đề tài: An investigation of common errors made by high school students in writing Cause and Effect English essay and suggestions for solutions

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

During the process of doing this graduation paper, I have received many
necessary assistances, precious ideas and timely encouragements from my
teachers, family and friends. This paper could not have been completed
without the help, encouragement and support from a number of people who
all deserve my sincere gratitude and appreciation.
First of all, I wish to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor - Ms.
Truong Hoang Lan, M. A, who has always been willing to give me valuable
advice and suggestions in order that I can complete successfully this study.
I also would like to take this opportunity to show my sincere thanks to all
my lecturers at the Faculty of Foreign Languages of Pham Van Dong
University, who have handed me basic knowledge to complete this study.
I am so thankful to students of two classes 11A2 and 11A3 at Mo Duc No
II High School for their whole - heart participation in the study.
I am equally indebted to my classmates for their suggestions and
encouragements in the progress of my study.
Last but not least, my particular thanks are given to my parents for their
encouragement and support which played an important role in my graduation
paper.

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ABSTRACT
The ability to write meaningful sentences, paragraphs or essay which a
reader can easily understand is termed as Excellent Writing Skills. It is a
perfect way to write and express your views on the topic you want to address
your audience and writer. Especially, learning how to write a Cause and
Effect English essay is one of the difficult experiences to students at high
school, it is also one of the essential skills for students in the future. The

students often make errors when they try to write a Cause and Effect English
essay. So, if the students do not attempt to learn the skill of writing, they will
face difficulties in mastering the skill in their later life. This paper aims to
express the errors which students often make and suggests some solutions to
help students avoid the mistakes in writing. Moreover, when students learn
how to write a Cause and Effect essay, they become more capable of
analyzing what they read, interpret and think.

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TABLE CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS………………………………..…………………1
ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………2
TABLE OF CONTENT……………………………………………..………. 3
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION…………………………………………..6
1.1. Rationale of the study...……………………………………………….. 7
1.2. Aims of study……………………………………………………………8
1.3. Scope of the study………………………………………………………8
1.4. Research questions…………………………………………………..…8
1.5. Methodology…………………………………………………………….8
1.6. Organization of the study………………………………………………9
CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW………………………………..10
2.1. Review of Previous Studies…………………………………………...10
2.1.1. Writing in the English class: The key to Improve the Vietnamese
eleventh grader as a Foreign Language Learner’s Productive Writing
Skill..……………………………………………………………………….10
2.2. Theoretical Background……………………………………………..10
2.2.1. Theories of Writing Skill…………………………………………..10

2.2.1.1. Writing Skill Definition………………………………….........10
2.2.1.2. Writing Skill in Teaching Foreign Language…………………12
2.2.1.2.1. The Importance of Writing Skill in Teaching Foreign
Language……………………………………………………………………12
2.2.1.2.2. The difficulties of Writing Skill in Teaching Foreign
language…………………………………………………………………….12
2.3. Overview on Cause and Effect Essay………………………………13
2.3.1. What is an essay? ............................................................................13
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2.3.1.1. Structural Parts of an Essay……………………………………13
2.3.2 Types of essay Used in Academic Writing………………………...15
2.3.2.1. Descriptive Essay……………………………………………....14
2.3.2.2. Narrative Essay…………………………………………….…..14
2.3.2.3. Compare and Contrast Essay…………………………………..14
2.3.2.4. Persuasive/Argumentative Essay……………………………....15
2.3.2.5. Expository Essay……………………………………………….15
2.3.3. The Definition of Cause and Effect Essay…………………………16
2.3.3.1. Structure of Cause and Effect Essay…………………………..17
2.3.3.2. Structure of the Cause Essay…………………………………..17
2.3.3.3. Structure of the Effect Essay…………………………………..18
2.3.4. Process of a Cause and Effect Essay………………………………19
2.3.4.1. Stimulating Ideas………………………………………………19
2.3.4.2. Brainstorming and Outlining………………………………….20
2.3.4.3. Developing Ideas……………………………………………….21
2.3.4.3.1. Cause Connectors………………………………………..…...21
2.3.4.3.2. Effect Connectors…………………………………………….22
2.4. Rules for a Good Cause and Effect Essay…………………………...23
CHAPTER III: METHODS AND PROCERDURES…………………...25

