FPEC EDUCATION & MEDIA

Getting It Down!

PART THREE - CAUSATION

SECTION

1 Basic Causation Text Model

Having looked at giving information through various techniques, and then at models of comparison, we now turn now to cause and effect. At the heart of logic lies the idea of causality expressed perhaps most eloquently in the simple logical formula: if A, then B. We will look later at conditionals and how they function. But rst well look at a basic model text for showing cause and effect. Later on well turn to more varied approaches to expressing causality. Of course, well look at logical statements and conditionals just to nish us off. Giving reasons, stating probable/ possible outcomes, explaining situations and predicting the future all rely on causation. It is an integral part of our later models of discussion. Once again this unit tries to tie in as far as possible to other units such as the Vocabulary Builders and The Business. One excellent example of how it might be tied back in is in describing experience and how it resulted in your current skillset, or your education and what skills and experience that led to. But we shall start with a text on something that affects us all: Global Warming.

Causation

IN THIS SECTION

1. Causation Text Model 2. Content 65

Consequences of Global Warming

3. Framing 35 4. Building on Basics 5. Conditionals 6. Getting It Down!

Global warming will, according to a recent report, result in a 6C rise in average temperature in Sweden in the next 30 years. This will result in various consequences for inhabitants of the Gothenburg coastal region. One of the consequences will be a rise in water levels due to increased glacial melt-water from the Norwegian Alps. This will mean that ooding will become an evermore common occurrence and a part of everyday life for the population of the west-coast region. This will, in turn, lead to major transport problems in densely populated areas. The ooding will also cause damage to properties, leaving the region to pick up the bill. Another effect the temperature rise will have is higher sea levels. As a result, the coastline will come under attack from the sea and parts of it will be under water for increasingly greater parts of the year. Consequently, the coastline will change and peoples houses may have to be abandoned because of the sea encroaching on their properties. A third result of global warming will be a long-lasting change in regional climate. Although winters may still see temperatures dropping to minus 20C and below, summers may bring highs in excess of 40C. This points to more extreme climate uctuations, with highs 1

and lows ranging over 60C and beyond. Air conditioning may have to be used in summer due to heat-waves etc. As a result, the regions energy usage may rise dramatically leading to increased costs and emissions. In turn, this rising usage will only speed up climate change. These are just some of the probable consequences of projected temperature increase because of global warming. Consequences that should, hopefully, encourage people to think more carefully about their own energy consumption due to the fact that their own future may well be radically affected by it.

opment of base content. Well examine later the various permutations of cause and effect. Heres the breakdown:
Function Subject Statement Framing Element Global warming will, according to a recent report, result in a 6C rise in average temperature in Sweden in the next 30 years. This will result in various consequences for inhabitants of the Gothenburg coastal region. One of the consequences will be due to This will mean that This will, in turn, lead to ... will also cause ... Another effect the temperature rise will have is As a result,

Point 1 Detail (cause) Detail (effect 1)

2 Content 65
Okay. Having read the text, lets look at the basic content of the piece. It measures in at roughly 65% of the text, hence Content 65. I hasten to add that when talking that content percentage comes crashing heavily down. Here we have time to plan our material and put it in order before embarking on writing. When we speak we often use the Framing 35 to buy us time to work out our content. That puts the ratio up to nearly 1:1 in most cases, a cool fty-fty.

Detail (effect 2) Detail (effect 3) Point 2 Detail (effect)

Consequences of Global Warming in Gothenburg Coastal Region.

1.1 Rise in water levels (caused by increased glacial meltwater) 1.1.1 Increased ooding 1.1.2 Transport problems in densely populated areas 1.1.3 Damage to properties 2.1 Higher sea levels 2.1.1 Parts of coastline under water 2.1.2 Changed coastline 2.1.3 Houses being abandoned 3.1 Long-lasting climate change 3.1.1 Higher summer temperatures & extreme climate uctuations 3.1.2 Dramatic rise in energy usage 3.1.3 Faster climate change

Detail (effect)

Consequently,

Detail (cause)

because of

Point 3 Detail (concession) Detail (effect) Detail (cause) Detail (effect) Detail (effect) Detail (effect) Restatement

A third result of global warming will be Although ... This points to ... due to As a result, leading to In turn, this ... will These are just some of the probable consequences

3 Framing 35
Note here that the framing amounts to approx. 100 words, the bare bones of the content totals, similarly, approx. 100 words. The text weighs in at approx. 300 words: one-third framing, one-third base content and one-third repetition or devel-

Detail (cause) Detail (cause)

because of due to the fact that

4 Building on Basics
The following examples build on our basic model and explore causal relationships in a predominantly scientic arena. Do not be dazzled by the plethora of examples. Instead pick and choose, substituting your content, e.g. My interest in engines stems from being around cars as a child. Verbs expressing causality Causal Verb Lack of protein may cause can lead to can result in can give rise to stems from caused by resulting from stemming from mental retardation.

