Finding main idea 9 pot

Answers
Cause 1: Ed’s father was always in the garage.
Effect 1: Ed would spend hours watching.
Cause 2: Ed would spend hours watching.
Effect 2: Ed became fascinated by cars.
Cause 3: Ed became fascinated by cars.
Effect 3: Ed began tinkering with cars.
Cause 4: Ed began tinkering with cars.
Effect 4: Ed’s father encouraged him.
Cause 5: Ed’s father encouraged him.
Effect 5: Ed could tear an engine apart by himself.
Cause 6: Ed could tear an engine apart by himself.
Effect 6: He got a job as the chief mechanic.
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Variations
When One Cause Has Several
Effects
Sometimes, one cause may have several effects: Several
things may happen as a result of one action. In the fol-
lowing passage, the writer explains several effects of the
new marketing campaign:
Our new marketing campaign has been a tremen-
dous success. Since we’ve been advertising on the
radio, sales have increased by 35%. Our client refer-
ences have doubled, and we’ve had greater client
retention rates. Furthermore, we’ve been able to hire
five new sales representatives and expand our terri-
tory to include the southwestern United States.
According to the paragraph, what were the effects
of the new marketing campaign?
1.

2.
3.
4.
5.
Answers
1. Sales have increased 35%.
2. Client references have doubled.
3. Client retention rates have increased.
4. Five new sales representatives have been hired.
5. Territory has been expanded to include the
Southwest.
When One Effect Has Several
Causes
Just as one action can have many results, one action can
have many causes as well. The following announce-
ment is an example.
TO: All Commuters
FROM: The Station Management
Unfortunately, we will no longer provide an after-
noon snack concession at the train station. Although
poor sales are one of the reasons that this service will
no longer be provided, there are actually several rea-
sons why the concession is no longer a viable option.
In addition to poor sales, the south wall of the train
station (where the concession is located) will be
undergoing a six-month renovation that will force
the closure of the snack concession. In fact, the ticket
windows on that wall will be closed as well. Fur-
thermore, from this point forward, the station will
close its doors at 6 p.m. due to new town regula-

tions, which will cut the rush-hour commuter traf-
fic coming through the station in half. Finally, Mike
– WHY DO THINGS HAPPEN? A LOOK AT CAUSE AND EFFECT–
76
Alberti, the proprietor of the concession has decided
to say farewell to his concession business, and after
35 years on the job, Mike will be retiring next month.
While none of these factors on their own would
have caused the long-term closure of the conces-
sion, combined, each makes it impossible to con-
tinue running an afternoon snack concession for
the foreseeable future.
Why is the afternoon snack concession at the
train station being discontinued?
1.
2.
3.
4.
Answers
You should have noticed four causes in the
announcement:
1. Poor sales.
2. A renovation on the side of the train station where
the concession is located.
3. Town regulations will now close the station at
6 p.m., which will decrease commuter traffic
significantly.
4. The proprietor of the concession has decided to
retire.
Contributing vs. Sufficient Cause

You’ll notice that the previous announcement informs
commuters that “none of these factors on their own
would have caused the long-term closure of the con-
cession.” This means that each of these causes is a con-
tributing cause. A contributing cause helps make
something happen but can’t make that thing happen by
itself. It is only one factor that contributes to the cause.
On the opposite end of the cause spectrum is the
sufficient cause. A sufficient cause is strong enough to
make something happen by itself. Sufficient cause is
demonstrated in the following paragraph.
Dear Mr. Miller:
It has come to our attention that you have
breached your lease. When you signed your lease,
you agreed that you would leave Apartment 3A at
123 Elm Street in the same state that you found it
when you moved in. You also agreed that if the
apartment showed signs of damage upon your
departure, then we (Livingston Properties) would
not return the security deposit that you gave us at the
time you moved into the building. Upon inspec-
tion, we have found a great deal of damage to the
appliances in the apartment as well as the wood
floors. Consequently, we will not be returning your
security deposit.
Here, you can see that there is one clear reason
why Livingston Properties will not return Mr. Miller’s
security deposit. He breached his lease by damaging the
apartment he rented from them. (If you don’t know
what breach means, you should be able to determine the

