Cause and Effect

Things happen for a reason, so texts will often tell you what happened and why. What happened is the effect and why it happened is the cause. Look at this sentence:

Because of the loud thunderstorm, my puppy started crying and shaking.
Cause: the loud thunderstorm
Effect: my puppy started crying and shaking.

Examples of words and phrases that signal cause and effect are: because, because of, so, since, therefore, hence, then, if … then, due to, consequently, as a consequence, accordingly, as a result, in order to, the reason why, can lead.

Comprehension Tests
Comprehension questions sometimes ask you to look at cause and effect. The cause is the reason why something happens. The effect is the thing that happens. Look for reason words such as since, so, because, reason, as a result.
1. Read the question carefully and identify the cause or effect you are trying to explain. Work out the keywords you need to look for in the text.
2. Underline the keywords in the text and read the sentence the keywords are in. Look for reason words such as so, because, since, as a result. You may also need to read the sentence or sentences before or after the keywords to understand what is happening. If you are looking for a cause, look at why something happened. If you are looking for an effect, look at what happened as a result of the cause.
3. If you are answering a multiple choice question, make sure you check all possible answers before selecting the best one.