In this unit, students will start writing a cause-and-effect essay by building on their knowledge from Lesson 1. At the end of the lesson, students are going to:
- examine the thesis and corroborating details in a sample cause-and-effect essay.
- find information through research for a cause-and-effect paper.
- recognize the importance of recording research.
- finish creating a cause-and-effect essay outline.
- recognize the significance of transitions when composing an essay.
- write a draft of a cause-and-effect paper.

- What effects do language conventions and grammar have on written and spoken communication? 
- What is the objective? 
- What makes writing clear and effective? 
- Why do authors write? 
- Who is the target audience? 
- What will appeal to the audience the most?

- Author’s Purpose: The author’s intent is either to inform or teach someone about something, to entertain people, or to persuade an audience to do or not do something. 
- Cause and Effect: Cause statements refer to actions and events that have consequences, and effects are the consequences or what happens as a result of the action or event.

- “The Effects of Being an Athlete” by Erlyn Baack in Advanced Composition for Non-Native Speakers of English http://eslbee.com/effects_of_being_an_athlete.htm 
- copies of Cause with Multiple Effects Graphic Organizer for each student who chooses a cause topic (LW-8-2-2_Cause with Multiple Effects Graphic Organizer)
- copies of Effect with Multiple Causes Graphic Organizer for each student who chooses an effect topic (LW-8-2-2_Effect with Multiple Causes Graphic Organizer)
- copies of Cause-and-Effect Essay Outline for each student (LW-8-2-2_Cause-and-Effect Essay Outline)
- copies of Cause-and-Effect Transitions for each student (LW-8-2-2_Cause-and-Effect Transitions)
- key for the Athletic Graphic Organizer (LW-8-2-1_Athletic Graphic Organizer KEY)

- The purpose of the lesson is to use a graphic organizer and discussion to help students understand and develop the structure of a cause-and-effect essay. After the class, students write their rough drafts. Observe students as they investigate their subjects and give them the chance to discuss their outlines to gauge their understanding of the material. 
- Give students several chances to experiment with various transitions while they are writing their essay drafts. Talk about why a particular transition might or might not work with the class and/or individual students, as well as instances where a transition would make the essay's ideas easier for the reader to understand.

Explicit instruction, modeling, scaffolding, and active engagement 
W: To help students organize and develop their essays, this lesson walks them through the analysis of a cause-and-effect essay's structure. 
H: Involve students by having them examine the thesis, topic sentences, and use of evidence in a sample text on a well-known subject. 
E: Before moving on to the individual composition of their essays, students can practice new skills in large-group and individual prewriting analysis, graphic organizer outline completion, and discussion time. 
R: Students consider how well they comprehend cause-and-effect organizational structures and what kinds of data they want to gather for their studies. At each level, students are free to request reinforcement as needed. 
E: Students analyze a model text, conduct independent research, and develop an outline for the topic they brainstormed in Lesson 1 to show that they understand cause-and-effect organization structures and relationships. 
T: During text analysis and graphic organizer completion, flexible grouping may be used to accommodate the various needs in a classroom. Furthermore, using a graphic organizer can assist concrete, visual learners in creating their essays. 
O: The structure of the learning process starts with a review and analysis of a sample text by the entire class. Students then develop their selected topics on their own. After a lengthy discussion of transitions in large groups, students start working on their essay drafts. 

Focus Question: How can a cause-and-effect essay be structured differently?

Part 1

"In the previous session, we read 'The Effects of Being an Athlete,' and we filled out a graphic organizer that detailed the various impacts of the sport. Reread this essay for a few minutes. Once you've read it again, go back and decide what you believe the essay's thesis statement is." Ask students to highlight the thesis statement and then identify the supporting evidence the author uses once they have finished reading the essay again. For example, in the paragraph about improving physical abilities, the author provides evidence that participating in sports improves speed, muscular mass, stamina, lung capacity, and elasticity.

"Now take out your thesis statement and list of causes and effects from the previous lesson. You must back up your thesis with facts, examples, and specifics, just as "The Effects of Being an Athlete" does for its assertion."

