Developing an understanding of how cause and effect inform the organization of a text enhances a student’s ability to fully comprehend what they have read. But, what exactly do we mean when we speak of cause and effect in reading?
The cause is the driving force in the text. It is the reason that things happen. In essence, the cause is the thing that makes other things happen. The effect refers to what results. It is what happened next in the text that results from a preceding cause.
To put it concisely, the cause is the why something happened and the effect is the what happened. Cause and effect are important elements of a text that help the reader to follow a writer’s line of thought, regardless of whether that text is fiction or nonfiction.
The concept of cause and effect is so prevalent in our everyday lives that students are usually quick to pick up on them. They may already display a good implicit understanding of the concepts in their reading and writing. However, the purpose of this article is to make that understanding explicit; to offer a range of strategies that will help students identify the causes and effects that are woven throughout the fabric of the texts they will read.
