Technical & Copy Writing – How to Use Causality Correctly

Organize your writing so that it becomes very clear what kind of cause-and-effect relationship exists between different elements of your argument.

LINEAR Causality

A is the reason why B happens; B is the reason why C happens; etc.
CORRECT WAY of using it:
A: A previously-public land is rezoned for upper-scale commercial development.
B: Land prices in that neighborhood skyrocket.
C: Property taxes of average homes go through the roof.
D: Older residents with fixed income cannot afford the higher taxes.
E. They start to sell their homes and move out.
F: The neighborhood’s demographic profile change with the influx of young affluent professionals with small kids.
INCORRECT CAUSALITY: When the older residents with fixed income started to sell their homes, the property taxes went through the roof. As a result, land prices rose and a previously-public land was  rezoned for upper-scale commercial development.
 

ONE-TO-MANY Causality

A gives rise to B, C, etc. Without A, neither B nor C can exist.
CORRECT WAY of using it:
A: Discovery of atomic energy gave rise to…
B: Nuclear energy plants.
AND
C: Atomic bomb.
INCORRECT CAUSALITY: Atomic bomb gave rise to nuclear energy plants thanks to which atomic energy was discovered.
A: Invention of automobile gave rise to…
B: Suburbia since one could drive to work from many miles way.
AND
B. Our dependence on Middle Eastern oil.
AND
C. Drive-in movie theaters and drive-through fast food joints.
INCORRECT CAUSALITY:  Since we have drive-in movie theaters and drive-through fast food joints, and since we import most of our oil from Middle East, we live in suburbia.
MANY-TO-ONE Causality
A and B together give rise to C. Unless BOTH A and B happen, C cannot exist.
CORRECT WAY of using it:
A: James survives two tours of duty.
AND
B: James is wounded badly while serving as a Marine.
Give rise to:
C: James becomes a vocal and credible advocate for the wounded veterans.
INCORRECT CAUSALITY:  James became a vocal and credible advocate for the wounded veterans after which he served for two tours of duty.
A: An oxygen atom,
AND
B: Two Hydrogen atoms combine to create
C: A water molecule.
MANY-TO-MANY Causality is usually too complex to handle in writing. Try to break down such relationships into one of the above three cause-and-effect models.
(An excerpt from my book 101 Ways to Power-Up Your Writing )