Essays About Cause And Effect: 5 Examples And 10 Easy Prompts To Use

Don’t know how to write essays about cause and effect? Read well-written examples, and get started with our helpful essay writing prompts.

Cause and effect essays tell stories that help readers reach a conclusion and understand why such a conclusion is reached. To effectively write an easy-to-understand cause and effect essay, you need to reasonably link thoughts, events, and actions. 

Create a thesis statement, pick your main points, and check if your paragraphs and arguments flow logically. 

Here are our top cause and effect essay examples and prompts to help you get started.

Check out these 11 top writing tips to help you write a stellar essay. 

1. Cause and Effect Essay – 3 Negative Impacts of Technology by Daisy Meyer

“What once was a purposeful and determined community is now an uneducated and inert population.”

Meyer describes how technology negatively impacted her daily life, lacking face-to-face communication and constant distraction caused by mobile applications. Another concern she has is the growing cases of cyberbullying rampant in social media, where people pick on another person anonymously, which sometimes leads to suicides. She also shows the cause and effect of depending too much on modern devices. 

2. Long Essay on Causes and Effects of Social Media by Prasanna

“So social media also has a good and bad influence on people. Many just use them for good deeds, and many use them for bad deeds.”

Prasanna notes that many use social media to offer fast communication, a broad network, and easy promotions to earn money. However, it also has harmful effects, especially on the younger generation and their mental state. The writer mentions the importance of being good influencers and only following good role models online.

3. Cause and Effect of Bullying by Angelina West

“They want to bring others down so they could bring themselves up.”

Bullying cases continuously increase because of parents’ lack of attention and supervision. The author points out why bullies exist and how they want to be noticed by pouring their anger unto others.

4. Pop Music and Effect of K-Pop in the Philippines by Jaime Barber

“I think it’s because of the local TV stations broadcasting all these Asian dramas that the Filipino youth, as well as the young at heart, are drawn to these.”

Barber didn’t only give a brief history of how K-Pop started in the country but also explained its global impact. The writer believes that it’s because of the local channels and Korean music, but also adds how many Koreans visit, live, and start businesses in the Philippines. 

5. Cause and Effect Essay on Smoking Cigarettes by Cameron Mitchell

“When people are addicted, they have a compulsive need to seek out and use a substance, even when they understand the harm it can cause.”

This essay explores how smoking is considered one of the most harmful and costly habits that don’t only hurt users but also the people around them. The essay also incorporates statistics to back up the paper’s findings on how smoking has harmful social, mental, and physical effects on a person. 

10 Writing Prompts on Essays About Cause and Effect

After reading the cause and effect sample essays above, you are now more familiar with how ideas in the “cause” should be connected to reach the “effect.” To help you start your paper, here are the ten cause and effect essay prompts:

1. What Are the Causes and Effects of Social Media on Youth?

Modern technology has made communication more accessible with social media. Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are the most used, especially by young people. However, many users are still unaware of how much these platforms can affect them. You can discuss the causes and effects of too much social media use, incorporate personal experiences, and share tips on safely handling social media accounts.

2. The Cause and Effect of Stress

Stress is something everyone experiences. It can lead to many different outcomes, such as mental health problems, obesity, and diseases. Discuss the possible causes and different types of stress and mention its consequences if it’s not immediately managed.

3. Teen Pregnancy: Causes and Effects 

Approximately 12 million girls between 15 to 19 years old get pregnant each year, and at least 10 million of them are unintended pregnancies. Use this prompt to highlight the causes of early pregnancies. In writing the effects, consider adding common consequences such as poor health conditions for both the mother and child.

4. The Effects of Poverty

There are 37.2 million people who live in poverty in the US. Is it merely caused by people being lazy? Or capitalistic business people who refuse to increase wages and would rather lose employees? You can write about different factors that lead to poverty and give ideas on how to avoid being a part of the 37.2 million and counting.

5. Causes and Effects of Water Pollution

The environment is usually a common subtopic of cause and effect essays. It’s because there are many to discuss and dissect. For example, you can focus on water pollution and identify pollutants contaminating it. Then, relate them to health that affects an individual or a particular area.

6. Causes and Effects of Gambling Addiction

Writing about addiction is a sensitive topic, so make sure to research and rely on credible, trustworthy sources. You can also write about someone you know who succumbed to addiction and share their journey through your essay. Gambling, in particular, is a controversial topic that includes health, relationships, and financial status. Incorporate the importance of boundaries and healthy recreational gambling.

7. The Effects of Moving to a New Town or City

Have you ever experienced moving to a new place and starting your life again? What are your reasons for moving, and how did everything play out? This simple topic is excellent if you want to connect with your readers as you talk about your feelings about the move and your life since then.

8. Family Life With Pandemic Restrictions and Social Distancing

The pandemic has undoubtedly affected many people, many dropping out of school and losing their jobs and loved ones. Is your family close to each other, or did you always see each other before the pandemic? If so, how did the restrictions like social distancing affect your family? Write about it and share if you’ve become closer or the opposite during the pandemic.

9. The Cause and Effects of Student Burnout

When a student experiences stress, frustration, and fatigue with minimal time to rest and recharge, they will surely burn out. Use this prompt to show what causes these burnouts and how it affects their physical and mental health. Consider concluding your essay with tips on how students can manage their studies to be still able to rest or do things other than studying.

10. Effects of TV Shows in Influencing Their Audience’s Behaviors

Discuss how TV shows affect a child’s perception of reality or how it affects their behavior. You can share an experience, such as when you babysat someone younger, and they tried to imitate what they saw on TV. Comment on it. Why do you think TV shows greatly impact little kids compared to teenagers and adults? And then go on to add other bad and good effects you can gather.

Check out our guide packed full of transition words for essays.

Did these prompts help you decide on what to write? If not, here are 46 great essay writing topics you can choose from.