Cause and Effect
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Writing Prompt: On a piece of paper, write about an event that caused another event and how it happened.
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| Writing prompts may instruct you to write about fiction or nonfiction. If the prompt does not specify, feel free to make up a story or draw from personal experience. In this prompt, either is acceptable.
Before you begin writing, you’ll need to brainstorm ideas for your story. Think: What event was the cause of something else? How did it cause it? What was the effect, or result, of the event? There are many different answers to each of these questions, so your story should be unique.
Take a look at the two sample answers provided in response to the given writing prompt. Sample answer number one is a story about a young girl who gets sick with a cold. She forgets to take her medicine, and, as a result, she gets even sicker than before and has to miss another day of school.
In sample answer number two, a fourth-grade boy learns he has to take a math test. In the week leading up to the test, he studies a lot, asking for help on things he doesn’t understand. As a result of all of his hard work and studying, he aces his test.
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Sample Answer #1
It was the first day of spring, and Elsie wasn’t feeling all too well. Her nose was stuffy, her eyes were watery, and her throat was sore. Her mom kept her home from school and made her breakfast in bed and brought her some tea with honey to help her throat, but Elsie wasn’t feeling any better.
Later that day, when Elsie still wasn’t feeling well, her mom took her to see the doctor who gave her some medicine to take to help get rid of her cold.
“Be sure you keep taking this medicine until it is gone, even if you feel better. If you don’t, you could end up sick again,” the doctor told Elsie.
The rest of the day, Elsie rested in bed and took her medicine. However, the next day, Elsie was feeling refreshed and not as sick as the day before so she forgot to take her medicine. By the end of the day, she was feeling very sick again and had to miss another day of school.
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Example story #1
Question 1. In your story, what is the event of cause?
Answer: The event in this story that caused the result is Elsie forgetting to take her medicine.
Question 2. In your story, how did the event cause the other event?
Answer: Elsie was feeling better after a day of resting and taking medicine so she forgot to take her medicine.
Question 3. In your story, what is the effect, or result, of the event?
Answer: The result of Elsie not taking her medicine is that she got sick again and had to miss another day of school.
Question 4. In your story, is the outcome negative or positive?
Answer: The outcome of my story was negative because Elsie got sick again and had to miss another day of school.
Question 5. Did you write about a cause and effect event that is real or did you make something up?
Answer: I wrote about a cause and effect event that I made up.
Question 6. Choose the best choice antonym for the word effect.
a) Result b) Outcome c) Consquence d) Origin
Answer: d) Origin
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Sample Answer #2
David, a fourth-grade boy, went to school on Monday. After lunch, he had math class, and that was when his teacher, Mr. Drake, told the class they were all going to take a math test on Friday.
“The test will be twenty questions, and it will consist of mostly fraction problems with some multiplication problems thrown in,” Mr. Drake told the class.
David was nervous about the test because he wasn’t very good at math fractions. However, he was determined to get a good grade. Later that day, after school, David went home and started studying. When he got stuck, he asked his mom and dad for help. David studied his math homework until it was time for dinner.
The rest of the week, David studied for his math test every night. Each night, he learned something new and got better at multiplication and fractions. His mom and dad always helped him whenever he had questions or was having a hard time.
When Friday came, David felt confident that he was going to do well. As it turns out, all of his hard work paid off because he got an A on his math test! David was so proud of himself and so were his mom and dad.
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Example story #2
Question 1. In your story, what is the event of cause?
Answer: The event that caused the outcome of my story was that David studied hard for a week for his math test.
Question 2. In your story, how did the event cause the other event?
Answer: David’s studying every night and asking for help from his mom and dad led him to get a good grade on his math test.
Question 3. In your story, what is the effect, or result, of the event?
Answer: The result of David’s studying is that he got an A on his math test.
Question 4. In your story, is the outcome negative or positive?
Answer: The outcome of my story is positive because David got an A on his math test.
Question 5. Did you write about a cause and effect event that is real or did you make something up?
Answer: The cause and effect story I wrote about is based on my best friend, so it was real.
Question 6. Choose the best choice antonym for the word effect.
b) Result b) Outcome c) Consquence d) Origin
Answer: d) Origin
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