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Paper #3 (Cause/Effect Essay) Assignment
Online English 1301, Spring 2022, Oberle
The Assignment
For Paper #3, you will be writing a cause and effect essay that explains the causes and/or effects of a subject of your
choice. Your paper may discuss only causes, only effects, or a combination of both causes and effects. This is up to you.
Your paper should:
• have an organized, attention-getting introduction that defines your topic and that includes an underlined thesis
statement that clearly identifies not only your topic but also, in order of discussion in the paper, the particular
causes and/or effects of this topic that the paper will discuss;
• have body paragraphs that discuss the topic’s causes and/or effects by following the paper’s thesis statement
(which should, in turn, follow one of the methods of organization suggested in the “Strategies for Cause and
Effect” class lecture);
• be supported throughout with specific examples, details, facts, statistics, and/or anecdotes (documented
appropriately, using correct MLA format); and
• have a conclusion that summarizes the paper’s main points and that discusses why the causes and/or effects
presented in the paper are significant. (In other words, explain why a reader should care about or be interested in
the causes and/or effects the paper has discussed.)
Please refer to the list of suggested cause/effect paper topics (appearing on pages four through six of this assignment) if
you need some help getting started. Please note that papers addressing the causes and/or effects of global warming,
climate change, and/or pollution will not be accepted.
The Requirements
Your paper should:
• Be about 1,250 words (about 4 to 4 1/2 typed pages) long;
• Be typed in font size 12 using Times New Roman as the font style;
• Follow MLA guidelines for format (see The Norton Guide to MLA Style 2021 Update pages 41-43 for an
explanation of MLA format, and see pages 44-51 for a sample paper formatted according to MLA guidelines–
you should follow the margins, spacing, page numbering, heading, titling, and works cited shown on these pages,
and you should not include graphics or a separate cover sheet or title page);
• Cite from at least four research sources:
–At least three of these sources must be scholarly (such as journal articles, books, or government
documents),
–No more than one of these sources may be popular (such as newspaper or magazine articles),
–None of these sources may be an Internet site, and
–These sources should come from the library or from the library’s online research databases, not from
Internet search engines like Google.
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• Follow MLA guidelines for in-text documentation of information/direct quotations borrowed from your research
sources (see The Norton Guide to MLA Style 2021 Update page 1 and pages 4-11);
• Include an MLA-style list of works cited (see The Norton Guide to MLA Style 2021 Update pages 2-4 and pages
11-41);
• Use correct spelling and grammatical constructions;
• Avoid the use of first person (unless it occurs within a direct quotation)
• Avoid the use of contractions (unless they occur within a direct quotation);
• Avoid the use of second person (unless it occurs within a direct quotation);
• Avoid the use of profanity and other potentially offensive subject matter;
• Be focused on explaining and informing, not on arguing or persuading; and
• Be addressed to an audience including not only your English Instructor but also the other students in this English
class.
How and When the Assignment Is Due
• Your completed rough draft is due inside the discussion board on Thursday, April 21st, by 11:59 p.m.
• Your completed peer review is due inside the discussion board on Saturday, April 23rd, by 11:59 p.m.
• Your completed final copy (to be revised from your rough draft after you receive peer review feedback) is due
inside the appropriate Turnitin.com drop box on Monday, April 25th, by 11:59 p.m.
• Your research photocopies (see below) should be e-mailed inside D2L by Monday, April 25th, at 11:59 p.m.
Research Photocopies (or Print outs or Screen Shots)
When submitting the final copy of the research-based cause/effect paper, you must also submit proof of the research that
you conducted for this paper. You will need to photocopy, print out, or take a screen shot of each page from each
research source that contains any information (quoted, paraphrased, or summarized) that is used inside your paper.
All copies of research should be e-mailed (as merged .pdf attachments) inside D2L. If scanning photocopies or print outs
of research, you should batch scan or merge your copies into one single .pdf file. If using screen shots of research, you
should merge or copy and paste your screen shots into one single .pdf file. If you do not have access to a scanner with
batch scanning capabilities or to a .pdf file merger, or if you do not know how to copy and paste images into a single pdf
file, then you will need to contact me before Monday, April 25th, for assistance.
