Cathy A.
Cathy A.

Learn How to Create a Cause and Effect Essay Outline

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Published on: Mar 19, 2020

Last updated on: Sep 1, 2023

cause and effect essay outline

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It is a universal fact that for every action, there is a reaction. To relate to this principle and discuss the multiple effects of a specific action, we write cause and effect essays.

This type of essay tends to enhance the analytical skills of analysis. Plus, they also help a student to understand the reason behind the occurrence of a specific event or action.

Cause and effect essays are written at nearly all levels of academic life.

For any type of essay, there are a few necessary elements. An essential piece of essay writing is creating an outline for the particular essay. An outline guides the reader through the essay and the significant parts of an essay and makes the reading process easy.

Creating an outline is time-consuming, and that is why most of the students consider it least essential and do not prefer creating one. This is the biggest mistake of the writer while writing the essay.

Significantly, while writing a cause and effect essay, a meaningful and solid outline must be created as there is the involvement of a lot of causes and effects. So, in order to keep everything organized, an outline is a must.

Creating an outline is an easy yet tricky thing to do and requires strong writing skills, but it is impossible. Read this blog and learn all the steps you need to follow to create a fantastic outline to support your essay.

Cause and Effect Essay Outline

Writing a cause and effect essay topic is easy if you create the outline. An outline is basically the plan of action for your essay.

The key element that makes an essay effective is its structure. And the basic component of the overall structure of an essay is its outline. Also, keep the effect chain and block structure in your mind.

It is a misconception about creating outlines for essays that it is a total waste of time and is of no use. It is true that it is time to take the task, but it is not useless. It saves a significant amount of time while writing the essay.

A good outline will highlight all the important sections and points of your essay and will let you write even a problematic essay with ease. You only write the important issues in the form of bullets and then elaborate late on in the essay.

How to Create an Outline for a Cause and Effect Essay?

To create an outline for cause and effect essay, a standard format of the five-paragraph essay is followed. In that format, the introduction and conclusion are written according to the standard, whereas the body paragraph changes according to the essay type.

The topic you choose also has a role to play while you are creating the outline.

In the outline of the cause and effect essay, there are three body paragraphs, an introduction, and a conclusion.

Below is a detailed explanation of how to write the significant components of an outline.

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Cause and Effect Essay Introduction

All the parts of an outline are equally essential, but the introduction is the part that needs to be written with perfection and in an organized way.

This part gives the reader an overall of what your essay is about and what major elements you would be discussing. It must have the following features nicely explained.

  • Hook Sentence or Attention grabber:

    A hook sentence is a sentence that is written to make the introduction eye-catching and exciting. This sentence can be a quotation, verse, or analytical question.

  • Background Information:

    To make your topic more understandable, you need to add some of its background information. This information should tell the reader why you chose this topic and what is its scope.

    This information will make your outline look more meaningful and logical. Also, it will give a more clear picture of your topic.

  • Thesis Statement:

    A thesis statement is the central element of the overall essay. This is the essence of the topic you have chosen and strong support for your essay and outline both. This element keeps your essay aligned and gives it a logic.

    A thesis statement can be a single sentence or more than one sentence explaining your essay’s whole idea.

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Cause and Effect Essay Body Paragraphs

The body paragraphs are written to explain the key points of your essay, one by one. This type of section starts with a topic sentence. This is an introductory sentence for the respective paragraph.

In a cause and effect essay outline, a topic sentence introduces the cause or effect discussed in the paragraph. You need to include all related information about the particular cause or effect you are talking about in that paragraph.

The information you add in the body paragraph needs to be organized. You might manage it according to the importance of all the causes and effects or depending on the nature of the topic you have selected. Plus, you can arrange the causes and effects in chronological order or reverse order.

To support your causes and effects, add some authentic facts and examples.

Antithesis Paragraph

For a cause and effect essay, an antithesis paragraph is a vital element. This paragraph is written to discuss the other side of the issue. It explains all the causes and effects of that side.

Also, it explains the overall topic of a cause and effect essay as well. In other words, this paragraph shows the logic and foremost reason behind your topic.

Cause and Effect Essay Conclusion

The concluding paragraph is the most critical part of an outline. This section should give the reader a sense of completeness and not leave the reader in any confusion.

In conclusion, a writer should always summarize the key elements to remind the reader about them. The summarization should include the restatement of the thesis statement as well.

With the help of a couple of sentences, you must be able to prove that the body paragraphs are logically interconnected with the thesis statement from the introduction.

For a cause and effect essay, it is advisable to describe the essay outline in a couple of sentences. Make sure that these sentences are strong, consistent, and avoid containing any new information.

Write a concluding sentence just like you write the hook of the essay. Just like the beginning of the essay, your ending should also be exciting and catchy. In a couple of words, describe the consequences of your research and the importance of your arguments.

5 Paragraph Cause and Effect Essay Outline

Traditionally, the outline of a five-paragraph essay has an introductory paragraph, three body paragraphs, and at last, a paragraph for the conclusion. Because of these five elements, it is called a five-paragraph essay.

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Introduction

This paragraph must introduce the following elements:

  1. A hook statement.
  2. Introduction to the topic.
  3. Thesis statement.

Body paragraph I

This paragraph must include:

  1. A topic sentence to introduce the paragraph.
  2. Discuss the first Cause or effect.
  3. A transition sentence at the end to show a relation with the next paragraph.

Body paragraph II

This paragraph must include:

  1. A topic sentence for the respective paragraph.
  2. A topic sentence for the respective paragraph.
  3. A transitional sentence

Body paragraph III

This paragraph must have:

  1. Topic sentence for the paragraph.
  2. Information about the least important Cause/effect.
  3. A transitional sentence to show that the next paragraph is the conclusion.

Conclusion

The conclusion should have the following elements;

  1. Reiteration of the thesis statement with more convincing words.
  2. Restatement of the critical points.
  3. A concluding sentence

Cause and Effect Outline Format

We follow different writing formats to compose essays. Similarly, to create an outline, there are certain formats to follow. It depends on the given instructions or on the writer.

Some common formats used for creating an outline for a cause and effect essay include MLA format and APA format. These formats only differ in the arrangements of the contents.

Always create an outline and make your writing process easy. Also, don't forget to add the negative effects of the topic in the outline.

Writing an essay outline is a critical thing to do. No matter how hard you try, you will still leave some gaps. To ensure that you have a strong strategy for your essay, the best option is to seek professional help.

At CollegeEssay.org, we have the best and high professional writers. We provide a wide range of writing services. We aim to provide you with an effective paper and a high-quality college essay.

Our AI essay generator will help with creating a fantastic essay outline.

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Cathy A.

WRITTEN BY

Cathy A. (Literature, Marketing)

For more than five years now, Cathy has been one of our most hardworking authors on the platform. With a Masters degree in mass communication, she knows the ins and outs of professional writing. Clients often leave her glowing reviews for being an amazing writer who takes her work very seriously.

For more than five years now, Cathy has been one of our most hardworking authors on the platform. With a Masters degree in mass communication, she knows the ins and outs of professional writing. Clients often leave her glowing reviews for being an amazing writer who takes her work very seriously.

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