What caused the recent warming of the Pacific Ocean, and how did the warming affect the earth’s weather? Why do men, on average, still out-earn women in wages? What is the effect of religious oppression on a society or even more specifically on a specific gender, race, or ethnicity? We answer questions like these with cause-and-effect analysis; the method of dividing occurrences into their elements to find relationships among them. Cause-and-effect analysis can be found in just about every academic discipline and occupation, including history, law, business, science, engineering, and sports. In any of these fields, your purpose in writing a cause-and-effect essay may be to explain or persuade.
For our second essay of the semester, you will write a cause-and-effect essay on ONE of the topics we have discussed so far in class. A couple of possibilities are listed below:
* What are the causes/effects of “coming out?” How does American society deal with the issues of homosexuality, gender fluidity, LGBTQ rights? Specifically address content from Gay.
* Discuss economic equality, which could include the causes/effects of altruism, poverty, class structure. Specifically address content from Singer and/or Macaskill.
Because this is a relatively short essay assignment, you should try to focus your attention on immediate or major causes, while still avoiding oversimplification. Remember, in order to achieve a balanced analysis, you will need to shelve any emotional attachment you may have to your topic and consider all possible causes/effects.