3.1. Research Methodology………………………………………………..25
3.2. Research Procedures………………………………………………….25
3.3. Data Collections……………………………………………………….26
3.4. Data Analysis…………………………………………………………..26
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3.5. Reliability and Validity……………………………………………….26
CHAPTER IV: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS……………………....28
4.1. Some Errors in Writing Cause and Effect Essay Encountered by
Students in High school …………………………………………………28
4.1.1. Repeating Transitional Words in an Essay………………………...28
4.1.2. Omitting Transition Words in an Essay…………………………...29
4.1.3. Incorrect Topic Sentences in Body Paragraph………………….....31
4.2. Some Suggestions to Improve Writing Cause and Effect Essay…...32
4.2.1. Using Various Transitional Words…………………………………32
4.2.2. Writing Correct Topic Sentences…………………………………..36
4.3. Student’s Background Information………………………………….37
4.4. Data Analysis and Discussion………………………………………...37
4.4.1. Students’ Attitudes Toward Writing Skill …………………………37
4.4.2. The Reason Cause Students’ Difficulties in Writing Skill…………38
4.4.3. Students’ Attitudes Toward Writing Cause and Effect Essay……...39
4.4.4. The Time for Writing Cause and Effect Essay of Students…….....40
4.4.5. The Common Mistakes Which Students Often Make in Writing
Cause and Effect Essay……………………………………………………..41
4.4.6. The Way to Improve Students’ Cause and Effect Essay Writing
Skill…………………………………………………………………………42
4.4.7. Does the Teacher’s Methodologies in Teaching Writing a Cause and
Effect Essay Usefully? ……………………………………………………..43
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATION………………..44

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5.1. Conclusion……………………………………………………………44
5.2. Implications…………………………………………………………..44
REFERRENCES………………………………………………………….50

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CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

1.1. Rationale of the study
Nowadays, almost countries in the world speak English and English
can be considered one of the most essential languages for international
communication. In Vietnam, there are a lot of foreign investors, they
establish their own companies in Vietnam. They all speak English and of
course, they will employ the people who have ability of using English.
Therefore, English is an important criterion to find a good job in Vietnam. It
becomes the second language to many people. When we learn English, we
can widen knowledge about culture, customs, lifestyle in each countries.
However, it is not easy to learn a foreign language well. In order to use
English fluently, I think the learners have to pay attention to four skills:
Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking. Of four skills, writing is
considered the most difficult skill in all. Different from the rest, writing
requires not only the learners to have knowledge of grammar (grammatical
structures) but also plentiful source of vocabulary to write a paragraph as
well as an essay completely. Many learners think that when they can speak
well, they will automatically write well. However, when they begin writing
first sentence, everything is not easy as they expected. There are many

differences between spoken and written languages. So, writing requires much
patience and constant practice.
In all walks of life, people use writing as a basic working skill. It is a
process, a skill of hard- work and people must perform almost daily. As a
student, you will have a lot of writing tasks such as: assignments, essay,
graduation training report, graduation paper,… Therefore, we should think
clearly about what to write, how to write in order to have a good writing. To
my knowledge, there are many factors which help learners write an essay
successfully. During studying writing skill, especially writing essay, I am
very interested in Cause and Effect essay, I realized how important they are
and their effects when being used to write a paragraph or an essay. But due to
the limitation of time, the study on how to write a Cause and Effect essay
effectively is not introduced clearly in writing subject. Students do not have
chance to understand much about them. With the hope that I can study more
about Cause and Effect essay deeply. Thus, I decided to choose a study on
how to write a Cause and Effect essay, some common errors made by high
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school students in writing Cause and Effect English essay and suggestions for
solutions as my graduation paper.
1.2. Aims of the study
The study “Some common errors made by high school students in
writing Cause and Effect English essay and suggestions for solutions” is
carried out in order to survey the skills of writing of high school students,
especially the students at Mo Duc No II High School. The study provides
learners with the theoretical background of writing, such as the theory of
academic writing, essay and especially, the theory of Cause and Effect essay.
It also points out the common mistakes facing the learners in the process of
writing Cause and Effect essay and gives some advices, specific exercises to

