Cause And Effect Pre-Writing Assessment

Develop a 1-2-page thesis statement, introduction paragraph, outline, and conclusion paragraph as part of the prewriting process for a cause-and-effect essay on a topic of your choosing. Include a list of APA-formatted resources.
The purpose of a cause-and-effect essay is to show how an action or event caused specific effects to happen. In developing a cause-and-effect essay, you will often find most situations are more complicated than they may seem, with many causes playing a part in a single effect.
For example, in the workplace, you may be asked to write a report that looks at the factors contributing to a decline in sales or to a sudden increase in employee attrition. You must be able to look at each situation from multiple perspectives in order to present the most accurate picture.
Using prewriting strategies to develop a cause-and-effect essay will help you plan your writing, organize your thoughts, find and organize supporting evidence, and present information clearly to your readers.
Note: The assessments in this course build on each other and must be taken in sequence. Assessment 4 is paired with Assessment 5. You must complete Assessment 4 and receive feedback from faculty before you complete Assessment 5.
Demonstration of Proficiency
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the course competencies through the following assessment scoring guide criteria:

• Competency 2: Apply information and use literacy skills to produce evidence-based written work.
  • Apply research skills to locate scholarly resources relevant to an essay topic.
• Competency 3: Apply prewriting, planning, drafting, and revision skills.
  • Apply accepted conventions of outlining an essay, including main points and subpoints.
• Overview
  A cause-and-effect essay looks at a situation that was the result of specific actions or events, and then explains what happened and why it happened. This type of writing helps you break down a situation, look for patterns, and explain why things turned out like they did.
  For this assessment, you will choose a situation or scenario in either your own life or in the world. This might be an event where things went all wrong or an event that went really well. For the situation you choose, there must be a set of clearly identified causes that led to the situation, as well as specific effects that resulted from the situation.
  For example, if your topic were the Great Depression, you would start by identifying the cause: the stock market crash. Then, you would discuss the causes of the stock market crash. The next step would be to explain the effects of the of the Great Depression and how the ripple effect of the stock market crash led to businesses closing and people losing their jobs. Finally, you would look for patterns to help you explain why things turned out the way they did.
  This prewriting assessment will help you organize your ideas logically.
  Instructions
  Based on what you have learned about cause-and-effect essays, choose a topic for this assessment. Try to choose something that relates to your professional or academic interests.
  For this assessment (which is paired with Assessment 5), you will need to develop an outline for the essay you will write in Assessment 5. Use the following headers to guide your outline development:
• Brainstorming a Topic
  • What resources can you find to support your position? List resources in APA format.
  • What questions should you ask in order to determine if a topic is suitable?
• Evaluating the Context of the Essay
  • What things do you need to know about the target audience before you begin to write?
  • What resources can you find to support your position? List resources in APA format.
• Developing a Thesis Statement
  • How do you develop a good thesis statement?
  • What are the characteristics of a good thesis statement?
  • Why is a thesis statement important?
  • What resources can you find to support your position? List resources in APA format.
• Developing an Introduction, Outline, and Conclusion
  • How can you turn your thesis statement into an introduction?
  • How do you develop an outline?
  • What is the connection between the introduction and the conclusion?
  • What resources can you find to support your position? List resources in APA format.
• Listing References
  • What should be included in a list of references?
  • How should references be formatted?
• Additional Requirements
• Style and Format: Use current APA style for references. Include a title page and references page.
• Length: Compose 1–2 pages in addition to the title page and references page.
• Resources: Cite a minimum of two resources.
• Font: Use Times New Roman, 12 point.