Cause and Effect

What is cause and effect?

Everything that happens has a reason. Cause and effect describes how one thing makes another thing happen.

• The cause is why something happened.
• The effect is what happened.

Because it rained all night (cause), the soccer field was muddy (effect).

Cause and effect is everywhere: in stories, science, history, the news and everyday life. Finding it helps you understand what you read and explain your own ideas clearly.

Finding the cause and the effect

Ask two questions:

1. What happened? That is the effect.
2. Why did it happen? That is the cause.

Maya forgot her lunch, so she was hungry all afternoon.

• What happened? Maya was hungry. (effect)
• Why? She forgot her lunch. (cause)

The cause usually happens first, but it does not always come first in the sentence. The field was muddy because it rained. Here the effect is written first.

Signal words

Signal words are clue words that show a cause-and-effect link.

Not every cause and effect has a signal word. Sometimes you must figure it out: The dog ate the cake. Dad was not pleased.

One cause, many effects

One cause can lead to several effects.

Cause: A big snowstorm hit the city.

• Schools closed.
• Roads were blocked.
• Kids went sledding.

Many causes, one effect

Sometimes several causes add up to one effect.

• I studied every night.
• I asked questions in class.
• I got a good sleep.

Effect: I did well on my test.

Chains of events

In a chain of events, each effect becomes the cause of the next thing.

The alarm didn’t ring → I woke up late → I missed the bus → I was late for school → I missed the spelling quiz.

Stories often move forward this way. Chains show how one small event can lead to big changes.

Cause and effect in reading

Authors use cause and effect as a text structure, especially in science and history.

• Science: When water is heated to 100°C, it boils.
• History: The building of the railway caused towns to grow across the prairies.
• Stories: Because Jack traded the cow for magic beans, a giant beanstalk grew.

When you read, ask: Why did this character act this way? What happened because of it?

Using a graphic organizer

A graphic organizer helps you sort causes and effects. A simple one has two columns:

You can also draw boxes with arrows to show a chain of events.

Writing with cause and effect

When you explain something, use cause and effect to show your thinking.

Plants need sunlight to make food. Because our class plant was in a dark corner, it could not make enough food. As a result, its leaves turned yellow. We moved it to the window, so it began to grow again.

Common mistakes

• Mixing up the two. Remember: the cause comes first in time, even if it comes second in the sentence.
• Assuming something is a cause just because it happened first. I wore my red socks and we won the game does not mean the socks caused the win.
• Forgetting multiple causes. Big events usually have more than one cause.

Try it yourself

Find the cause and the effect:

1. The ice cream melted because we left it in the sun.
2. Liam practised piano every day, so he played well at the recital.
3. Due to the heavy wind, the tree fell over.

Then write your own chain of events with four steps.

Answers: cause: left in the sun / effect: melted; cause: practised daily / effect: played well; cause: heavy wind / effect: tree fell.

Quick recap

• A cause is why something happens; an effect is what happens.
• Signal words like because, so and as a result point to cause and effect.
• One cause can have many effects, and many causes can lead to one effect.
• In a chain of events, each effect causes the next event.