Defining Argument of Cause: 

Professor Scott Hamilton explains the concept of cause and effect in an Argument of Cause essay as: An argument of cause attempts to identify the origins of a specific situation or the potential consequences that may come from a particular case. It is crucial to establish the facts of the case and clearly define key terms, concepts, or circumstances before presenting a cause-and-effect argument. This foundational information often requires presenting factual or definitional arguments to ensure clarity for the reader (Hamilton).

Writing an Argument of Cause Essay:

An argument of cause essay applies the principles of cause and effect to effectively establish a clear relationship between identified causes and their corresponding effects. The essay will analyze specific causes, examining how the factors contribute, directly or indirectly, to a particular outcome. Argument of cause essays are used to determine what type of cause led to the outcome.

 A well-developed argument of cause essay follows one of three approaches:

1. Identifying a single cause and examining how this cause produces a specific effect.

2. Examining multiple causes that contribute to one effect.

3. Exploring a chain of linked causes and effects to highlight a more complex causal relationship (Hamilton, 12).

A compelling argument of cause essay is written with a detailed analysis that is supported by factual evidence. Strong evidence validates each identified cause and provides a credible source for the argument. 

Addressing potential counter-arguments also strengthens the credibility of the essay. Acknowledging different viewpoints with logic and reasoning demonstrates a comprehensive understanding of the topic. 

A successful argument of cause essay presents a well-supported analysis that provides factual evidence and logical reasoning to establish relationships between cause and effect.

A cause can be defined as an action or condition which gives rise to a subsequent action, phenomenon, or condition (“Cause.” Oxford English Dictionary). An effect, likewise, is the change or consequence resulting from a cause (“Effect.” Oxford English Dictionary). An argument of cause essay must define causes and effects (indeed, there are typically multiple) and link them together. Figuring out how many causes and effects exist within an issue and how they relate to one another is the job of the author; therefore, research is of fundamental importance to the writing process.

Hamilton, Scott. “Arguments of Cause W5D1” English 145-24, 6 February 2024. California 

Polytechnic University San Luis Obispo. Microsoft PowerPoint presentation.

Sufficient Cause: 

• Purpose:  A sufficient cause is a condition that, if present, will guarantee the occurrence of an event. This cause alone is enough to bring about the result, even though other causes could also produce the same outcome.

• Example: A market collapse can be a sufficient cause of an economic recession when a severe decline in financial markets triggers widespread negative effects throughout the economy. 

Necessary Cause: 

• Purpose: A necessary cause is something that must be present for an event to occur, but alone, may not be enough to bring about the event. This condition is required, but additional factors might also be necessary.

• Example: Gravity is a necessary cause of free fall because, without it, objects would not naturally accelerate toward the ground when dropped. Free fall is defined as the motion of an object under the influence of gravitational force alone, meaning that gravity must be present for free fall to occur.

Precipitating Cause:

• Purpose: A precipitating cause is an event or factor that  forces the phenomenon to happen. Usually the event that happens right before change occurs. Often referred to as the “last straw” event. The immediate trigger that leads to a particular outcome.

• Example: A person with underlying heart problems has a heart attack immediately after intense exercise. The precipitating cause is the exercise which led directly to the heart attack. A person with anxiety problems has an panic attack after receiving bad news. The precipitating cause is the bad news, which led directly to the panic attack. 

Proximate Cause:

• Purpose: A proximate cause happens close in time to the phenomenon, something that is considered to be the direct cause of the event. There can be multiple proximate causes. Typically the most identifiable cause of the outcome.

• Example: A person dies of a head injury due to a car accident. The car accident is the proximate clause, due to being completely responsible for the death. If a store owner fails to put up a “wet floor” sign after mopping and someone slips and breaks their wrist, the proximate clause would be the wet, slippery floor.

Remote Cause:

• Purpose: A remote cause is an event that indirectly leads to an outcome, often occurring much earlier or farther away in a chain of events

• Example: The invention of the printing press in the 15th century eventually led to the widespread availability of books and the rise of public education.

Reciprocal Cause:

• Purpose: A reciprocal cause occurs when two events influence each other in a cycle, where one event causes another, and that second event reinforces or worsens the first

• Example: Economic deflation leads to job losses, and increasing unemployment further impairs the economy, causing more businesses to close.

