Cause-effect, examples & comparisons
time to complete: 15-20 minutes
Cause-Effect
Another key function is that of the relationship between something that happens and the reason for it happening. This cause-effect relationship can be expressed in various ways as demonstrated from the examples below:
Today, I’m going to talk about the effects of…
Let’s now look at the two major causes of this…
As you can see, this had an impact on…
It is evident that this led to…
So, we wanted to know… what is causing this…?
So, basically this gene determines how we…
The pilot study was helpful because it allowed me to…
I had already checked the tubes, so…
The increase may be due to the…
And, as a result of this error, our analysis…
Since there are so many different ways of expressing cause-effect, it’s important to make sure you are using them accurately. Let’s do some practice then.
Task: The sentences below were taken from a presentation transcript. Read them and choose the correct word that completes each gap.
Extract adapted from YouTube presentation transcript (University of Reading 2021)
If you would like to study these sentences closely, use the explanations below. Pay attention to the position of cause and effect in the sentences as well as the grammar of the language that introduces cause-effect.
be + because of + noun phrase
We all know eating green leafy vegetables is good for our health, but do you know why? It is because of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and fibre content in the leaves.
reduced relative clause = the damage that was caused by…
To this day, the damage caused by these events, in addition to the more than 2,000 nuclear weapon tests conducted, continue to impact affected individuals and the environment.
AND
(subject + verb + object)
To this day, the damage caused by these events, in addition to the more than 2,000 nuclear weapon tests conducted, continue to impact affected individuals and the environment.
subject + lead to + object
An example of the latter is the so-called “Beast from the East” in early 2018, which led to the UK’s coldest March day on record.
the reason why + subject + verb
In phase 3, the final phase, a questionnaire study will be conducted to generalize the study results and to collect countrywide views about the reasons why people end up buying fake medicine online.
be + a result of
The gel expands and contracts rhythmically, like the heartbeat, and this is purely a result of the physical-chemical interactions.
the effect of… on…
These statistics we found from observations can then be used to assess if weather forecast models are correctly capturing the effect of the stratosphere on the troposphere below.
Examples
You also need to make it clear when you are providing an example that supports or explains what you say because it is more specific. Examples are particularly important in presentations because they help the audience process information.
- For instance, if we applied a load…
- But, let me give you an example first.
- Another example of critical thinking would be the ability to…
- … in various African countries, such as Nigeria, Sudan and Angola.
Comparison
And finally, if you are comparing two people, ideas, places, tools, studies, etc., you will need to use language that introduces the similarities and/or differences between these. Again, this can be done in various ways:
- Unlike previous experiments we conducted, this study…
- So, you might be wondering, are there any similarities between…?
- Corpus-based approaches differ from corpus-driven approaches in this respect.
- The resolution here is slightly higher than that of the…
- Patient A reported a… , while Patient B didn’t seem to be…
- … which was the same as last month’s…
- Both specimens reacted to…
Since there are so many different ways of making a comparison, it’s important to make sure you are using the language accurately. Let’s do some practice then.
Task: The sentences below were taken from a presentation transcript. Read them and choose the correct word that completes each gap.
Sentences adapted from YouTube presentation transcript (University of Reading 2021)