure that your causes are actually linked to their effects. This is particularly important when you write a “chained” cause and effect essay (type 3) . You need to be able to demonstrate that each cause was actually relevant to the final result. As I mentioned before, writing the Body without preparing a thorough and logical outline is often an omission.

The Conclusion must be a summary of the thesis statement that you proposed in the Introduction. An effective Conclusion means that you have a well-developed understanding of the subject. Notably, writing the Conclusion can be one of the most challenging parts of this kind of project. You typically write the Conclusion once you have finished the Body, but in practice, you will sometimes find that a well-written conclusion will reveal a few mistakes of logic in the body!

Cause and Effect Essay Sample

Be sure to check the sample essay, completed by our writers. Use it as an example to write your own cause and effect essay. Link: Cause and effect essay sample: Advertising ethic issues .

Tips and Common Mistakes from Our Expert Writers

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Cause & effect essays Aka reason and result

The Cause and effect essay is another common essay type, either as an essay type on its own, or as part of a larger essay which includes one or more paragraphs examining causes and effects. This page gives information on what a cause and effect essay is , how to structure this type of essay, and how to use cause and effect structure words (transition signals) for this type of essay. There is also an example cause and effect essay on the topic of women at work, as well as some exercises to help you practice this area.

What are cause & effect essays?

For another look at the same content, check out YouTube » or Youku » , or this infographic » .

A cause and effect essay looks at the reasons (or causes) for something, then discusses the results (or effects). For this reason, cause and effect essays are sometimes referred to as reason and result essays. They are one of the most common forms of organisation in academic writing. Sometimes the whole essay will be cause and effect, though sometimes this may be only part of the whole essay. It is also possible, especially for short exam essays, that only the causes or the effects, not both, are discussed. See the examples below.

• Discuss the causes and effects of global warming ['cause and effect' essay]
• Explain the high death rate in Chernobyl ['causes' only essay]
• Discuss the WTO and its effects on the Chinese economy ['effects' only essay]

There are two main ways to structure a cause and effect essay. These are similar to the ways to structure problem-solution essays , namely using a block or a chain structure. For the block structure, all of the causes are listed first, and all of the effects are listed afterwards. For the chain structure, each cause is followed immediately by the effect. Usually that effect will then be the cause of the next effect, which is why this structure is called 'chain'. Both types of structure have their merits. The former is generally clearer, especially for shorter essays, while the latter ensures that any effects you present relate directly to the causes you have given.

The two types of structure, block and chain , are shown in the diagram below.

Cause and Effect Structure Words

Cause and effect structure words are transition signals which show the cause and effect relationships. It is important to be clear which is the cause (or reason) and which is the effect (or result), and to use the correct transition word or phrase. Remember that a cause happens first , and the effect happens later .

Below are some common cause and effect structure words. X is used to indicate a cause, while Y is used to indicate the effect.

• The first cause of (Y) is (X)
• The next reason is (X)
• Because of (X), (Y)
• As a result of (X), (Y)
• As a consequence of (X), (Y)
• because/since/as (X)
• to result from (X)
• (X) results in (Y)
• to be the result of (X)
• (Y) is due to (X)
• Owing to (X), (Y)
• (Y) is because of (X)
• (Y) is the effect of (X)
• (Y) is the consequence of (X)
• Worsening pollution levels in cities are due to the increased use of cars.
• Because of the increased use of cars, pollution levels in cities are worsening.
• As a result of the increased use of cars, pollution levels in cities are worsening.
• The effect of the increased use of cars is a worsening of pollution levels in cities.
• The first effect of (X) is (Y)
• Another result of (X) is (Y)
• As a result, (Y)
• As a consequence, (Y)
• Consequently (Y)
• Therefore, (Y)
• (X) causes (Y)
• (X) has an effect on (Y)
• (X) affects (Y)
• (X) is one of the causes of (Y)
• (X) is the reason for (Y)
• Cars are used increasingly for urban transport. As a consequence , pollution levels in cities are worsening.
• Increased use of cars for urban transport adversely affects pollution levels in cities.
• Increased use of cars for urban transport is one of the causes of worsening pollution levels in cities.

Example essay

Below is a cause and effect essay. This essay uses the block structure . Click on the different areas (in the shaded boxes to the right) to highlight the different structural aspects in this essay, i.e. Causes, Effects, and structure words. This will highlight not simply the paragraphs, but also the thesis statement and summary , as these repeat the causes and effects contained in the main body.

Title: More and more women are now going out to work and some women are now the major salary earner in the family. What are the causes of this, and what effect is this having on families and society?