help English learners improve writing Cause and Effect effectively.
1.3. Scope of the study
Cause and Effect essay is used in every types of discourse, such as
speaking, reading, listening and especially in writing. However, due to the
limitation of time, of knowledge and materials, I can only focus on theory of
Cause and Effect essay, types of errors which students often make and
methods to help students write the essay effectively.
1.4. Research questions:
The issues to be discussed in this study are summarized in the
following research questions:
1. How do students understand about Cause and Effect English essay?
2. What are the common errors which students often make?
3. What are the solutions to help students write Cause and Effect
English essay effectively?
1.5. Methodology
To fulfill the above aims, qualitative and quantitative methods were
chosen for the study. All comments, remarks, assumptions and conclusion of
the study were based on the data and analysis. Data collections for analysis in
this study were gained through the following the survey questionnaires
resources.

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The questionnaire was designed just for students. However, sometimes
interviews were also applied if the author found that the answer of lowered
were not clear enough.
1.6. Organization of the Study
This paper presented in five chapters. They are:
Chapter I (Introduction)

The author provides information about the rationale of the study, states
the aims of the study and specifies the scope of the study, research questions,
research methodology as well as organization of the study.
Chapter II (Literature Review)
Provides the previous study, the theoretical foundation of teaching
writing, theory of Cause and Effect essay.
Chapter III (Methods and Procedures)
Mentions methods and procedures including the research methods and
procedures, data collection, data analysis, reliability and validity.
Chapter IV (Findings and Discussions)
Elaborates the procedures of the study in order to give clear answers
to the study questions that have been proposed before. The findings and
discussions presented based on the data that analyzed and they are related to
the theoretical background in chapter two.
Chapter V (Conclusion and Implications)
Presents the conclusion of this study, the implications for teaching and
learning, the limitations of the study and some suggestions for further study.

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CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. Review of Previous Studies
2.1.1. Writing in the English class:
“The Key to improve the Vietnamese eleventh grader as a Foreign
Language Learners’ Productive Writing Skill.”
One researcher, for instance, believes that teacher-student feedback
cannot be free from bias, thus the procedure must be corrected positively.
Considering the notion of "affective filter", one can assume that peer
correction can lead to more efficient results because of lack of destructive

effects of questioning and answering. Therefore, the researcher believes that
considering the limitations of evaluation and reformation of problems in the
form of teacher-student and the advantages of application of student-student
approach, this approach can be a step forward in the attainment of education
objectives of productive writing skill.
Freeman (2000) states that when learning is based on cooperation,
language learners look for helpful results for themselves and their peers. In
the 2000s, researchers like Zeng (2006), Kamimura (2006), Jiao (2007), and
Hirose (2009) investigate the impact of peer feedback in second language
writing classroom and they note that peer feedback offers many ways to
improve students' writing. Caulk quoted Rollinson (2005) as saying that
“teachers’ feedback is general while students’ is more specific”.
Peer feedback generates positive impact if the students are ready and
well-trained and prepared by the teacher (Williams, 1957). It can be assumed
that peer feedback failure is caused by ignoring this aspect, preparation.
When the students are asked to write with sense "to be read" by authentic
audience (peers), their writing is better than when they are asked to write to
be read by teacher (Clark, 2003). Rollinson (2005) states that peer feedback
also trains students to be critical readers on their own writing.
2.2. Theoretical Background
2.2.1. Theories of Writing Skill
2.2.1.1. Writing Skill Definition
A language is used for many kinds of purposes. Thus, it has many
functions as well. Furthermore, there are two macro skills of a language; they
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are receptive and productive skills. Writing skill is one of the productive
skills that should be mastered in using a language. It is because writing skill
has significances in improving a communicative competence of learning the

