2021-2022

Academic Year
Spring Term
B1 Level Writing

WEEK 1
CAUSE/EFFECT RELATION
• Cause is the reason why something
happens.
• Effect is a result or consequence of an
action.

• When you answer a question such as “Why

did you decide to major in biology?”, you are
analyzing causes.
• When you answer a question such as “What
effects will learning English have on my
career?”, you are analyzing effects.
 Examine the essay questions below. What does each of them
focus on: Causes or Effects?

• Sample Essay Questions

• What are the causes of air pollution in Turkey? Write an
essay explaining theCAUS
reasons. (Focus on ………………)
ES
• Why do people take online courses? Write an essay
explaining the reasons. (Focus on ………………)
CAUS
• What are theES
effects of peer pressure on teenagers? (Focus
EFFE
on ………………) CTS
EFFE
• What effects do TV commercials have on children? (Focus
CTS
on ………………)
You need to think about the
reasons
and/or the results of an event in
order to

• analyze that situation

• predict possible outcomes
• and maybe find a solution to a
problem
 CAUSE/EFFECT RELATION

• Understanding cause/effect rtionship is a vital part of

critical thinking skills. In academic writing, you will often
need to analyze causes and/or effects. In your
departmental courses, you may need to discuss the causes
and/or effects of certain events or situations.
 CAUSE/EFFECT RELATION

• Writing Section in YTU English Proficiency Exam requires

you to write a cause OR an effect essay, so in this section,
you will learn how to write an essay explaining at least 2
causes OR 2 effects of a certain event or an action. You
will study the structure of the cause/effect essay, learn
useful sentence structures to express cause/effect relation
and practice writing about cause/effect through many
writing exercises.
 CAUSE/EFFECT RELATION

• Before examining the essay structure, let’s look at the

cause/effect relationship.
 UNDERSTANDING CAUSE/EFFECT RELATION
• Read the quotes below. Which one do you like the most? Why?
Explain.
THINKING ABOUT REASONS/CAUSES

a. Do you often question why things happen? When was the

last time you asked why?

Make groups of 4 and write 4 “Why?” questions that you

have asked someone or yourself recently and write any real
or possible answers.
What happened? A question with What was the
(A negative or a “Why?” reason?
positive
event/result)
My boyfriend was Why were you He overslept.
late for our date. late?
Why was he late?
Beşiktaş lost to Why did they They didn’t run.
Fenerbahçe last lose? They were not
night. motivated.
• Do you usually feel satisfied with the answer you get or do
you keep asking more “why”s😊?

• It may be annoying or unkind to keep asking the question

“why” to people, but asking the question “Why” is a useful
strategy if you need to understand the root cause of a
situation or an event.
 b. Examine the cause/effect relations below.

RESULT: You were late. Why? My car stopped working.

• Why did it stop working? I ran out of gas.
• Why did you run out of gas? I forgot to fill up the tank.
• Why did you forget to fill up the tank? I was running late for work.
• Why were you running late for work? I set my alarm for p.m
instead of a.m.
• Why did you do that? I was out late drinking with friends.
• WHAT’S THE RESULT? being late
• WHAT’S THE ROOT CAUSE? lack of responsibility OR carelessness OR
irresponsible behaviour
RESULT: Millennials buy fewer houses. WHY? Because they like
the freedom of renting.
• WHY? Because they don’t value owning a home.
• WHY? Because they prefer spending their money on
experiences.
• WHY? Because they don’t have enough experiences.
• WHY? Because they don’t have enough money.
• WHY? Because they have high student loan debt.
• WHAT’S THE RESULT? Millennials buying few houses
Financial
• WHAT’S THE ROOT CAUSE?problems
……………………………………………………………
 Exercise 1: Work in groups. Choose an event or a
situation mentioned in your group and write it in the
table below. Then, ask “Why” for at least four times and
try to come up with the root cause.
RESULT:

WHY?

WHY?

WHY?

