A cause and effect paper is alot like a position paper or debate, with some key differences.
1, A Position Paper is an essay that presents an opinion about an issue. It uses devices like tone, voice, and sentiment, gives wieight to one side over the other, and in general tries to perusade the audience to choose the author's side.
The position paper is like the argument a lawyer uses to perusade a judge or jury that a person is innocent or guility.
2. A Cause and Effect Paper attmepts to explain why things occured (the causes) and what happened because of these things (the effects).
The Cause and Effect paper are like the facts and evidence a CSI documents to help explain what happened in the case (the effects of a crime), and why it happened (how the crime was caused or committed).
Cause and effect is something we encounter everyday, but rarely think about in concrete terms...
In the most basic sense, cause and effect helps us explain 2 things...
WHAT happened (the effect) and WHY it happened (the cause)!
Example: Test Grades
WHAT EFFECT: Student fails a test.
WHY IT WAS CAUSED: Did not study enough, Did not study the right things, waited to long to begin studying, styed out too late the night before.
Example: Traffic Accidents
WHAT EFFECT:Number of accidents increases
WHY IT WAS CAUSED: Age limit for drivers lowered, Maximum age for drivers raised, amount of training required decreased, legal limit for DUI increased, speed limit increase, number of cars on road increased.