language.
The definitions of writing are variously stated by some experts.
According to Rivers (1981: 294), writing is conveying information or
expression of original ideas in a consecutive way in the new language.
Brown, (2001: 336) also claimed that writing is a thinking process.
Furthermore, he states that writing can be planned and given with an
unlimited number of revisions before its release. In addition, Elbow (1973) in
Brown (2001: 336) also says that writing is a two-step process. The first
process is figuring out the meaning and the second process is putting the
meaning into language. Writing represents what we think. It is because the
writing process reflects things, which stay in the mind. Students who are
reluctant to write things down often suffer for this activity. The students find
difficulties when they start looking for some reasons to write and producing
written sentences.
Another definition of writing skill is also defined by Urquhart and
Mclver and also Harmer. Urquhart and Mclver (2005: 5-6) state that writing
is a recursive process, which means students revise throughout the process,
frequently moving back and forth among the stages. Then, students should
learn strategies for invention and discovery, and teachers should help
students generate content and discover a purpose. Also, it is stated that
readers, purpose, and occasion define all types of writing and effective
writing fulfills the writer’s intention and meets the readers’ needs. It means
that writing is a complex process and it seems reasonable to expect, then, that
the teaching of writing is complex as well. Moreover, Harmer (2004) states
that writing encourages students to focus on accurate language use. It is
because students consider the language use when the students engage in their
writing process. This activity will provoke language development because the
students resolve problems what writing puts in students’ minds.
Based on the definitions above, a definition of writing skill can be
obtained. Writing is a productive process done through some stages. Firstly,

exploring and transmitting ideas, thought and feeling into written form.
Secondly, conducting a number of revising process to carry out a
grammatically and orderly texts. The writing productions are in the forms of
readable texts which should be meaningful to everyone who read the writing.
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2.2.1.2. Writing Skill in Teaching Foreign Language
2.2.1.2.1. The Importance of Writing Skill In Teaching Foreign
Language
Writing is considered the most important skills of English language.
When compared to the other skills, writing seems to be the most difficult skill
for the English Language Learner as it involves many things in it. The
English Language Learner find listening and reading are the easiest skills
whereas they find speaking and writing are more difficult ones as they are
productive skills. The learners have to work hard in acquiring these two skills
as they need more practice. Hence the teachers have to think of alternative
methods to teach these skills. Writing skill has undergone many
developments and changes in the recent years. In this regard, Harmer
(2007: 1) says, “Human activity of writing is a fairly recent development
in the evolution of men and women … some of the earliest writing found so
far dates from about 5,500 years ago”. In the early ages, people did not write
anything to convey any message, but they used to draw different methods and
paintings to represent different things which were connected to their daily
lives. Hence, they conveyed their messages in the form of figures, images
and pictures. In this context, Yule states, “Human beings started to write
some 20,000 to 25,000 years ago”.
In the development process of writing, it developed from picturewriting (pictograms) to idea-writing (ideograms) and then to word-writing
(logograms). Then, the word-based writing system was purely followed by
the Sumerians. The alphabet was introduced in the Synaptic word by

replacing the pictographs between the period of 1700 and 1500 B.C. After the
invention of the ink in 2697 by Tien- Lcheu, the Chinese philosopher and the
invention of the paper in 1200 B.C. in China, writing became quite common.
2.2.1.2.2. The Difficulties of Writing Skill in Teaching Foreign Language
Writing in a foreign or second language is a courageous experience
especially for students whose native language is not of the same origin as the
target language. Native language speaking students learning English is a
good example here. These students are faced with the school curriculum
that includes the four main skills of English language. Among these
skills, they find writing skill the most difficult one and face many problems
while composing simple short paragraphs. Writing in general is the least
lovable skill to the rural students and this can be contributed to the fact
that successful learning of the writing skill depends on the success learners
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have with the learning of other skills. Normal teaching programs adopt the
natural order of listening, speaking, reading and writing in their teaching
schedule.
Even though writing comes as the last skill, because it is necessary in
daily academic life. Students are expected to learn how to and logically using
appropriate language and style, life will be difficult for them not only at
school but in adult life (Neville, 1988).
The teachers of English language who teach at high schools are aware
of the difficulties involved in the process of learning how to master the
different types of writing tasks and how to produce fairly they attempt
writing in English. Students at High School lack the control over their
writing in English because they are in the process of gaining data as much
as possible from the teacher in the early stages of learning a foreign
language. Even the teachers of English also need guidance while writing.

