thursday 

Cause and effect is a common way to organise the information in a text. Paragraphs structured as cause and effect explain reasons why something happened or the effects of something. The cause and effect writing is generally used in expository writing (to explain, describe, or inform-give information) and persuasive writing (to persuade, develop a logical argument, or give an opinion) styles.

When authors give reasons why something happened, they are explaining what caused an effect (reasons are causes and the thing that happens is the effect). Also, when a writer explains the results of an action, they are explaining the effects of a cause (results are effects and the thing that occurs is the cause). The cause and effect text structure is used so commonly that you have probably written a paragraph using it and not even noticed.

Example:

"Many people think that they can get sick by going into cold weather improperly dressed; however, illnesses are not caused by temperature- they are caused by germs. So while shivering outside in the cold probably won’t strengthen your immune system, you’re more likely to contract an illness indoors because you will have a greater exposure to germs."

Here is a non-exhaustive list of words and phrases that indicate a text follows the cause and effect text structure: