A cause and effect thesis is a statement or paragraph in an essay or other written work that expresses the work’s argument in terms of one or more causes and effects. Though the structure of the written work may not be as rigidly defined, this is most commonly done for a cause and effect paper. This type of thesis, like other types of thesis statements, will present the argument being made in a paper and help establish how the rest of the paper will likely flow. A cause and effect thesis can differ greatly between essays, but it will almost always include at least one cause and at least one relevant effect.
The most common application of a cause and effect thesis is in the form of a cause and effect paper or essay. This type of essay is commonly written for secondary or post-secondary education classes and can be written in a variety of ways. A paper’s or essay’s thesis should typically present the argument in a clear and concise manner, serving as a general guide for the reader throughout the rest of the paper.
This guideline is usually followed by a cause and effect thesis, which presents the writer’s argument by stating the causes and effects that will be presented throughout the paper. It’s worth noting that the thesis statement is usually the writer’s opinion or assessment, which is supported by evidence throughout the paper to form a coherent argument. The cause and effect thesis may simply be a statement of fact without an assertion of opinion, resulting in a weak essay that serves as a summary rather than presenting new ideas.
A cause and effect thesis will typically be presented in the first paragraph of a paper, particularly in an essay with a formal structure like a five-paragraph format. The purpose of the introductory paragraph is to grab the reader’s attention, introduce the topic, and state the thesis statement for the essay that follows. A cause and effect thesis is frequently used in cause and effect papers, such as essays that analyze a problem by considering what caused it, so that solutions can address causes rather than just symptoms.
As the name implies, a cause and effect thesis must present one or more causes and effects that will be discussed further in the paper. This thesis can be as simple as one cause, “the earth revolves around the sun,” leading to one effect, “creatures on the earth experience the passage of seasons.” Multiple issues, such as “inertia from the Big Bang, forces from dark matter, and the relatively low amount of matter in the universe,” as causes for a complex effect, “the universe is continuing to expand and will do so indefinitely,” can be included in such a thesis. This last statement also presents an argument that can be debated as a theory rather than a statement of fact, making it a better foundation for a longer paper.