2.3. Overview on Essay and Cause and Effect Essay
2.3.1. What is an Essay?
According to Oshima, Alice and Hogue Ann (2004) - the authors of
English grammar: An essay is a piece of writing consisting of several
paragraphs long instead of just one or two paragraphs. It is written about one
topic, just as a paragraph is. However, the topic of an essay is too long and
too complex to discuss in paragraph. Therefore you must divide the topic into
several paragraphs, one for each major point. Then you must tie all of the
separate paragraphs together by adding an introduction and a conclusion.
2.3.1.1. The Structural Parts of an Essay
An essay has three main parts: Introduction, Body and Conclusion
a, Introduction
It occupies about 10% of the total length, maybe one or several
paragraphs depending on the essay length. Consisting of two parts:
- General statements: Introduce the topic, provide background
information and limit the scope of discussion.
- Thesis statements: Define the topic, and present the plan of coverage
including your line of argument / viewpoint / conclusion.
In short, these statements are from General to more specific.
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b, Body
Including one or more paragraph. Each paragraph has one main point
(topic sentence) and link together.
c, Conclusion
Summing up argument or information with reference to the essay
question. Wider implication or future direction is mentioned.
2.3.2. Types of Essay Used in Academic Writing
It would be wise to start studying different types of essay from the

most time-consuming. Five main categories of academic essay exist. Those
are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Descriptive
Narrative
Compare-&-contrast
Persuasive/argumentative
Expository

2.3.2.1. Descriptive Essay
It is the answer to the question, “What type of essay describes
something?” The descriptive essay is an original essay, which is based on the
detailed description and detailed analysis of the chosen literary piece, object,
event, etc. An essay writer will deal with adjectives, adverbs, etc. Write many
different descriptive words to describe the topic. Analogies, metaphors,
similes, allegories, and personifications are the most popular literary tools
writers use in descriptive essay. They help to visualize things. English
composition and literature teachers assign such essay. A student has several
options: sharing emotions, describing a personal experience in details.
2.3.2.2. Narrative Essay
The narrative essay reminds of a short story written by the famous
author like Ernest Hemingway’s “Old Man and the Sea.” A writer can talk
about the weirdest thing he met in life. Another good idea is to talk about the
first love. Many students choose to recall a particular day from their life to
show how 24 hours can change someone’s life for better or worse. A

narrative essay is all about expressing various things a writer has gone
through in his/her life to make the target audience of readers interested.
Writing narrative essay does not require the usage of external sources. This
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fact makes this kind of academic writing easy, but a student has to develop a
creative approach to receive the best grade.
2.3.2.3. Compare and Contrast Essay
The compare and contrast essay belongs to the expository essay
category. An essay writer will have to mention the differences & similarities
between the selected subjects/people/locations/events to let the reader
compare and contrast things. Comparing refers to finding similarities while
contrasting in an essay is finding differences. This essay helps to understand
more than one topic at a time. It is possible to compare/contrast various
categories of essay (write about differences & similarities). Do not forget that
you can mix essay of different types: involve a comparison of your previous
job experience to the current one - that would be a mix of a narrative &
compare-&-contrast writing.
2.3.2.4. Persuasive/Argumentative Essay
The persuasive or argumentative essay is a type of essay where a writer
has to insist on the specific point of view regarding the chosen problem.
These are 2 different types of essay. A persuasive essay has to convince the
reader of the truth of the main argument, thesis; an argumentative essay just
must state the thesis and defend it with other related arguments & evidence.
Writing persuasive essay is the most challenging task. A student should learn
how to write an argumentative essay first.
2.3.2.5. Expository Essay
An expository essay requires the greatest amount of time because the
volume is large. It is possible to divide this essay into several categories.

Those are interpretation, definition, Cause and Effect, response, and analysis.
+ A basic explanation essay refers to the process of interpreting some
process step-by-step (providing detailed instructions). Such assignments
answer the “how” questions. The straightforward topics of this sort could be
the way The President of the United States is elected; write about the way
chocolate factory creates its best candies.
+ A definition essay is the simplest one, but do not come up with a
single definition copied from the English dictionary. It should include both
the official definitions (several of them) and personal understanding of the
specific word/phrase.

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+ Reflection essay (or personal response essay) is in the realm of
subjectivity on one side. A writer still has to explain the main topic of the
essay based on the credible evidence and facts. Focus on personal opinion
regarding the analyzed piece in such essay.
+ A critical analysis essay is an essay, which goal is to make a writer
understand the covered material. A teacher/student chooses a related piece of
text (from book chapter to scholarly article) to write, analyze, and interpret
the results in own way. The teacher compares the essay to the actual
interpretation of work. Go line by line to provide a clear explanation of this
type of essay.
+ Especially, the Cause and Effect Essay is the one, which proves that
things are interrelated in this world. In such an essay, a writer should draw a
parallel between some subjects/events by specifying the reasons for some
things to happen and the consequences. An example of such essay could be
the causes & effects of the Civil War in the US. This is also a kind of essay
which I study in my paper.

