Skills & Strategies: Cause-Effect Connectors

Writers often connect ideas by using words and phrases that signal cause and effect. These words show how one event or action can cause or be caused by another event or action.
Some of these words and phrases are as a result, to result in, to lead to, to cause, to affect, an effect, because, because of, since, therefore, so, due to, consequently.
In the following example, the words in bold, show the effect that one event or action has on another event or action.
An event in a business in one country can significantly affect businesses in other countries. For example, an earthquake closed several Japanese power plants. As a result, the Japanese needed more oil from other countries. Therefore, oil prices round the world rose. This shows how a natural disaster in one country caused a change in prices in a global product.

Exercise 1: Find words or phrases that signal Cause and Effect in the following paragraphs. Highlight or underline them. Then write Cause next to the causes and Effect next to the effects. The first one has been done for you:

1. Many scientists believe that the use of fossil fuels (Cause) has led to environmental damage (Effect). When fossil fuels such as oil and gasoline burn, they emit CO2. Higher CO2 (Cause) emissions cause the world’s temperatures (Effect) to rise. Higher temperatures (Cause) have resulted in floods and fires (Effect).
2. Rising oil prices can cause changes in the price of other energy sources. Corn is an alternative source of energy. As oil prices rise, some businesses may start to produce ethanol, a fuel made from corn. As a result of growing demand, corn prices may increase dramatically.
3. A decline in the economy can be good for education. When the economy is good, there are lots of jobs that pay well. As a result, students leave school to find jobs. When the economy declines, there are fewer jobs, so students stay in school.
4. In today’s economy, jobs can often move around the world. Global businesses want to keep their labor costs low. So, they may move their factories to another country if the labor there is cheaper. This practice is called outsourcing and can result in unemployment in the countries with higher labor costs.

Sample Solution