Because causes and effects are so closely associated, it can sometimes be troublesome to differentiate between the two. One leads to the other but which one?

Though causes do lead to effects, we often have to work backwards - from effect to cause - since we are most often familiar with the effects of a thing before we are familiar with its cause. For example, "There is a hole in the roof!" That is an effect. It is the result that we are seeing. After we get over our initial shock, we ask the questions that leads us to the cause, "How did that hole get there?" "What made the hole?" Any number of things could have left a hole in the roof but when we look down and see a bowling ball embedded in the floor (a bowling ball that we do not own), we have a very probable answer. The bowling ball was likely the cause that resulted in the effect we call a hole.

Sometimes determining the cause isn't quite so simple. For example, we are very sick so we go to see a doctor. The doctor can see the effects - we have a high temperature, an upset stomach, our joints ache, and there is a very red welt on our leg. All of those are effects of something. The flu, Lyme's disease....? The doctor's job is to determine the cause. Once he knows the cause he can determine the proper treatment.

Identifying cause and effect are especially important in the study of science and history.

• All these people died (effect). What caused this massive destruction? (cause)
• This stream is full of deformed frogs! What caused them to grow like this? (cause)
• I got a horrible grade on my last exam. What caused me to do so poorly? (cause)
• The Middle East is full of discord? What originally caused the discord? What continues to fuel it? (cause)

Sometimes identifying answers is quite simple. (The flooding was caused by a dam breaking.) Sometimes they are very complex. (The city is rioting.) Strethcing ourselves to recognize the complexities will give us insight and understanding unavailble to many. Understanding will help us make the wisest decision possible.

In a cause and effect paragraph, we usually introduce the familiar first. That is to say that we follow standard paragraph structure and identify the effect in the topic sentence. This is followed by supporting details that explain or attempt to explain that cause.