EG+Cause+Effect

**Length: 600-800 words, manuscript form (double-sided printing if possible)** **Points: 100**
 * Cause/Effect Essay #2: //Ender’s Game[[image:EndersGame_SamWeber.jpg width="240" height="361" align="right"]]//**


 * In //Ender’s Game//** **the chronicling of Ender’s experiences in battle allows us to follow his process of maturation.** For this cause-effect essay choose one of the topics listed below (you may propose an alternate topic as well). Once you have decided upon the character, event or situation upon which your cause/effect essay will revolve, show the reader how the character/event/situation has been influenced/changed over the course of the novel. Both the cause and effect should be clear because you have gone beyond simply telling the reader about it and have **shown** it using active verbs and excellent support from the text (at least four quotes from the book using proper MLA in-text citation).


 * What effect does the educational system of the future have on children in //Ender’s Game//?
 * Consider one of the following characters: Ender, Valentine, Peter, Bean, Bonzo, Colonel Graf. How has he/she changed over the course of the novel? What has he/she become and why?
 * How and Why does Ender become a leader?
 * Why are the Humans at war with the Buggers?

Cause-and-effect writing gives reasons and explanations for events, conditions, or behavior. It serves to satisfy the need most of us have to understand how the world around us works.

When preparing to write cause-and-effect essay, identify your topic and brainstorm to generate ideas about either its causes or its effects. Identify as much evidence as you can from the text.

As you prewrite, try diagramming or representing these relationships visually. Check that all of your conclusions are viable. Your conclusions are faulty if the cause-and-effect relationship is absent, unfounded, or not clearly established.

For example: //Combustion is necessary to drive a gasoline engine.//
 * A Necessary Cause** must be present for the effect to occur.

For example: “//A dead battery is enough to keep a car from starting--but faulty spark plugs or an empty gas tank will have the same effect”//
 * A Sufficient Cause** can produce an effect unaided, though there may be more than one sufficient cause of a given effect.

For example: //Running a red light might help to cause an accident....though other facts -- pedestrians or other cars in the intersection -- must also be present.//
 * A Contributory Cause** helps to produce an effect but cannot do so alone.

__Think about the following:__ //What are the possible effects? Which are most important/viable?//

//Have I assumed a causal relationship between two events just because they immediately follow each other?//

//Long-term vs. short-term causes and effects. A short-term cause or effect is a single, immediately identifiable event; a long-term cause or effect may be less easy to pinpoint but in the long run crucial.//

//Who was responsible? Who was affected? Did the event have economic or social ramifications?//

Compose a thesis statement that clearly states your topic and argument. Write the essay in chronological order or perhaps, reverse chronological order. You might begin with an effect or a series of effects and trace them back to their original cause. Whatever organization you use, write paragraphs with strong, clear topic sentences and relevant supporting details. In the body of your paper, you will have between two and four paragraphs to support your thesis statement. You are required to include textual references from //Ender’s Game (at least four)// as support correctly cited and blended effectively. If you are still having difficulty with this requirement, get extra help!

=Signal Words in Cause-and-Effect Writing= //adapted from: []//
 * **Cause and Effect** || **Degrees of Certainty** || **Levels of Importance** ||
 * as a result || certainly || above all ||
 * because || may || equally important ||
 * consequently || necessarily || finally ||
 * due to || perhaps || first ||
 * if....then || possibly || initially ||
 * leads to || probably || last ||
 * therefore || undoubtedly || primarily ||