Causal Analysis Handout
WRI 101
Causal Analysis: Handout
General Issues
Analysis essays break a subject down into its constituent parts for the purpose of understanding their function in relation to the whole. This type of cause/effect essay focuses on the major causes leading to some effect, the major effects of some cause, or cause-effect chains in order to understand the meaning of, importance of, or significance of some event, occurrence, action, or attitude.
Example thesis: The Civil War had lasting effects on the American psyche.
Causal Analysis may sound intimidating to students; you often find yourself using this type of analysis on a daily basis. Therefore, you already have previous experience with the type of thought process this pattern of development utilizes. Once you understand the basic definition and purposes of causality, you will start to recognize different patterns of cause-and-effect as you watch the news and observe general human activities.
With a lot of the news that you see reported on a daily basis, causal relationships are being constantly explored. Any time an important political or environmental event happens, experts and analysts are brought in to analyze why the event happened and to forecast the possible results. As human beings, it’s important to understand why certain events happen to reinforce a sense of security and well-being. For instance, experts may perform a causal analysis on anything from why a tsunami occurred to the reasons a sports team did not perform as well as expected.
The challenge with writing the essay will come with narrowing down the scope of supporting details. You will learn the importance of analyzing causality closely and determining which causes and/or effects are most appropriate to the writing context and produce such appropriate causes and effects pertinent to your assignment. You will learn to avoid some of the common errors in logic that can arise, which could detract from the overall effectiveness of the
Causal Analysis: Handout
General Issues
Analysis essays break a subject down into its constituent parts for the purpose of understanding their function in relation to the whole. This type of cause/effect essay focuses on the major causes leading to some effect, the major effects of some cause, or cause-effect chains in order to understand the meaning of, importance of, or significance of some event, occurrence, action, or attitude.
Example thesis: The Civil War had lasting effects on the American psyche.
Causal Analysis may sound intimidating to students; you often find yourself using this type of analysis on a daily basis. Therefore, you already have previous experience with the type of thought process this pattern of development utilizes. Once you understand the basic definition and purposes of causality, you will start to recognize different patterns of cause-and-effect as you watch the news and observe general human activities.
With a lot of the news that you see reported on a daily basis, causal relationships are being constantly explored. Any time an important political or environmental event happens, experts and analysts are brought in to analyze why the event happened and to forecast the possible results. As human beings, it’s important to understand why certain events happen to reinforce a sense of security and well-being. For instance, experts may perform a causal analysis on anything from why a tsunami occurred to the reasons a sports team did not perform as well as expected.
The challenge with writing the essay will come with narrowing down the scope of supporting details. You will learn the importance of analyzing causality closely and determining which causes and/or effects are most appropriate to the writing context and produce such appropriate causes and effects pertinent to your assignment. You will learn to avoid some of the common errors in logic that can arise, which could detract from the overall effectiveness of the