Prepositional phrases expressing causality Causal Prepositional Phrase 200,000 people per year become deaf owing to because of as a result of due to Noun Phrase a lack of iodine.

Low levels of chlorine in the body Much of the instability Kwashiorkor is a disease Beri-beri is a disease Scurvy is a disease

high blood pressure. the economic effects of the war. insufficient protein. vitamin deficiency. lack of vitamin C. 200,000 people per year become deaf

Causal Prepositional Phrase owing to because of as a result of due to the fact that

Complete Sentence they have a lack of iodine.

Sentence connectors expressing causality Causal Connector

Nouns expressing causality Causal Nouns The most likely causes of X are poor diet and lack of exercise. A consequence of vitamin A deficiency is blindness. Physical activity is an important factor in maintaining fitness. Another reason why Xs are considered to be important is that ...

If undernourished and retarded children do survive to become adults, they have decreased learning ability.

Therefore, Consequently, Because of this, As a result (of this),

when they grow up, it will probably be difficult for them to find work.

Adverbial phrases expressing causality Causal Adverbial Phrase Malnutrition leads to illness and a reduced ability to work in adulthood, The warm air rises above the surface of the sea, Other examples More As a consequence of X, it appears that winds alone are not the causative factor of... Due to X and Y inflowing surface water becomes more dense as it ... X and Y are important driving factors of Z. The mixing of X and Y exerts a powerful effect upon Z through ... thus/thereby perpetuating the poverty cycle.

5 Conditionals
If A, then B. There it is. The simple logic of causality. In language we call this a conditional, where A is a condition and B the outcome conditional on A. The conditional is important in allowing us to consider possible outcomes depending on various conditions. For example, If prices go up, then our disposable income will decrease. If they dont, then it will stay the same. Two possible scenarios are explored and their probable outcomes. If A then B. If not, then C. This is the First Conditional (causal or indicative) where B is the effect/result/outcome following A as cause/reason/condition: A may or may not be true; A may or may not be the case. Causal Conditional Cause If A then B Effect

creating an area of low pressure.

If sales continue to fall then we will have to let people go. If they are still hiring then I will apply for the job. If we need someone, well be sure to call you. If water levels continue to rise, then ooding will become a common occurrence. Indicative Conditional A may or may not be true If A (is the case) then Effect B (follows)

Possible cause and effect relationships (expressed tentatively) Possible Relationships This suggests a weak link may exist between X and Y. The human papilloma virus is linked to most cervical cancer. Stomach cancer in many cases may be associated with certain bacterial infections. A high consumption of seafood could be associated with infertility. There is some evidence that X may affect Y.

Counterfactual Conditional A is not true If A (were true) then Effect B (would be true)

If sales were to continue to fall then we would have to let people go. If they were hiring then Id apply for the job. If wed needed someone we wouldve called you. If people actively pursued energy and environmental conservation, then changes could be effected.

Why do you want this job? Why should we hire you?

4

If I were to get this job, I would bring the right experience, the right skills and the a ton of energy to the table. The are several reasons why you hire me. Firstly, my skillset and qualications match the candidate prole. Secondly, I have a proven track record in this area. Thirdly, if I got the job then I would bring passion and boundless energy to your business. I t the prole due to my having bags of experience and because of the fact that I have the right training and qualications for this position. If you hire me, I will bring unbridled motivation and tireless energy to your team. 6 Getting it Down! Now try and produce a copycat text for the rst causation model. Weve looked at more sophisticated samples of causation to build on the initial model. Your second text can follow this lead and introduce all the elements used so far (such as concessions, comparatives and the different forms in information writing) plus causes, effects and conditionals. You may prefer the simplicity of the basic model. Dont forget the numbering introduced in earlier units. ! You might like to answer what you would bring to a company if you were hired. You might like to speculate on what might happen in the future as the result of certain circumstances. Weve had global warming. How about increased use of digital technology? What effects will social media have in the workplace? Try the copy-text rst based on mine. Simply change subject/content. Then try your own, more speculative, text. Use all forms weve used so far! ! In this section weve used the eLearning unit Experience from The Business (www.fpec.net) as our base. Its companion is available on iTunes and as a PDF. Check out these and use them to produce a copycat text. Simply substitute your content for mine! Once youve done that you can try to build on the basics by using a different framing model from Building on Basics. Move from general statements to specic. Give examples to make yourself clear.