Cause & Effect

Cause - an event that happens first; it makes something else happen

Effect - an event that is secondary, the results of another event

Cause and effect is most often found in narrative text (telling a story), or expository text (giving factual information). Cause and effect text structure is found especially in expository text about history. Cause and effect text structure is also found in some persuasive text (trying to convince the reader to support the author's opinion).

Key words to identify causes:

• because
• since
• caused by
• affected by

Key words to identify effects:

• so
• therefore
• as a result
• consequently
• outcome
• hence
• thus
• then (sometimes, but not always!)

Remember:

• Causes are always the events that come before the effects, but they may not be written first in the story. Ask youself, "What really happened first?"
• Effects may also be the cause of another later event, so one action or event may sometimes be correctly labeled as both an effect and a cause, depending on what you are pairing it with.

Examples of familiar stories based on cause-and-effect relationships:

• If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (and related stories) by Laura Joffe Numeroff
• Because a Little Bug Went Ka-Choo! by Rosetta Stone
• The Cat in the Hat Comes Back by Dr. Seuss

Practice identifying causes and effects at:

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