Causal Analysis: Belief Systems

Include a title and explicit thesis statement

 

• Word count: 1000
• Double-space, 1 inch margins all around page; indent paragraphs
• MLALinks to an external site. Format
• Avoid second person use of “you/your” outside of quotations. Stick to your own experience, your own narrative of religious or spiritual belief literacy

MLA:

MLA Formatting and Style Guide – Purdue OWL® – Purdue University

Cause and Effect Analysis Essay: Religious/Spiritual Literacy

Causal analysis focuses specifically on explanations that show a connection between a

situation and its cause or effect. It either answers the question “Why did this happen?”

or “What will this do?” A causal analysis aims to examine diverse causes and

consequences related to actions, behavioral patterns, and events that explains why they

happen and the effects that take place due to their occurrence. In practice, writers

include causal claims that contain strong argumentation or analysis. The writer should

reveal an obvious relationship between certain events where one is an effect of another.

The major goals of this essay is to explore who you are today, and to explore who and

what influenced your religious/spiritual/philosophical beliefs.

Directions:

For this essay-

● Trace your own personal religious, spiritual, or philosophical belief system, and

write a cause-and-effect essay on your identified belief system. Like the previous

literacy narrative where you are tracing your literacy journey throughout your

life, you will investigate the multiple causes behind why you believe the things

you do and examine the effects of your beliefs along with the social actions you

participate in due to your beliefs.

● In exploring the causes and effects of your chosen belief system, assert your

identity, give evidence on the assertions, and state why your identity is valuable

to you.

● Moreover, you must be sure to distinguish between the immediate causes and the

remote causes of the phenomenon you are analyzing. Remember these three

elements—assertion, evidence, and importance. You are “arguing” the causes of

your beliefs, their importances, and the effects those beliefs have on your identity

and daily social activities.

Main point of the essay:

Content of Essay:

● Word count: 1000

● Include a title and explicit thesis statement to the essay

● Double-space essay, 1 inch margins all around page; indent paragraphs

● MLA Format

● Avoid second person use of “you/your” outside of quotations. Stick to your own

experience, your own narrative of religious or spiritual belief literacy

● Think through the following questions to help you write the

cause-and-effect essay (this is not a suggestion of organization for the

essay):

○ Describe who you are today and how would you categorize or define your

belief system? (belief or lack of belief- whether that is an approval of or

resistance to a belief/system of beliefs)

○ How was this belief system communicated to you? How has that

communication influenced the ways you act out the beliefs?

○ What are some causes that introduced you to this belief system(s)?

○ What are some social actions you participate in due to your belief system?

(Think of group activities or other social activities)

○ Is your belief system group-oriented or solitary? Describe your journey

into the group, and the activities you perform with the group, from

beginner stages to where you are today.

○ Who taught you these beliefs or impacted you to learn this belief system?

What was your relationship with these people, and why was it important

for you to learn from them?

○ How have your experiences within this belief system been shaped by your

race, gender, class, sexuality, ability, and/or nationality?

○ What does the public usually get wrong about your belief systems? Are

there any misconceptions that are common about your belief systems?

○ What are some examples of books, magazines, songs, films, or other media

that have been meaningful to you when learning or advancing in this belief

system? Why? These could be from the past or the present.

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_formatting_and_style_guide.html

○ What has this belief system taught you about culture, identity, politics,

and/or history?

Potential Structure of Essay:

● Thesis Statement- In causal analysis essay, the thesis statement should be one

sentence that sum up main points of your paper. The thesis should show the

causal analysis and outline all upcoming points that follow. This statement

should also explicitly mention the overall cause and effect of the essay.

o Example thesis statements (just an example, not the only model):

§ “Due to my church upbringing, family values, and personal

relationship with God, my Baptist identity aids me in converting

souls to Christ and pray for everyone I meet.”

§ “Due to issues with abandonment, questioning my faith, and

confirming my belief in myself, my switch to agnosticism restored

my faith in humanity and gave me a moral system to live by.”

● Introduction- In an introduction paragraph, one has to create a setting for

the situation discussed. It should be a sentence or two that introduces your

belief’s importance or relevance for society. How do you describe your

belief system and the importance of its history? In this case, include the

origins of your belief system with a brief explanation as to why they matter

to you. Make readers interested and connect the introduction to your

thesis statement’s vision.

● Body Paragraphs (Listing reasons for causal analysis)- This is where you

should prove the ideas from your thesis statement; you should begin with

a paragraph or two detailing the causes (deeper history) of your belief

system, and a paragraph or two detailing the effects (your actions and

beliefs of today) of your belief system. The supporting details should

examine both cause and effect essay elements of your argument. The final

body paragraph includes an overall causal analysis that helps the reader to

understand why a particular position has been taken, and what social

actions you take in the world to practice or affirm this identity. If

necessary, include statistics and backup information that is not widely

known by reliable sources.

● Conclusion- Conclusion should rule out any confusion and once again

connect cause and effects elements. You can end the essay by talking about

the present-day social action that your belief system influences. What do

you do now that positions you within this belief system and why is it

important for your audience to understand?

Rubric

A/A-:

● Organization includes both cause-and-effect of identified belief system

● Explicit thesis statement that fully reflect the cause-and-effect dynamic

● Paragraphs are structured with a topic sentence and valuable supporting

ideas

● The narrative arch of the essay follows a sensible story that reflects your

culturally influenced literacy journey.

● Syntax, mechanics, and grammar do not interfere with overall writing

development

● MLA format

B+/B-: Lacks one to two points lists in A/A-

C+/C-: Lacks two to three points lists in A/A-