Research copies should follow these criteria:
• Each specific page from a research source from which you have learned and borrowed any type of information
(summarized, paraphrased, or quoted) should be photocopied, printed, or screen shot. (Do not make copies of
title pages—make copies of only the exact pages from each research source from which your paper borrows any
type of information.)
• Each individual photocopy, print out, or screen shot should be clearly labeled (at the top on the front side) with
the appropriate author’s last name. (If a photocopied page, for instance, is from a book by an author named
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Christopher Smith, then “Smith” should be clearly hand-written or typed on the top front side of the photocopied
page.)
• Each photocopy, print out, or screen shot should be clearly highlighted or underlined (so that I can tell exactly
which information from each page was borrowed and used in your paper). Only one piece of borrowed
information should be highlighted or underlined on each photocopy, print out, or screen shot. (If more than one
piece of information has been borrowed from a particular page, then multiple copies of this page should be
made—so that one piece of borrowed information can be highlighted or underlined on each separate copy of the
page.)
• Individually labeled and individually highlighted or underlined photocopies, print outs, or screen shots should be
organized and scanned (or merged) in the order in which these pages are documented inside the paper. (Copies
should not be organized randomly, nor should copies be organized following the order of works on a paper’s list
of works cited.) Again, if a particular page from research is documented multiple times inside a paper, then
multiple copies, print outs, or screen shots of this page should be made, highlighted/underlined, labeled,
organized, scanned/merged, and submitted.
Please note that photocopies, print outs, and screen shots of research for the research paper should not be submitted to the
drop box for paper #3. These research copies should be e-mailed inside D2L instead. (Only your paper and list of
references should be submitted to the drop box.)
How to Submit Your Paper’s Final Copy to the Turnitin.com Dropbox
To submit a paper’s final copy to the Turnitin.com dropbox:
• Log in to D2L and enter the English 1301 classroom
• Click on “Content”
• Find and click on the folder for “Dropboxes” inside the “Table of Contents”
• Click on the link for “Turnitin.com Dropboxes”
• Click on the designated Turnitin.com dropbox for the assignment you are submitting
• Or
• Log in to D2L and enter the English 1301 classroom
• Click on the “Course Activities” tab
• Click on “Assignments”
• Click on the designated Turnitin.com dropbox for the assignment you are submitting
• And then
• Click on “Add a File”
• Select “My Computer”
• Click on “Upload”
• Browse for the file that contains the paper
• Double click on the file that contains the paper
• Click on “Add”
• Click on “Submit”
• Click on “Done”
Your paper should now be listed as submitted inside the Turnitin.com dropbox. At this point, check your e-mail inside the
D2L classroom to be sure that you have received a Turnitin.com digital receipt. (This receipt serves as proof that your
paper has been successfully submitted to Turnitin.com. Remember to keep a copy of this receipt for your records.)
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Possible Topics for a Cause/Effect Essay
English 1301, Oberle
Listed below are some topics to get you thinking about your cause/effect essay. Please know that you do not
necessarily have to choose one of these topics–while you are welcome to choose from these topics, you are also
welcome to come up with your own original topics! Please remember that papers addressing the causes and/or
effects of global warming, climate change, and/or pollution will not be accepted.
• The causes/effects of low (or high) voter turnout during political elections
• The causes/effects of bacteria in foods
• The causes/effects of Alzheimer’s Disease
• The causes/effects of the Home Schooling movement
• The causes/effects of the breakdown of traditional moral values in the U.S.
• The causes/effects of the breakdown of the traditional family in the U.S.
• The causes/effects of the Women’s Movement
• The causes/effects of slavery in a particular society
• The causes/effects of increased terrorist activity since 1970
• The causes/effects of ethnic conflict in a particular country or region
• The causes/effects of the increasing cost of medical care in the U.S.
• The causes/effects of the decline in the standard of living in the U.S.
