Academic Writer
academic writer: organization: main body: cause and effect
Cause and effect
Text can be structured by using a cause and effect
framework. Note that there is no need to use the words ‘cause’ and
‘effect’ in your writing, even if you are organizing your text in this
pattern. Second language users tend to overuse these words in their writing compared to
first language users.
EXAMPLE This
example starts with the 'effect' (runaway hyperinflation) and then describes the two
causes.
| The Great Inflation Economists will argue that runaway hyperinflation has two sources. Firstly, it arises through a fall in the foreign exchange value of a currency, when an adverse balance of payments reduces foreign investors demand for the currency. A falling exchange rate increases the cost of imports and, therefore, the cost of living. Wages rise as workers try to maintain their standard of living, especially if previous institutional arrangements have linked wages to living costs. Firms paying higher wages raise the price of the goods they sell, prices rise still further, the foreign exchange value of the currency falls still more, and the cycle continues. Secondly, it arises through a large budget deficit which no one believes will narrow in the future. Faced with the prospect of budget deficits for many years to come, the only alternative is to print more and more banknotes. |
Academic Writer 2000