2.3.3. The Definition of Cause and Effect Essay
According to Boardman, A.C.& Frydenberg, J. (2001), a Cause and
Effect essay deals with explaining, examining or exposing two events or
actions ( which could be thought of as topics) and how each has an effect on
the other and/or the results of these events or actions. Topic always has a
number of possible causes and effects
The Cause and Effect essay explains why or how some events
happened, and what resulted from the event. This type of essay is a study of
the relationship between two or more events or experiences. The essay could
discuss both causes and effects, or it could simply address one or the other.
A cause essay usually discusses the reasons why something happened. An
effect essay discusses what happens after a specific event or circumstance.
Example: Marriage and happiness – When marriage is the cause, most
people assume that the effect is happiness. However, what if the marriage
was arranged, or was the result of a pregnancy, or done out of pure
convenience? Would the Cause and Effect follow a logical sequence? Or
could the cause be happiness and marriage the effect?

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2.3.3.1. Structure of Cause and Effect Essay
As mentioned, Cause and Effect writing gives reasons and explanations
for events, conditions, or behaviors. The following is a common structure of
a Cause and Effect essay.
a, Introduction:
Hook: introduces the causes/effects
Background information helps the readers understand the causes
and effects. It can give historical information.
Thesis statement showing a relation between causes and effects

b, Body
Body paragraph 1 (cause1/effect1)
Topic sentence
Supporting details
Body paragraph 2 (cause 2/effect2)
Topic sentence
Supporting details
Body paragraph 3 (cause 3/effect 3)
Topic sentence
Supporting details
c, Conclusion
Restatement/Summary
Final comment
2.3.3.2. Structure of the Cause Essay
a, Introduction
The introduction of a cause paper will usually contain a brief
description of the effect. Therefore, you should provide thesis, basis for
causal chain, and identify effect or effects; the key question is what causes
this.
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For example, in an essay with the thesis “Government policies have
made fuel shortages more severe than they used to be”, the introduction
would discuss the fuel shortages that resulted from government policies.
b, Body
Discuss various links in the causal chain, either tracing it backwards
from effect to first cause, or beginning with the first cause.
Use transitions flexibly and appropriately.
c, Conclusion

Return to thesis, and then speculate on possible first causes to right a
bad effect or possible other causes that might have destroyed or otherwise
altered the good effect.
In a cause essay, we have the block style: Multiple causes - > effect
Listing the causes of a situation.
a, Introduction : Effect of causes
b, Body:
Paragraph 1
Cause 1
Paragraph 2
Cause 2
Paragraph 3
Cause 3
c, Conclusion
Essay conclusion
2.3.3.3. Structure of the Effect Essay
a, Introduction
The introduction to an effect paper will naturally reverse the procedure
of a cause paper by briefly describing or discussing the cause. Therefore, you
should provide thesis and basis for effects; describe primary cause; may use
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more than one paragraph. The key question is what effects result from this
cause.
For example, in an essay with the thesis “Passage of a national health
program will result in heavy burdens on doctors”, the introduction should
discuss the health insurance program.
b, Body
Discuss each effect, tracing its path back to the casual chain and the

root cause.
c, Conclusion
Return to thesis; speculate in possible first cause to right each bad
effect.
2.3.4. Processes of a Cause and Effect Essay
Whenever we want to write any types of essay, we must do 3 necessary
following processes :
- Stimulating ideas
- Brainstorming and Outlining
- Developing ideas
2.3.4.1. Stimulating Ideas
Firstly, when you have a topic to write, you do not know how to write
it, you need some knowledge about the topic that you write about. Therefore,
stimulating ideas is necessary for us.
For instance, you have a topic: “Many people travel great distances to
find happiness. Others find happiness in the world around them. In your
opinion, what are the causes of happiness?”
Step 1: When you meet this topic, the first thing you have to do is
thinking about the topic by making notes what makes you happy (memories,
actions, words). If you are not sure you should discuss with your friends to
find out the answers.
Step 2: After thinking, you should read some model essay about what
makes happiness to provide some deep insights.
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Step 3: After that, you must understand what those model essay talk
about by making some questions to confirm whether your questions are true
or false.
Step 4: Certainly, after making questions, you have to answer them

yourself.
Step 5: All of the above doing will help you do the last step: free
writing. You write for ten to fifteen minutes on the topic above to express
yourself as well as you can and not to worry about mistakes. While writing,
you should make questions for this topic like that:
+

