Cause and Effect ARguments

Cause-and-Effect Relationships

• incorporate a writing approach that evaluates the reasons why certain situations exist, and these essays discuss outcomes, repercussions, and fallouts

Simple and direct causal arguments

• analyze and prove that one event is the root cause of a previous occurrence or that one situation directly led to a certain result or event.
• varied and may occur in any field of study or subject, such as business or economics

Business and Economics

• An increase in unemployment (cause) led people in that predicament to start their own online business and generate capital for themselves (effect)
• A large amount of money donated to charity (cause) led to a profitable refund or tax credit (effect).

Social Issues

• The increase of identity theft (cause) led to the invention of fingerprint identity sensors that use the proprietor’s unique fingerprint pattern as the password for the device (effect).

Environment and climate

• Drought and heat waves (cause) led to forest fires in Arizona during the summer of 2013 (effect).

ordinary consumption of food and snacks

• Sugary and processed foodstuffs eaten in excess (cause) may lead to obesity and diabetes (effect).

Causal argument relationships can be complex and contain many ongoing factors that are best understood when diagrammed as a multiple cause-and-effect reaction chain

cAusal chain

• one incident perpetuates another, is best described as a sequence of significant occurrences that leads to a specific result
• creates a product (effect) which transforms into a new causal factor, which in turn generates a new result
• pattern repeats itself until there is an overall concluding outcome (effect)

This cause-and-effect pattern repeats itself until there is an overall concluding outcome (effect)

Concept
Consider a domino effect: when one domino tips over, it hits another domino causing it to tip over and hit another domino; this continues until no dominoes are left standing. If even one domino fails and remains upright, the outcome is an aberration from expectation.

Examples
-The issue of cyberbullying (cause) has led to homeschooling (effect) or, in extreme cases, has led to self-destructive behavior (effect-cause), then clinical depression (effect-cause), and then suicide (final effect).

-Frequent lack of dental hygiene (cause) leads to halitosis (effect-cause), cavities (effect-cause), and then root-canal treatment (final effect).

Proving causal Relationships

One-time occurrence

• relationship is based on immediate evidence or proof that one event directly caused another
• Ex. Because the alarm clock did not work (cause), the student was late for school (effect).

Recurring occurrence

• This type of relationship is a cause-and-effect connection that occurs repeatedly or with frequency.
• Ex. Self-hatred and psychological issues (cause) lead to anorexia, bulimia, or body dysmorphic disorder (effect).

Confusing or baffling occurrence

• Relationship examines a new phenomenon or event that is happening everywhere
• The sharp rise in antipsychotic medication given to children and teenagers for ADHD results in bi-polar issues and depression (effect).

cause and effect Patterns

• Direct Cause and Effect A(cause)->leads to -> B (effect)
• Cause-and-Effect Chain A (cause)->B (effect)/(cause) B -> (effect/cause) C->D (effect)
• Key to this method is the plausibility of persuasion through support, evidence, and facts.

Inductive Reasoning strategy

• creates universal generalizations from definite perceptions or observations until enough of them have been observed to create a generalization; however, the possibility for a faulty outcome still exists.
• Ex. Adrian is a swimmer. All swimmers are tall and athletic. Adrian is tall and athletic.

centered on...

• the premises, which is the foundation for the establishment of truth, but not necessarily the absolute truth, which confirms the thesis statement. This allows for probable evidence

deductive

• Based on the reasoning that what is typically believed to be accurate and customary of an item, entity, or object leads to undoubting certainty for all objects in that category
• All college students have loans; Sonya is a college student; therefore, Sonya has a student loan.

3 MODES OF INDUCTIVE REASONING

Common element

• This type of inductive reasoning focuses on finding an identical component or factor to a repeated event or occurrence and demonstrates the reason why

example

• Teen pregnancy stems from various factors, but in an effort to decipher why teenage girls become sexually active, it was ascertained that these young girls lack father figures and are looking for value from male counterparts; this has been found to be true for many but not all .

Single Difference

• This type of inductive reasoning focuses on the discovery of a definite dissimilarity or distinctness that may possibly make sense when evaluating a new event or occurrence

example

• The rise in autism may have a connection to the consumption of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) (Hoover, 2013). GMOs dominated the world food market in 1999 (Woolsey, 2012); in 2002, there was a 30% increase in infants born with autism (Jaslow, 2014). This differential factor led investigators and scientists to research GMOs as a possible contributor to autism.

Correlation

• This type of inductive reasoning focuses on finding a correlation, which means the interaction of two circumstances, situations, or events that happen together; however, that in itself does not create a cause-and-effect relationship

Example

• There may be a correlation between aging and male baldness. As men age their hair progressively falls out; however, age may not be the determining factor, as stress and genetic factors can also cause male baldness.

Speculations on Possible Causes

• type of causal argument focuses on discovering the reasons why (cause) certain events, circumstances, or phenomenon occur (effect).
• dependent on formulating various educated guesses to determine the factor or factors that led to the result

example

• Drug addiction, domestic violence and abuse, or psychological issues may be contributing factors (cause) that result in a life of violent crime (effect).