In recent decades, cities have grown so large that now about 50% of the Earth’s population lives in urban areas. Explain the causes of this phenomenon.
Be sure to give specific details and reasons in your explanation.
Cause/effect paragraphs generally follow basic paragraph format. That is, they begin with a topic sentence and this sentence is followed by specific supporting details. For example, if the topic sentence introduces an effect, the supporting sentences all describe causes. Here is an example:
In recent decades, cities have grown so large that now about 50% of the Earth’s population lives in urban areas. There are several reasons for this occurrence. First, the increasing industrialization of the nineteenth century resulted in the creation of many factory jobs, which tended to be located in cities. These jobs, with their promise of a better material life, attracted many people from rural areas. Second, there were many schools established to educate the children of the new factory labourers. The promise of a better education persuaded many families to leave farming communities and move to the cities. Finally, as the cities grew, people established places of leisure, entertainment, and culture, such as sports stadiums, theatres, and museums. For many people, these facilities made city life appear more interesting than life on the farm, and therefore drew them away from rural communities.
Notice how each supporting sentence is a cause that explains the effect mentioned in the topic sentence. In the chart below are the main ideas of the above paragraph, to help you understand the relationships better:
EFFECT
(Topic Sentence) CAUSES
(Supporting Sentences)
Cities have grown very large.
[There are several reasons for this.] Factory jobs attracted people.
(Cities have grown very large.) Better schools attracted families to move
to the city.
(Cities have grown very large.) Places of leisure, entertainment, and culture
made city life appear more interesting.
Notice also how the topic sentence is followed by the "focusing" or "prediction" sentence, There are several reasons for this. Such sentences help the reader anticipate the organization of the paragraph or essay.
Cause and Effect Conjunctions
Here are some common conjunctions that can be used to express cause and effect:
Since as a result because of + noun phrase
Because therefore due to + noun phrase
consequently for this reason So
Adverbials Used for Cause & Effect (Result)
ADVERBS SENTENCE TRANSITIONS CONNECTORS PREPOSITIONS
because
since
now that,
as,
as long as
inasmuch
so-that
such-that Therefore,
Consequently,
Thus,
Hence,
For this reason,
As a result, so
for because of
due to
Exercises:
due to because therefore consequently so since because of as a result
Alvin missed the bus. ___________He woke up late.
My brother does not sleep very well. _________________ The neighbourhood is noisy.
January 1st is a holiday, ________________we don’t have to go to school
Yousef went back to Saudi Arabia ___ he needed to take care of some business in his company.
Learning how to write is important___________ most professional jobs require writing skills.
.
Select the correct connecor to fill in the blank. More than one answer may be correct. * Indicates an incorrect answer.
1. my computer froze, I had to restart it.
Since Because Consequently For
2. I couldn’t get it to start again, the battery was dead.
so for because of because
3. I had left it on all day; , it was dead.
consequently because so that therefore
4. I needed to work, I had to go find the power cord.
For Since Due to Therefore
5. I had a "splitting headache" today. It got bad that I had to take a tablet.
such therefore so much so
6. technology is advancing, we will have to spend more time keeping up.
Now that Since Because Inasmuch as
7. People choose Apple computers their ease of use.
because due to due to the fact that because of
8. Other people prefer to use PCs they are more universally used.
because due to due to the fact that because of
9. Why did Jack buy an iMac? He bought one he could easily access the Internet.
so so that due to for
10.He had lots of free time, he spent it ‘surfing’ the Internet.
so so that for that reason, since