WHY?
 DISTINGUISHING CAUSE
AND EFFECT
Exercise 2: Read the list of causes and effects of air pollution in
Turkey.
CAUSES of air pollution in EFFECTS of air pollution in Turkey
Turkey
• exhaust from automobiles and • respiratory diseases (emphysema,
trucks lung cancer, etc.)
• exhaust from factories and • allergies, runny nose and eye
industries diseases
• headaches
 ⮚ Now, put the causes and effects of air pollution
into the correct category in the table
• insufficient public transportation CAU
SE
EFFE
• shorter life span for residents
CT
EFFE
• lower quality of life residents
CT
EFFE
• unbearable smell
CT
EFFE
• poor visibility CT
CAU
• burning coal for domestic heatingSE
EFFE
• necessity to stay indoors CT
CAU
• geographical reasons SE
While explaining a cause, you can naturally talk about a
result/effect of that cause. Similarly, while explaining an
effect, you may as well mention some causes of the event.
That is completely normal because of the nature of cause &
effect relationship between events. That is not a problem at
all. The important thing is that you start and continue your
essay with the correct organization of your ideas and give
relevant explanations for each body paragraph.
 TRANSITION SIGNALS EXPRESSING
CAUSE OR EFFECT RELATIONSHIP
• “Because”, “as”, and “since” introduce a cause. These are used
to join two complete sentences (or independent clauses)
together.
CAUSE EFFECT
Because climate change is bringing water supplies diminish.
Since droughts,

As people want to find jobs and they move to big cities.

Because of the fact establish economic security
that for themselves,

Due to the fact that

1. communication problems among team members 🡺 team performance
decreasing
Because there are communication problems among the team members, the
team’s performance is decreasing.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………..
2. being exposed to exhaust from automobiles and trucks 🡺 suffering from
Since people are exposed to exhaust from automobiles and trucks, they suffer
respiratory diseases
from respiratory
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
diseases.
………
3. difficult
The for students
students to learnthe
should attend English onregularly
school their owndue
🡺 they should
to the attend
fact the
that it is
school regularly
difficult for students to learn English on their own.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………
 The following prepositions introduce a cause
in the form of a noun phrase.
CAUSE EFFECT
Due to social networking people sometimes forget the
sites, importance of face-to-face
Because of online computer communication.
games,
young people have eye problems.

As a result agricultural activities will change.

of the increased heat,
4. Economic situation 🡺 many shops doing badly
Many shops are doing badly because of the
……………………………………………………………………………..
economic situation.
5. the heavy rain and the flood 🡺 many roads in the area closed
Because of the heavy rain and the flood, many roads in
……………………………………………………………………………..
the area have been closed. /They have closed many roads.

6. The company - financial losses 🡸 poor management.

The company had financial losses as a result of poor
……………………………………………………………………………..
management.
7. Tom has been ill. 🡺 absent from school
Due to his illness, Tom has been absent
……………………………………………………………………………..
from school.
 The following transition words introduce an effect.
These are used to join two complete sentences (or
independent clauses) together.
CAUSE EFFECT

The printing press enabled Consequently, scientists were able to

the fast spread of Therefore, spread their ideas around
knowledge. Thus, the world faster than ever.
As a result,
He smoked 50 cigarettes a he had significant health
day for many years. For this reason, problems later in life.

It was raining , so we cancelled our plans.

8. Because he did not get the required grade in his IELTS test,
the university which he had applied for rejected his
application.
He did not get the required grade in his IELTS
…………………………………………………………………………………………
test. As a result, the university he had applied for
………………
rejected his application.

9. Students’ grades are not satisfactory and they sometimes

need
Many to repeat classes
students because
spend twothey
orspend
moretwo or more
hours hours
playing
playing video games each day.
video games each day. Therefore, their grades
…………………………………………………………………………………………
are not satisfactory and they sometimes need to
………………
repeat classes.
10. We've decided to move to a less expensive city. The rent has
increased drastically over the past two years.
The rent has increased drastically over the past
……………………………………………………………………………………………
two years. Consequently, we've decided to move
……………
to a less expensive city.
11. Wind plants generate electricity only when the wind blows. If
there is no wind, there is no electricity.
Wind plants generate electricity only when the
……………………………………………………………………………………………
wind blows. Thus, if there is no wind, there is no
………………
electricity.
USEFUL EXPRESSIONS TO DESCRIBE
CAUSE & EFFECT
CAUSE VERB EFFECT
Sitting in front of the may lead to back pain.
screen for long hours can contribute to
could result in
Long-term computer is one possible eyestrain.
use reason for
may be responsible
for
is the reason for
1. Smoke 🡺 respiratory problems
Smoking is the main reason for
• ……………………………………………………………………………………
respiratory problems
2. Higher demand for goods and services 🡺 higher imports
Higher demand for goods and services leads to higher
• ……………………………………………………………………………………
imports from abroad
3. Fifty per cent of road accidents 🡺 head injuries.
Fifty per cent of road accidents result in head
• ……………………………………………………………………………………
injuries.
4. Heavy traffic 🡸Overpopulation in big cities
Heavy traffic may be the result of
• ……………………………………………………………………………………
overpopulation in big cities.
5. His difficulty in walking 🡸 a childhood illness
His difficulty in walking results from a
• ……………………………………………………………………………………
childhood illness.
6. The damage in her lungs🡸 heavy smoking.
The damage in her lungs resulted from
• ……………………………………………………………………………………
heavy smoking.
7. Car accidents 🡸 lack of education, speed and drink-drive.
Car accidents result from lack of education, speed
• ……………………………………………………………………………………
and drink-drive.
 CAUSE EFFECT
If/ parents allow their kids to kids may be negatively
when play violent computer affected.
games often,

