. . . I didn’t want to add to my teacher’s already heavy workload.
. . . I put it in my pocket and my mom washed it.
. . . I visited my aunt who has this ancient fan, and my hair caught in it. I had to perform an emergency haircut with her fingernail clippers.
This prompt isn’t about homework, but it is about why things happened.
Now it’s your turn: Think of a problem in your life. It could be that you are always late or that your team lost the tournament or that your room is a mess. Write down your problem, like in the chart below.
Next, think of the things that caused the problem and write them down. These don’t have to be excuses, simply things that occurred to produce the problem. Here’s an example:
Problem
I was late to my friend’s birthday party.
What caused the problem?
My sister didn’t return my shoes after she borrowed them.
I forgot to wrap the present.
I wasn’t paying attention to the time.
I got my hand caught in the birdfeeder.
My chart is the bones of a cause-and-effect paragraph. The effect = the problem: I was late. The cause = the reasons: that dastardly birdfeeder.
Now use your own chart to write a paragraph and explain to someone why your problem happened.