• The causes/effects of the female suffrage movement
• The causes/effects of the Industrial Revolution in the late 1800s
• The causes/effects of eating disorders (anorexia nervosa, bulimia)
• The causes/effects of alcoholism
• The causes/effects of child abuse
• The causes/effects of domestic violence
• The causes/effects of the continued high level of teenage pregnancy despite the widespread availability
of birth control
• The causes/effects of “throwaway babies”
• The causes/effects of the increasing rate of smoking among young people
• The causes/effects of the temperance movement
• The causes/effects of a particular war
• The causes/effects of the Jewish Holocaust during W.W.II
• The causes/effects of unemployment among youth
• The causes/effects of unemployment in general
• The causes/effects of economic recession
• The causes/effects of economic depression
• The causes/effects of poverty
• The effects of television or movie violence on adults
• The effects of television or movie violence on children
• The effects of violent/explicit music lyrics on listeners
• The causes/effects of psychological depression
• The causes/effects of a particular mental illness, such as Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia, or Narcissistic
Personality Disorder
• The effects of the “Baby Boom” (persons born between 1946 and 1964) generation’s growing older
• The effects of genetic engineering
• The effects of space exploration
• The effects of the development of the Internet
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• The possible effects of human cloning
• The causes/effects of the high divorce rate in America
• The causes/effects of date rape
• The causes/effects of homelessness
• The causes/effects of drug addiction
• The causes/effects of a particular weather phenomenon (such as hurricanes or tornadoes)
• The causes/effects of the extinction of a particular species
• The causes/effects of the Renaissance
• The causes/effects of the use of diet pills
• The causes/effects of the unification of East and West Germany
• The causes/effects of the breakdown of the U.S.S.R.
• The causes of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome)
• The causes/effects of the creation of the Anglican Church (the Church of England) under Henry VIII in
the 1500’s
• The causes/effects of the King James translation of the Bible in the 1600’s
• The causes/effects of book banning in public schools
• The causes/effects of music censorship
• The causes/effects of the Civil Rights Movement
• The causes/effects of violence in public schools
• The causes/effects of cults
• The causes/effects of affirmative action programs
• The effects of William Caxton’s introduction of the printing press in England in the 1400’s
• The causes/effects of the Plague (“The Black Death”) in Europe in the 14th century
• The causes/effects of any particular disease
• The positive and/or negative effects of day care on children’s development
• The positive and/or negative effects of having more women in the workforce (as opposed to these
women staying at home)
• The causes/effects of a reduction in vocational education programs in public school systems
• The possible effects of birth order on an individual’s personality/temperament
• The positive and/or negative effects of corporal punishment (spanking) on children
• The causes/effects of the Whole Language movement in public elementary schools
• The causes/effects of legal immigration
• The causes/effects of illegal immigration
• The causes/effects of the invention of one of the following: the radio, the telephone, the cell phone, the
television, the locomotive, the automobile, the airplane, the calculator, the computer
• The effects of higher education
• The causes/effects of changes in the housing market
• The causes/effects of becoming a millionaire
• The causes/effects of Sensory Integration Dysfunction, Asperger’s Syndrome, or Autism
• The causes/effects of fame
• The causes/effects of racism in the media
• The causes/effects of sexism in the media
• The causes/effects of political bias in the media
• The causes/effects of stress
• The causes/effects of sleep deprivation
• The positive and/or negative effects of texting
• The positive and/or negative effects of social networking sites (such as Facebook, Instagram, and
Twitter)
• The positive and/or negative effects of cell phone use
• The causes/effects of bullying
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• The positive effects of learning a second language
• The causes/effects of illiteracy
• The causes/effects of childhood obesity
• The causes/effects of anxiety
• The causes/effects of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
• The positive effects of music education
• The positive effects of pet ownership
• The causes/effects of stereotyping
• The positive effects of travel
• The causes/effects of teenage rebellion
• The effects of optimism
• The effects of pessimism
• The causes/effects of job burnout
• The positive effects of exercise
• The cause/effects of cheating in college
• The causes/effects of the increased popularity of online education
• The positive and/or negative effects of playing video games
• The effects of the availability of media streaming services (such as Disney+, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and
Netflix)
• The causes/effects of a pandemic other than COVID-19
• Additional topic ideas are available here (from Virginia Kearney):
http://virginialynne.hubpages.com/hub/100-Cause-and-Effect-Essay-Topics
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