Give students time to gather data to bolster their theories through research. While some students might be able to come up with their examples and details for a given topic, others might need to do outside research. If possible, hold the class in a computer lab or a location where students can conduct online research. Give students a list of specific keywords or phrases to look for to support their thesis statements to help them stay focused. Before they start, approve this list and make sure it is focused.

If required, go over the research guidelines with the students. For any facts and figures they use in the paper that are not their own, they have to cite their source. Additionally, any words or phrases that they directly quote from a source must be enclosed in quotation marks. For citation guidelines, see http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/02/. Remind students that even though the public has easy access to the Internet, any information accessed there and directly used in a paper needs to be properly cited.

Part 2

Say, "Now that you have finished some research, you are ready to outline your paper," when the students have finished their studies. Give students copies of the Cause-and-Effect Essay Outline and the relevant graphic organizer (LW-8-2-2_Cause-and-Effect Essay Outline, LW-8-2-2_Cause with Multiple Effects Graphic Organizer, and LW-8-2-2_Effect with Multiple Causes Graphic Organizer) based on whether they have selected a cause or an effect as their topic.

Note: If students do not require as much scaffolding, you may choose to utilize only the outline.

Students can arrange their thoughts more effectively by using the outline or graphic organizer. Explain how cause-and-effect essays can be structured in a variety of ways. For example, in Lesson 1, students discussed how various factors could influence a student's test results. The essay "The Effects of Being an Athlete," on the other hand, examines the various effects that an activity can have.

Give the students instructions on how to finish the outline and/or organizer. Urge them to introduce their topic with a fascinating fact, illustration, or story. Stress that your thesis statement should usually come at the end of your introduction, which serves as the "hook" that will entice readers to read your work.

You could think of the introduction as the upper part of an hourglass or as an inverted triangle. Typically, the introduction starts more generic and gradually gets more focused as it moves toward the thesis statement, which ought to be the most focused section of the introduction. As students finish their cause-and-effect sections on the organizer and/or outline, let them know that each one will have its body paragraph with a topic sentence. Using a topic sentence from "The Effects of Being an Athlete," construct a model: "The first major effect of practicing a sport is that you will develop physical abilities." Make a note of the fact that this sentence provides the reader with a detailed overview of the first body paragraph.

Tell them to arrange their paragraphs in a logical sequence. For many essays, it might be best to arrange cause and effect in descending order of importance. Sequential order might be effective for certain people. Encourage students to arrange their ideas in the order that best conveys them.

Instruct students to bolster each topic sentence in their research. Finally, elucidate how the thesis statement and key points should be restated in the conclusion.

Gather the outlines and/or organizers, then give them written or spoken feedback on their concepts, analysis, and outlines.

Part 3

Following feedback on their outlines and/or organizers, students are prepared to begin writing their rough drafts. Distribute copies of Cause-and-Effect Transitions (LW-8-2-2_Cause-and-Effect Transitions) to every student. Teach students that transitions serve as the ideas in their papers' glue, just like dots. The chart provides a list of common transitions that are used in papers for various purposes. Provide instances and talk about how different words convey different relationships between causes and effects and, consequently, when you would prefer to use one over the other. Before having students complete the exercises at the bottom of the page, have them read over the chart and ask questions about any words they are unsure of. To demonstrate the impact of the transitions, go over the exercise again. Instruct students to utilize the chart as a guide to finish their drafts.

Give students time in class to complete their rough drafts, or set them for homework. Inform them that before writing the final draft, they will have the chance to edit and get feedback on their drafts.

Extension:

Students who may be exceeding the requirements can read and consider Mark Twain's "Corn-Pone Opinions," which can be accessed at http://www.paulgraham.com/cornpone.html. It follows a less conventional cause-and-effect analysis structure and is written at a higher readability level.

For those students who might need more practice, the following website offers an essay called "Students’ Cause-and-Effect Essays—Models" in Advanced Composition for Non-Native Speakers of English. They can use this essay to create a visual representation of the causes and effects that are expressed. Cause-Effect Essay Models: http://www.eslbee.com 

A tutorial in the school library is beneficial for students who have not had much experience with research.

Students can use the Athletic Graphic Organizer (LW-8-2-1_Athletic Graphic Organizer and LW-8-2-1_Athletic Graphic Organizer Key) to practice transition words by adding them to the blank arrows.