8. If the number of diesel vehicles in Istanbul

this will worsen
continues the air quality
to increase,
in the city.
……………………………………………………………… .
heA driver’s
9. or she is tounder
ability theis seriously lessened
drive a car
influence of alcohol.
when
……………………………………………………………… .
CAUSE VERB EFFECT
Lack of causes failure.
confidence causes people to have a lot of
Living in a cause the Earth’s stress.
crowded city atmosphere to heat up.
Greenhouse gases
10. The poor harvest 🡺 Prices rise sharply.
The poor harvest caused prices to
• ……………………………………………………………………………………..
rise sharply.
11. The bad weather 🡺 problems for many farmers.
The bad weather is causing problems for
• ……………………………………………………………………………………..
many farmers.
CAUSE VERB EFFECT
Social affect(s) personality development.
factors influence(s)
has/have a negative/positive the functioning of the
Nicotine impact on heart and arteries.
has/have an effect on
Historical has/have an influence on the future of a country.
events shape(s)
12. In the present digital age, technology shapes how we
……………….
listen to music/buy
things/communicate,
………………………………………………………………….etc.
consumer
13. The new taxes ongoods/fuel/electricity
consumers/the…………………………………………….
economy/our will have
a serious impact on ..………………………………………….…. .
daily life.
 SENTENCE WRITING PRACTICE 1

Learning about the topic GLOBAL WARMING

a. Before watching the video on causes and effects of global
warming, check the important words about global warming
that you will hear in the video.
Emission (n): an amount of gas, ice sheets (n): a chunk of glacier
heat, light, etc. that is sent out ice

Drive up (the temperature):

increase flood (n): a large amount of water
covering an area that is usually
Vapor(n): a gas that escapes dry
from a liquid or solid, esp. as a
result of heating drought (n): a long period when
there is little or no rain
get trapped (v): unable to move diminish (v): to reduce or be
or escape from a place or reduced in size or importance
situation

agriculture (n): farming

warm(v): to (cause to) become
warm
smog (n): a mixture of smoke,
gases, and chemicals, especially in
glacier (n): a large mass of ice cities, that makes the atmosphere
that moves slowly difficult to breathe and harmful for
health
b. Examine the diagrams below.

⮚ In the first diagram, several causes lead to one effect

(Global Warming).

⮚ In the second diagram, a single cause (Global Warming)

leads to several effects.
• Now, watch the National Geographic video on the causes and
effects of global warming and climate change.
Pick ONE CAUSE and ONE EFFECT from each diagram which
were NOT MENTIONED in the video.

The video is titled “Causes and Effects of Climate

Change |
National Geographic” (3.04)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4H1N_yXBiA
c. Now, read the sentences next to the pictures below.
Understand what they mean and write them in your own
words by using the given prompts OR a variety of other
sentence patterns or expressions that you have learnt.
High emissions of CO2
come from burning of fossil
fuels.
Greenhouse gases such as
carbon dioxide, methane, and
water vapor contribute to the
Greenhouse Effect.

The planet got warmer due to the

rapid increase in the greenhouse
gases.
More greenhouse gases cause
more heat to get trapped in the
atmosphere.

When temperatures rise, ice caps

melt and more water flows to the
seas.
 also responsible for intense
major storms, floods, heavy
storms, floods, heavy snowfall
and long droughts.

As a result of these changes in weather,

growing crops becomes more difficult.
Areas where plants and animals live
shift. Water supplies are diminished.
 If more water flows to the
seas from glaciers and ice
caps, ocean water gets
warmer and sea levels rise.

Exposure to higher levels of

smog can result in health
problems such as asthma,
heart disease and lung
cancer.