Example: A severe storm knocks down power lines in a city. (Cause A) This causes traffic lights to stop working, which leads to major traffic congestion and accidents (Effect B). Businesses close down temporarily due to lack of electricity (Effect C) and people lose access to heating or air conditioning, leading to health risks (Effect D). 

Hamilton, Scott. “Arguments of Cause W5D1” English 145-24, 6 February 2024. California 

Polytechnic University San Luis Obispo. Microsoft PowerPoint presentation.

Example: The increase in global temperatures (Effect D) stems from deforestation (Cause A), the burning of fossil fuels (Cause B), and industrial pollution (Cause C). These activities release large amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, trapping heat and causing the Earth's climate to warm at an accelerated rate. 

Hamilton, Scott. “Arguments of Cause W5D1” English 145-24, 6 February 2024. California 

Polytechnic University San Luis Obispo. Microsoft PowerPoint presentation.

Example: Waking up late caused Jake to skip breakfast (Cause A), which left him feeling sluggish and low on energy by mid-morning (Cause B). Because he was so tired, he struggled to focus during his math class (Cause C), which led to him performing poorly on his test (Cause D). Frustrated with his grade, he realized that starting his day with a proper meal might help him stay more alert and improve his performance in school.

Hamilton, Scott. “Arguments of Cause W5D1” English 145-24, 6 February 2024. California 

Polytechnic University San Luis Obispo. Microsoft PowerPoint presentation.

Synopsis:

Pussy Riot is a Russian feminist group started in August 2011. The group consisted of eleven women who would perform image events to spark conversations over Russia’s anti-women and anti-LGBTQ+ policies. The radical feminist group was incarcerated on February 21, 2012 for their  “Punk Prayer” that took place at the altar of the Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow. Following this incident, the imagery of the balaclava ski mask went viral and became a transnational icon which exemplified feminist empowerment, challenging the solidarity of human connection and responsibility. This event created a mass wave of the baklava symbol being used to represent feminist empowerment and to spark social justice globally as celebrities around the world posted the symbol in solidarity for the women arrested during the "Punk Prayer".

Cause: 

 On February 21, 2012, five women entered Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral dressed in fluorescent clothing and balaclava masks: they were there to protest the Orthodox Catholic Church’s anti-feminist and anti-LGBTQ beliefs and the effect these had on Russian policy. These women's morals and beliefs did not align with the church’s ideologies, and so they made the decision to publicly protest: a brave choice which ultimately led to their incarceration. This event highlighted challenges to human rights, specifically LGBTQ+ groups, and sparked further protest in major cities across the world. 

Effect: 

Pussy Riot’s infamous protests caused a large-scale expansion upon the framework of feminism, human rights, and LGBTQ+ rights. An iconic visual culture arose in response to the controversy as celebrities such as Paul McCartney and Madonna defended Pussy Riot’s challenges to liberal and nationalist beliefs: several communities identified Pussy Riot’s influence as an opportunity to retaliate against the “fraught patriarchal center for nationalism” (Bruce 44). Pussy Riot challenged people to stand up for their own individual beliefs, even if those beliefs did not align with those of society: the idea that womens’ rights and LGBTQ+ rights must always be respected— and fought for if not granted— was rather novel in 2011, especially in Russia. Freedom of speech is often taken for granted in the United States, and the bravery of Pussy Riot’s actions has had lasting effects on society: the importance of expressing thoughts and opinions which may not align with the majority cannot be understated.