People find happiness in different ways. How do you find it?

+What are some of the physical, emotional and psychological
things in life that make you happy?
+ How do you express your happiness?
+ How does it affect the people around you?
2.3.4.2. Brainstorming and Outlining
Finishing process1, you have motivation to do the next process:
Brainstorming and outlining.
Step 1: Brainstorming ideas.
You try to think about 3 causes that make happiness and then detail
them with explanation, examples or facts.
Cause of happiness:

Physical things

Emotional things
Behavioral things
Step 2: Brainstorming vocabulary
Give some vocabularies are useful for writing about happiness and
write related words that will add details to your essay. For example:
1. Happiness : fulfillment, contentment, satisfaction, peace of
mind

2. Actions: achieve, accomplish, succeed, relaxed, pleasant
3. Results: bring about, result in, lead to, reap, make
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After that you combine them by make a sentence like this way:
Achieving job satisfaction results in feelings of contentment.
Step 3: Outlining
This step requires you to review your brainstorming ideas and free
writing and write an outline for this topic about the physical, emotional or
psychological causes of happiness in the form of Cause and Effect essay.
When you do this process, you should remember that: “A Cause and
Effect essay explains why certain action, situations, and behaviors happen.
The essay can start with an effect, such as success, and find its causes, which
might be education or talent. Or the essay can begin with a cause and
describe its effects”.
(Alice, S & Patricia. M, 2006:65)

2.3.4.3. Developing Ideas
To develop ideas, you must use connectors to create coherence among
ideas in sentence
2.3.4.3.1. Cause Connectors
We have two kinds of connector divided by theirs using
a, Connectors Introducing a Clause
Use because or since to introduce a dependent clause. A dependent
clause must be attached to a main clause in order to be a sentence
Remember, both dependent and main clauses contain a subject and a
verb.
Note that when the dependent clause comes at the beginning of the
sentence, it is followed by a comma. When the dependent clause comes at the

end of the sentence, no comma is used.
Dependent clause
Because/Since the traffic was heavy,
Main clause
We were late for class

Main clause
we were late for class
Dependent clause
because/since the traffic was heavy

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For example:
Because you have family and friends, when you get difficulties, they
will give you helping hands, support you, encourage you. Since the work
load is too great, you may get stressful; you need someone to share it with
you. At that time, your family and friends will be an emotional support to
help you overcome every obstacle.
b, Connectors introducing a Noun Phrase
Use due to, because of, and as a result of to introduce a noun phrase
A noun phrase is formed by a noun and its modifiers, for example,
heavy traffic. It has no verb.
When the noun phrase comes at the beginning of a sentence, it is
followed by a comma. When the noun phrase comes at the end of a sentence,
no comma is used.
Due to the heavy traffic, we were late for class
We were late for class due to the heavy traffic
(Alice .S &Patricia. M, 2006:72)

E.g: Because of wrong decision, some students waste time and money
in universities to learn the major that they are not interested in. For instance,
students may have very high expectations and select a major that presents
demand they cannot meet. In some cases, they find themselves on a career
path they do not even enjoy. They may have to change their major or drop
out of college due to the realizing that they cannot keep up their grades.
2.3.4.3.2. Effect Connectors
Use therefore, as a result, or consequently to introduce effect clauses.
These connectors always come between two main clauses. One clause shows
a cause and the other shows an effect
When the clauses are joined into one sentence, the connector is always
preceded by a semicolon and followed by a comma.
Cause
I studied all weekend for the test;

Effect
as a result, I got an A

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Cause
I studied all weekend for the test.