In the past, most women stayed at home to take care of domestic chores such as cooking or cleaning. Women's liberation and feminism have meant that this situation has been transformed and in contemporary society women are playing an almost equal role to men in terms of work. This has had significant consequences , both in terms of the family , for example by improving quality of life and increasing children's sense of independence , and also for society itself with greater gender equality . The main reasons behind the increase of women in the workplace are women's liberation and feminism. The women's liberation movement originated in the 1960s and was popularised by authors such as Simone de Beauvoir. As a consequence of this, new legislation emerged, granting women equal rights to men in many fields, in particular employment. Because of feminist ideas, men have taken up roles which were previously seen as being for women only, most importantly those related to child rearing. As a result of this, women have more time to pursue their own careers and interests. These have led to some significant effects, both to family life and to society as a whole. Although the earning capacity of a woman in her lifetime is generally much less than that of a man, she can nevertheless make a significant contribution to the family income. The most important consequence of this is an improved quality of life. By helping to maintain a steady income for the family, the pressure on the husband is considerably reduced, hence improving both the husband's and the wife's emotional wellbeing. Additionally, the purchasing power of the family will also be raised. This means that the family can afford more luxuries such as foreign travel and a family car. A further effect on the family is the promotion of independence in the children. Some might argue that having both parents working might be damaging to the children because of a lack of parental attention. However, such children have to learn to look after themselves at an earlier age, and their parents often rely on them to help with the housework. This therefore teaches them important life skills. As regards society, the most significant impact of women going to work is greater gender equality. There are an increasing number of women who are becoming politicians, lawyers, and even CEOs and company managers. This in turn has led to greater equality for women in all areas of life, not just employment. For example, women today have much stronger legal rights to protect themselves against domestic violence and sexual discrimination in the workplace. In conclusion, the increasing number of women at work has brought about some important changes to family life, including improved quality of life and increased independence for children, as well as affecting society itself. It is clear that the sexes are still a long way from being equal in all areas of life, however, and perhaps the challenge for the present century is to ensure that this takes place.

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Author: Sheldon Smith    ‖    Last modified: 16 January 2022.

Sheldon Smith is the founder and editor of EAPFoundation.com. He has been teaching English for Academic Purposes since 2004. Find out more about him in the about section and connect with him on Twitter , Facebook and LinkedIn .

Compare & contrast essays examine the similarities of two or more objects, and the differences.

Cause & effect essays consider the reasons (or causes) for something, then discuss the results (or effects).

Discussion essays require you to examine both sides of a situation and to conclude by saying which side you favour.

Problem-solution essays are a sub-type of SPSE essays (Situation, Problem, Solution, Evaluation).

Transition signals are useful in achieving good cohesion and coherence in your writing.

Reporting verbs are used to link your in-text citations to the information cited.

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Creative and Cool Cause/Effect Writing Activities

Useful cause/effect writing and pre-writing activities can include brainstorming, outlining, vocabulary sorting, gap fill exercises and sentence writing activities with picture cues. Teaching cause/effect is pretty enjoyable as it can be applied easily to just about any topic including the environment, technology, social issues,  social trends and behaviour.

1 Cause/effect language sorting exercises

2 causes-effects ideas.

In this cause/effect sentence writing worksheet students use the pictures to write appropriate cause/effect ideas. They decide whether they want write the causes or effects for each pictures and try to think of 3 causes or 3 effects.

Causes-effects ideas 2 (PDF)

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3 cause-effect sentence writing.

In this cause/effect essay writing worksheet students use the pictures and their own ideas to write appropriate cause/effect sentences.

A quick and easy to follow lesson for writing a cause/effect paragraph.

5 Environmental issues  cause/effect worksheet (with audio and suggested answers)

         The listening/speaking exercise below is for discussing environmental issues in the classroom. Students have to try and describe the problem depicted in each picture and suggest  causes. effects and possible solutions to each problem. Students can listen to the audio before or after filling in the worksheet, depending on the level of their language skills.

6 If/so/when for cause/effect (bad situations)

7 if/so/when for cause/effect (good situations), related resources:, 8 cause-effect essay brainstorming and  outlining.

This is an exercise to help students brainstorm and develop ideas and begin outlining a cause/effect paragraph or essay.

9 Cause-effect transitions worksheet (with answers)

10  what effects has the computer had on our lives (cause/effect transitions with answers), 11  cause/effect: complete the sentences.

Students complete the sentences with their own ideas to demonstrate they understand the logic of cause and effect.

Cause-effect: complete the sentences (PDF)

12 Cause-effect for social issues

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