What Makes Spicy Foods Spicy?

ENGL 102 Essay #2 – Causal Analysis Essay
Length: 600-800 Words
Research Required: Support your assertions with facts, statistics, and/or expert opinions; minimum four (4) sources from internet and/or library database
Documentation Required: MLA Works Cited & Parenthetical Citations
Assignment: Explain and argue the causes of a situation (an event, a phenomenon, or a trend) that interests you. Narrow your topic enough to treat it in some detail and provide more than a mere list of causes.
In addition to simply arguing the cause of a particular topic, you will need to back up your assertions with researched evidence. You will have to research your topic to find evidence that helps you argue your cause.
Your essay may be any one of the following:
1. An exploratory essay in which you examine the most likely causes of a phenomenon, addressed to an audience that does not already have an idea about the causes and is therefore interested in reading an intelligent analysis of the possibilities. You may conclude in your essay either that one or more causes are probably chiefly responsible for the phenomenon, or that the phenomenon is probably the result of a complex of causes. You should examine both proximate and remote causes. Your thesis statement, which should reflect the conclusion to which your exploration has brought you, may be given either at the beginning or at the end of the essay.
2. An argumentative essay in which you support a thesis claiming that a certain cause or causes are responsible for a phenomenon and that therefore specific action should be taken in relation to those causes. Your essay should be addressed to an audience that may have different ideas about the causes, so you need to refute opposing arguments. You should consider both proximate and remote.
3. An exploratory essay in which you examine the probable effects of a phenomenon, addressed to an audience that has no strong feeling about the probable effects and therefore is interested in reading an intelligent analysis of the possibilities. Your essay may be speculative: what if a certain action were taken or certain circumstances arose; what would be the effects? Or it may be an analysis of the effects of an already existing phenomenon. You should examine both immediate and long-term, intended and unintended effects.
4. An argumentative essay in which you support a thesis claiming that a certain phenomenon has had or will have specific effects, with the sum of the effects being on balance either positive or negative. Your essay should be addressed to an audience that may have different ideas about these effects, so you need to refute opposing arguments. You should consider both immediate and long-term, intended and unintended effects.
What is a Causal Sequence?
In a causal sequence there are several events connected like a chain. In such a case a proximate cause can be distinguished from a remote cause.
A proximate cause is an event which is closest to, or immediately responsible for causing, some observed result.
This exists in contrast to the remote cause which is usually thought of as the “real” reason something occurred.
Suppose in a causal sequence, A causes B, B causes C, C causes D.
D is the direct effect of C, but it is the result of all the preceding events such as A, B, and C.
In this example, C is the proximate cause of D whereas A and B are the remote causes of D. If there is deforestation, it creates ecological imbalance.

From ecological imbalance, the atmospheric temperature increases.
That results in melting of ice shelf in South Pole of Antarctica.
This increases water level in the oceans and sea.
Consequently, low level land areas will be submerged in water.
Thus, the immediate preceding cause of an event is its proximate cause whereas the other causes in the causal sequence are the remote causes.

The three main purposes for a Causal Analysis academic essay are:
• To prove a point
• To argue against a widely accepted belief
• To speculate on a theory
There are many variations on the organizational patterns used in this kind of essay. For example, to answer the “Why did it happen?” question, the writer must decide if one cause has one effect OR several effects. For example, the “Poor Listening Skills” may result in the consequence a student taking inadequate notes ; Or “ Poor Listening Skills” may result in many consequences, such as inadequate notes, memory lapses on written tests, and lost points in class due to failure to follow directions.)
Or the writer may decide the most appropriate organizational pattern is the causal chain. This pattern focuses the logical sequence of causes (sometimes called a “line of reasoning”). For example, “internal motivation to attend college class” may cause “absence in class” which may cause “failure on exams.” The effect may be “failing class” and/or “losing financial aid.”
The focus, however, of this pattern is on the connections between these events/actions. That is, a writer must explain that the “tie” or relationships are, in fact, legitimate and backed up by fact and sufficient specific details/examples.

Guidelines/Check List for an Effective Causal Analysis Essay

1. Fulfill one of the three purposes for causal analysis:
a. To prove a point
b. To argue against a widely accepted belief
c. To speculate on a theory
2. Write a thesis sentence that tells whether the essay focuses on cause, effect, or both.
3. Use a variety of rhetorical forms to develop the essay: description, narration, example, classification, and/or comparison/contrast.
4. Decide on a logical organizational pattern.
a. Single cause – multiple effects
b. Multiple causes – single effect
c. Causal chain
5. Develop the general assertions with sufficient specific details.
6. Coherently link ideas with effective transitions between major ideas and issues of cause/effect.
7. Effective causal analysis requires that the writer seek more than just the immediate causes or effects. It demands that the writer use more complex thinking and delve into the more basic or ultimate causes of effects.
8. Causal analysis provides a benefit to both the reader and the writer.
a. It attempts to answer the “why” in our lives.
b. It provides ways for us to clarify our view of the world we live in.
c. It allows us to begin to understand the often complex series of events that shape our lives.
9. Avoid mistaking mere chronology for causation. For example, “In the spring, my car breaks down.” This assumes there is a direct relationship between “spring” and the “car breaking down” when it may simply be a coincidence.