Effect
Consequently, I got an A
(Alice. S &Patricia. M, 2006: 74)

E.g: Students need to keep up the motivation they need to study.
Probably, students have many duties to fulfill, such as completing homework

assignments and research projects, study for exams. Many students work
after school and arrive home late at night. As a result, they work so hard in a
day, they get tired, and only want to rest. They can undo the exercises by
going to bed. Only responsible students will push themselves to finish their
work before going to bed. Consequently, responsible students might be
exhausted both physically and emotionally.
(Alice .S &Patricia. M, 2006:69)
2.4. Rules for a good Cause and Effect essay
Unlike process analysis, the relationship among events in cause-and
effect analysis is not chronological; it is causal; something causes something
else, or many things cause something; something results from something else,
or many things result from one thing.
In the introduction, provide the necessary background to introduce
your reader to your topic, and then write a thesis statement that clearly
indicates whether your essay will discuss causes or effects.
Provide in your thesis statement an indication of the nature of the
(typically three or four) causes or effects that you will discuss.
In the body paragraph, analyze the causes or effects, giving a
paragraph to each major cause or effect.
Use proper word indicators to show causes or to show
effects. Use appropriate transitions.
Explore each cause or effect thoroughly; do not just write a list.
Do not shift away from the causes or effects. For instance, do not
discuss ways to avoid sunburn in a paper whose purpose is to discuss the
causes of sunburn.
Regularly remind your reader of your main idea or state the
importance of the topic.
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When you analyze causes, you should attempt to understand the
relationship of events that brought about an outcome, but in this case one that
was probably unexpected and not likely to be repeated in exactly the same
way. When we analyze effects, we consider the results of some action.
When you are discussing multiple causes for an effect, you need to be
aware of the types of causes you are analyzing. The causes may be unrelated
to each other, but all are related to the effect. These types of causes are often
called factors; they are not causally related to each other, but they do work to
contribute to the effect.
Do not have too much information to cover or introduce into your
argument because you are not writing a dissertation. Avoid falling into a
never-ending cycle of ideas; be concise, get to the point.
Some topics may have many causes and effects with which to deal.
Therefore, give some thought to how many and which ones you want to use;
some may be more useful than others.
Discuss causes or effects in a logical order:
-Least obvious to most obvious, or
-Most obvious to least obvious, or
-Most important to least important, or
-Least important to most important, or
-Sequence (first, second, third [or final])
When you are analyzing causes that are not of equal importance or that
are immediate and remote, it is generally a good idea to organize the
paragraphs beginning with the immediate and proceeding to the remote, or
from the less important. When you are analyzing causes that are not of equal
importance or that are immediate and remote, it is generally a good idea to
organize the paragraphs beginning with the immediate and proceeding to the
remote, or from the less important to the most important.

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CHAPTER III: METHODS AND PROCERDURES
This chapter discusses the research methodology and procedures
adopted for collecting data. It starts with a description of the research design,
followed by the research method, and ends with an outline of the statistical
techniques used to address issues of validity and reliability of the instruments
used for the collection of data.
3.1. Research Methodology
In order to meet the above - mentioned aims of the study in the
previous chapter, qualitative, quantitative and survey questionnaires are three
approaches that the design of this study is based on.
For the first methodology, the qualitative approach is used to describe
and analyze data to find out students' attitudes towards writing skill as well as
the results of students' learning motivation and the development of students'
writing ability after understanding about Cause and Effect essay and how to
write it better.
For the second methodology, according to Creswell (2009: 4),
quantitative research is a means for testing objective theories by examining
the relationship among variables. These variables, in turn, can be measured,
typically on instruments, so that numbered data can be analyzed using
statistical procedures. Therefore, this method is suitable for the study because
it can describe and analyze the data, then makes comparison and draws
conclusion in order to evaluate students' attitudes towards writing Cause and
Effect essay skill.
For the last methodology, Pinter (2006: 148) argues that
"questionnaires are better suited for quick factual surveys". Questionnaire is
to know students' attitudes about writing skill and the impact writing Cause
and Effect essay.
3.2. Research Procedures

The study is conducted in some following steps:
- Collecting data: conduct questionnaires to know the students'
responses.
- Analyzing data (based on the research questions): point out students'
attitudes about some writing skill aspects and the impact of suggestions to
help students write Cause and Effect essay better.
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