DEVELOPMENT BY CAUSE.

 
     In this type of paragraph, you start with one effect (result, or consequence), and you work backwards to analyze the causes (here, five) which led to that effect.  This can be represented as follows: 
     C + C + C + C + C =====> E.            (“C” is cause, and “E” is effect.) 
     Do not confuse this with “development by effect”, which is in the next section. 
 
     When you are choosing a topic, you need to consider two things.  First, are you analyzing the “right way”?  Be very careful, here!  You must start with one effect, and look for five causes.  Second, have you chosen a topic that has a rich yield of “causes”?  While you are learning to write this type of paragraph, only choose topics that have many causes... even if you do not like the topic.  Later, you can follow your “pure interest”. 
      
Development by:    Cause. 
Written by:    SVW. 
Topic:    The causes leading to the paralysis of transportation and other services in the city of Boston. 
Title:    “Why Boston’s transportation and other services have been paralyzed.” 
Brainstorming:    Snow–cars–blockages–alleys–snow plows–people–traffic jams–traffic at standstill–snow storm–parked cars–abandoned–salt and sand–melted–frozen–government. 
 
     When you are writing this kind of paragraph, you must first clearly write down what the (single) effect is (see “bold type” in “E”), as all the causes should run directly to this effect.  There must be a very clear logical link between the causes and the effect.  Then, you must choose five causes; these five causes must be strong causes, not weak or vague ones.  In order to get five strong causes, you should list as many causes as you can (at least eight or nine), and then remove the weaker ones.  After that, you can prioritize the five causes.  Each of these five causes (C1, C2, C3, C4, and C5) should have a strong logical link with the effect (E).  As for the concluding sentence (CS), it should either summarize what has been already said, or it should “point ahead” to some point in the future (see “italic type” in “CS”).  You decide which kind of (CS) you want (however, I think that the “point ahead” type is better).  You will end up with a plan that looks like this: 
 
Plan outline:   
     [E]      City – standstill. 
     [C1]    Snow fell. 
     [C2]    Not move cars. 
     [C3]    Did not plow.              .     
     [C4]    No salt, sand. 
     [C5]    Ice re-froze. 
     [CS]    Must wait – warm weather.                   
 
     You can now develop the plan into sentences, like this: 
Paragraph Text:  
     [E]      The entire city of Boston has come to a complete standstill, as a result of the recent snow-storm, and the city government wants to know why. 
     [C1]    About forty centimeters of soft and wet snow fell on the city; it fell constantly throughout the night. 
     [C2]    Many people throughout the city, especially those with cars in the back streets, did not move their cars into other places; they left their cars wherever they could, went to bed as usual, and woke up to find their car completely covered in snow. 
     [C3]    The city’s snow plows were not able to plow the streets, as there were so many “snow-bound” cars in the way. 
     [C4]    Since there was so much snow on the roads, it was not possible to spread salt and sand, to make driving safer. 
     [C5]    The snow on the roads began to melt during the day, and it became very soft and wet; everything froze again at night, and the uneven snow became dangerously hard and icy.
     [CS]    These are the problems now facing the city of Boston, and there is nothing the government can do; everyone will have to wait a few days for the next cycle of warm weather, when it will be possible to remove all the snow from the streets. 
 
     Some final remarks about “development by cause” paragraphs: Know where you are coming from, where you are going, and the logical connections between the two; make a good plan; provide a “satisfying” conclusion; make sure that each of the causes have at least some association with each other.  Again, when you write, choose a topic which is rich in ideas and information.