What Is Cause and Effect? Find the Why Behind the What

What You'll Learn

• An effect is what happens because of the cause
• Signal words like because, so, therefore, and as a result can help show cause and effect
• One effect can become the next cause in a cause-effect chain
• A sequence tells order, but cause and effect tells why something happened
• Readers can find cause and effect in stories and informational texts

Words to Know

Cause

The reason something happens

"Rain was the cause of the muddy field."

Effect

What happens because of a cause

"The muddy field was the effect."

Signal words

Clue words that help show a relationship

"The word because is a signal word."

Sequence

The order that things happen in

"First, next, and last can show sequence."

Chain

A linked set of causes and effects

"One effect can become the next cause in a chain."

Check What You Learned

Fun Facts

• A cause explains why something happens, and an effect explains what happens as a result.

  Source: Reading Rockets

• Signal words such as because, so, therefore, and as a result can help readers spot cause-and-effect relationships.

  Source: Reading Rockets

• Readers and writers use cause and effect in both stories and informational texts.

  Source: Common Core State Standards Initiative

• A cause-effect chain happens when one effect becomes the next cause.

  Source: Britannica

• A sequence tells the order of events, but it does not always explain why the events happened.

  Source: Reading Rockets

• Third-grade readers are expected to describe relationships between events, ideas, and steps in a text using language about time, sequence, and cause/effect.

  Source: Common Core State Standards Initiative