Excerpt From: Agricultural Emissions: A Capitalist Conundrum

The European Union is one of many government entities attempting to reduce its carbon footprint. The Green New Deal, put forward by the European Commission, is a set of proposals intended to reduce environmental degradation in the EU and completely eliminate greenhouse emissions by 2050. The European Commission aims to go about this by decoupling economic growth from resource use and therefore allowing quality— both of goods and of practice— to become the driving factor behind agriculture (The European Green Deal). While the Social Climate Fund was established to support vulnerable parties and small businesses through the transition, this funding would only help farmers survive initial costs. If products from environmentally sustainable countries become more expensive than those produced by less regulated countries, global trade policies would allow for distributors to import from elsewhere rather than support local farms. As Morgan Oddy, a French farmer engaging in the protests, commented to Time, “now the E.U. wants to put in more free trade agreements that will create competition that is impossible to overcome” (“What to Know About…Farmer Protests”). Indeed, free trade agreements are, as of March 2024, in progress with several countries: Mexico, Chile, and India to name a few (EU Trade Agreements). European governments also plan to open further global trade with Brazil and Argentina, which many farmers claim would cause near insurmountable market competition “as [these countries] aren’t bound by strict rules on animal welfare” (Frost np). The Green New Deal’s goals are far-reaching and ambitious but undercut in the agricultural sector by an unwillingness to protect EU farmers from market competition. Worries vary between countries: French farmers fear foreign competition and lack of pay, the Netherlands would struggle to reduce nitrogen emissions, and Germans would suffer under a plan to reduce tax breaks on agricultural diesel (Rajvanshi np). All of these location-based anxieties, however, belie the same core fear, and that fear is not climate-friendly policies themselves. Rather, farmers are resistant to financial hardship and possible ruin they would be faced with as a result. Many climate activists have sympathized with the farmers’ plight, stating that they “hear the frustrations of farmers who grapple with low incomes, a lack of future prospects, and the consequences of decades of unsustainable policies” (Bourgin np). In attempting to increase global trade as well as lay down heavy climate regulations on agriculture, the EU confronts farmers with an existential threat. If farmers are more heavily regulated, they must spend more money to meet the regulations— money most farmers do not have and would struggle to acquire, as government subsidies actually favor large-scale and unsustainable industrial production (Bourgin np). Sustainability is expensive, and therefore farmers would have to raise prices to stay afloat— prompting supermarkets either to increase their own prices or outsource to cheaper countries. The latter, naturally, is what consumers incentivize them to do.

Portrayal of Causal Relationships in the excerpt above:

Claim: European Union's Green New Deal aims to reduce environmental degradation and eliminate greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, but there is a sufficient cause of the agricultural sector risks being undermined due to market competition and inadequate support for EU farmers.

Reason: The Green New Deal’s goal to decouple economic growth from resource use and promote sustainable agriculture faces a significant challenge in the form of global market competition, where free trade agreements allow imports from countries with looser environmental regulations, potentially harming local EU farming businesses.

Warrant: Without sufficient protection for farmers from market forces and adequate support during the transition, the cost of sustainable products will increase, leading to greater competition from cheaper imports and possible collapse of local agriculture. This would worsen the financial difficulties faced by farmers.

Evidence: First, Morgan Oddy’s concerns about free trade agreements highlight how EU farmers, who must comply with strict environmental regulations, are at risk of being undercut by cheaper imports from countries with looser rules. This supports the claim that global trade policies could harm local farming businesses. Second, the EU’s trade agreements with countries like Mexico, Chile, and India, along with future deals with Brazil and Argentina, pose a direct threat to EU farmers. These agreements allow for cheaper imports, which could result in EU farmers struggling to compete, further emphasizing the claim that the Green New Deal's environmental ambitions could negatively impact agriculture. Third, farmers’ fears across several EU countries about the financial strain of increased regulations provide further evidence that the Green New Deal’s goals, though environmentally ambitious, could lead to financial hardship for farmers. These fears of higher costs and competition reinforce the idea that the agricultural sector is not adequately protected. Lastly, climate activists’ support for farmers adds weight to the argument by showing that the financial struggles of farmers are recognized, and the transition to sustainable practices must be paired with financial backing. This illustrates the need for a more balanced approach to implementing the Green New Deal to avoid pushing farmers to financial ruin.

Paragraph Works Cited:

Bourgin, Clara. “This Is Why Green Activists Joined Farmers Protests in Brussels.” Euronews, 2 

Feb. 2024, www.euronews.com/green/2024/02/02/this-is-why-green-activists-joined-farmers-protests-for-fairer-eu-farming-policies.

‌European Commission. “The European Green Deal.” European Commission, 2020,

commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal_en.

European Commission. “EU Trade Agreements.” Policy.trade.ec.europa.eu, 2022,

policy.trade.ec.europa.eu/eu-trade-relationships-country-and-region/negotiations-and-agreements_en. Accessed 7 Feb. 2024

Frost, R‌osie. “Why Are Europe’s Farmers Angry?” Euronews, 25 Jan. 2024, 

www.euronews.com/green/2024/01/25/eu-faces-pressure-to-defuse-mounting-anger-as-farmers-protest-across-europe. Accessed 29 Jan. 2024.

Rajvanshi, Astha. “What to Know about the Farmer Protests in Europe.” TIME, 2 Feb. 2024,

time.com/6632372/farmer-protests-europe-france-germany-brussels/. Accessed 1 Feb. 2024