DEVELOPMENT BY EFFECT.

      
     In this type of paragraph, you start with one cause, and you work forwards to analyze the effects (here, five) which came from that cause.  This can be represented as follows: 
     C =====> E + E + E + E + E.             (“C” is cause, and “E” is effect.) 
     Do not confuse this with “development by cause”, which was in the previous section. 
 
     Here, we will discuss what happens to a naughty boy, after he does something wrong. 
 
Development by:    Effect. 
Written by:    SVW. 
Topic:    What happened to Bobby, after he broke his mother’s vase.  
Title:    “What happened to Bobby, after he broke his mother’s Ming Dynasty vase.” 
Brainstorming:  Vase–Ming–basketball–mother–cried–“grounded”–games–antiques– punishment–afraid–parents–friends–“pocket money”–Friday games. 
     Major consequences: Beaten  – no supper – no pocket money – afraid of vases – “grounded” in bedroom. 
     Major consequences, prioritized: (#1) Beaten  – (#2) no supper – (#4) no pocket money – (#5) afraid of vases – (#3) “grounded” in bedroom. 
     First, you must write down the one cause; from this, each of the effects should flow logically. 
 
     Since this paragraph is a “past tense, narrative” paragraph, you have to decide how the five effects (E1, E2, E3, E4, and E5) will be arranged; will they follow a time sequence, or will they be listed according to priority?  You decide.  I prefer “according to priority”. 
 
     Be careful of your grammatical use of tense in this type of paragraph.  Have you accurately portrayed the sequence, using the correct tenses? 
 
Plan outline:   
     [C]      Bobby – dropped – vase. 
     [E1]    Beaten. 
     [E2]    No supper. 
     [E3]    “Grounded” in bedroom. 
     [E4]    No pocket-money. 
     [E5]    Afraid of vases. 
     [CS]    Avoid vases – forever. 
 
     From this plan, you can develop the sentences for this paragraph.  The initial cause of this incident is written in “bold” type, and the conclusion (which “points ahead”) is written in “italic” type. 
 
Paragraph Text:  
     [C]    Bobby broke his mother’s 1432 Ming Dynasty vase last night, as he was playing with a basketball in the living room; this single action changed his life for a long time, as his parents became very angry. 
     [E1]    His father beat him with a belt many times. 
     [E2]    Bobby’s mother cried for a whole day, and during this time, she refused to cook any food for her son.
     [E3]    Both of Bobby’s parents “grounded” him for two weeks, with no excuses whatsoever; this meant that he had to remain in his room, even when his friends wanted to play games in his back yard. 
     [E4]    Bobby used to receive ‘pocket-money” from his parents every Friday; he now gets nothing. 
     [E5]   He used to be willing to handle all of his parents’ antiques, but now Bobby is afraid to touch anything old, and especially vases of any description.  
     [CS]    The final results of this incident will stay with Bobby for a very long time. 
 
     Some final remarks about “development by effect” paragraphs: Make sure that there is a clear and logical connection between the cause (“C”), and the five effects (E1, E2, E3, E4, and E5); make sure that five effects follow a reasonable progression (either increasing, or thematically arranged); make sure the five effects fit well together as a group.