meaning from the context.)
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Evaluating Opinions about
Cause and Effect
Sometimes, in a cause and effect passage, an author will
offer his or her opinion about the cause or effect of
something rather than facts about the cause or effect. In
that case, readers must judge the validity of the author’s
analysis. Are the author’s ideas logical? Does he or she
support the conclusions he or she comes to? Consider,
for example, two authors’ opinions about instituting
mandatory school uniforms.
– WHY DO THINGS HAPPEN? A LOOK AT CAUSE AND EFFECT–
77
Paragraph A
Mandatory school uniforms are a bad deci-
sion for our district. If students are required to wear
a uniform, it will greatly inhibit their ability to
express themselves. This is a problem because dress
is one of the major ways that young people express
themselves. A school uniform policy also directly
violates the freedom of expression that all Americans
are supposed to enjoy. Consequently, young people
will doubt that their basic rights are protected, and
this will affect their larger outlook on civil liberties.
Furthermore, school uniforms will interfere with
the wearing of certain articles of religious clothing,
which will create tensions among certain religious
groups that can lead to feelings of discrimination. In
addition, school uniforms will place an undue finan-

cial burden on many low-income families who may
not have the money to spend on new uniforms every
year, especially if they have several children. Finally,
school uniforms will negate one of the most
important concepts we can teach our children—
individuality. When push comes to shove, we’d all be
better off choosing individuality over uniformity.
Mandatory school uniforms are a step in the wrong
direction.
Paragraph B
Mandatory school uniforms will have a
tremendously positive impact on our district. If stu-
dents are required to wear a uniform, it will greatly
inhibit gang behavior since they will no longer be
able to wear gang colors. As a result, schools will
experience an overall decrease in school violence
and theft. Since violence is one of the major concerns
that parents, teachers, and students raise about our
district, this change will be welcomed with open
arms. In addition, school uniforms will instill a
much-needed sense of discipline in our student
body, and discipline is something that is, unfortu-
nately, in short supply in our school district. Also,
students dressed in uniforms will feel a strong sense
of community with their peers, which will lead to a
more harmonious school environment. Finally, if
students were wearing school uniforms, adminis-
trators and teachers would no longer have to be
clothing police, freeing them to focus on more
important issues than whether someone is wearing

a dress that is too short or a T-shirt with an inap-
propriate message. You can make our schools a bet-
ter place by supporting mandatory school uniforms.
What effects does the author of paragraph A think
mandatory uniforms would have?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
What effects does the author of paragraph B think
mandatory uniforms would have?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
You’ll notice that both authors take one cause—
mandatory school uniforms—and offer several possi-
ble effects. Often, authors will use the cause and effect
structure to make arguments like the ones we’ve just
seen: one for and one against mandatory school uni-
forms. It is up to the reader to determine whose argu-
ment seems most valid.
– WHY DO THINGS HAPPEN? A LOOK AT CAUSE AND EFFECT–
78
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Summary
Understanding cause and effect is an important skill
not only for reading comprehension, but also for your

daily life. To analyze the events happening around you,
you must be able to understand why those events
happened—what caused them. Similarly, to make deci-
sions or evaluate the decisions of others, you must be
able to consider the effects of a possible decision.
“Reading,” not only texts but also events and situa-
tions, requires you to understand cause and effect.
– WHY DO THINGS HAPPEN? A LOOK AT CAUSE AND EFFECT–
79
■
As you work today, consider the effects of any recent changes in your office, such as new equipment
that’s been installed, a new system or procedure that’s been put in place, a new manager or other
employee. How will these changes affect the work place? Your job in particular? Or forecast the effect
of changes that are coming. For example, how will the upcoming layoffs affect the company?
■
Consider recent events at home or at work. What might have caused them? For example, if a coworker
just got a promotion, consider what he or she might have done to get that promotion. Or if a child is
having trouble at school, what might be causing that trouble?
Skill Building until Next Time
L
ike an architect designing a building, a writer must have a blueprint—a plan for how he or she will
organize the passage. So far in this section, we’ve looked at several ways that authors may organize
their information and ideas:
■
Lesson 6: Chronological order. Ideas are arranged in the order in which they occurred (or in the order in
which they should occur).
■
Lesson 7: Order of importance. Ideas are arranged in order of increasing importance (least important idea
to most important idea) or in order of decreasing importance (most important idea to least important idea).

■
Lesson 8: Compare and contrast. Ideas are arranged so that parallel aspects of item A and item B are com-
pared and contrasted either in block style (AAAABBBB) or point-by-point style (ABABABAB).
■
Lesson 9: Cause and effect. Ideas are arranged so that readers can see what event or series of events caused
something to take place or what effect an event or series of events had.
LESSON
Being
Structurally
Sound: Putting
It All Together
LESSON SUMMARY
Today’s lesson pulls together what you’ve learned in Lessons 6–9 and
gives you more practice in discerning the structure of a reading
passage.
10
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