Global Warming
Essay # 4 (in-class) Causal Argument
Prompt: For this in-class essay, you will write a research-based, causal argument. Your goal for this essay is to answer the question ‘What caused it?.” You will do this by first choosing a situation you would like to investigate. As you research, you will need to discover whether you’d like to locus on remote causes, near causes, or a chain of causes. Additionally, you will need to uncover the domain of responsibility (who is responsible?). In the end, you can discuss what could happen if these causes were to continue as they are. Remember to be cautious in determining your causes, as the phrase goes: “correlation is not causation.” Your thesis for this essay should be a claim of fact. You will he writing this essay for your peers. Consider what you believe they would know about your topic and what they have yet to know about your topic.
Possible topic ideas:
• Has a difficult situation resulted from a change in your life (a lost job or a new one; a fluctuation in income; personal or family upheaval following death, divorce, accident, illness, or good fortune; a new school)?
• Has the environment changed (due to a drought, a flood or a storm, a fire, a new industry, the collapse of an old industry, a new president)?
• Has a disturbing situation been caused by an invention (the laptop, video game console, 3- D Television, smartphone, self -driving cars, virtual reality)?
• Do certain employment trends cause you concern (for women in management or politics, for young people in rural areas, for men in nursing)?
• Is a situation on campus or in your neighborhood, city, or state causing problems for you (traffic, housing, access to healthy food, health care)?
