Examples of Cause and Effect Essays of 5 paragraph

length for Omani students

By Kevin Stoda

Below is an example of a 5-paragraph “Effects Essay”. Following it is another

example to use as model. Both examples provide insight into Omani culture in
2013.

An “Effects Essay”

Topic: “The effects of having high absences for Foundation students at SCT”

Thesis Statement:
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
__________________

Underline the topic sentences in each of the next 5 paragraphs.

Many foreign teachers are amazed at the number of absences that Omani
students think are acceptable when they come off to college. In most countries
around the world, no student are allowed to miss more than two to five percent
of their classes in a semester. Students at SCT are permitted to miss up to
fifteen percent of their classes in a single semester. There are many bad
effects of missing too many classes at SCT. Here are the three most important
bad effects of missing too many classes and not practicing enough English.

First, the most important reason that students hurt themselves when they
don’t attend class is that they do not spend enough time speaking, writing,
listening, reading, and practicing English language and vocabulary.
When time-spent-practicing English per-student is too low, students cannot
move from one level to the next in the Foundation program easily. If they are
lucky enough to pass to a higher level or even to pass all four levels in the
Foundation English, the students have either cheated or depended too much on
others to do their work, i.e. students are not passing exams and foundation
levels through their own effort. So, the students are not becoming responsible
adults, e.g. responsible for their own marks or grades.

Second, because it is often true that students who do not attend classes
regularly at the Foundation level either cheat or depend on others to do their
work for them, these same students have trouble in all of their Post-Foundations
courses, too. Students have trouble in their post-foundation courses because
their English skills and math skills are weak. Soon they may not pass the other
SCT courses nor get good grades. This means that the recommendations from
professors will not be very good. That will make it harder to find a job.

Third, because of low attendance and other bad study habits, some
students actually will either leave SCT during the Foundation or Post-
Foundation period. Others will continue to fail too many exams. Others simply
will miss too many classes. Others give up hope and stop going to college.
Many of these students then have trouble getting the career or jobs that they
have dreamt of getting. This is very sad or tragic.
 In conclusion, attendance is very important for students at SCT, but too
many students do not take attendance nor practice of English and study of
English or math seriously. It is very important for students to have high
attendance rates and to spend as much time practicing English (and math)
regularly. I believe that both in the Foundation level and in the Post-
Foundation level students must have good attendance and good study habits.

………………..

Below is an example of a 5-paragraph “Cause Essay”. Your

first Causeor Effects Essay Quiz” is on 30 of January.
th

A “Cause Essay”

Topic: “The causes of poor grades or marks for some students at SCT”

Thesis Statement:
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
__________________

Underline the topic sentences in each of the next 5 paragraphs.

 Some days ago, I met an 80 year-old Omani. The man had never gone to
school but he had learnt many things. He could write in Arabic and read the
Koran. He had learnt to be a carpenter and a mason. Later, after he was older,
he learnt to drive and then drove trucks and taxis. I asked him why he thought
many of my students at SCT don’t seem to learn or do not want to try and learn
English very well. The older man said that there are many reasons why young
Omani’s do not study or like to learn many things as people in his generation had
to do.

First of all, the older man said that too many young Omanis get too much
given to them from their parents. The old Omani explained that, for example, if a
young boy want a car, the father often gives it to him. Later, in college, this may
mean that when the same young man asks for help on his homework, too, that he
believes that someone should simply give it to him, i.e. without him really
studying or learning to study.

Second, the 80 year-old said that young people often don’t have the
patience that many in his generation had learnt. For example, when he was young
and he needed money, he learnt step-by-step to work as a carpenter and later as a
mason. First, he watched the others work. Next, he tried it and asked for help. It
took time. The man had to learn to work with simple tools and simple designs
before he tried more difficult ones. As a truck driver, too, he first learnt to drive
slow and safely before he later drove many kilometers to Abu Dhabi, to Qatar,
and to Kuwait. However, nowadays, students and young drivers are looking to go
too fast and take dangerous shortcuts. In education this often means cheating or
paying someone else to study or to help them. Others get a friend in class to do
work for them rather than listening to teacher in class and asking questions.
 Finally, some young people simply do not know what is important or don’t
know what they want. They are disorganized with their lives. Until the student
knows why he studies or what he wants when he studies, the student will not be
organized. The student will waste time on this or that instead of taking time to do
what he really needs to do. Perhaps, if young people work in groups or have
better advice from others, they will be able to organize their lives and make
better decisions.

In conclusion, the 80 year-old Omani from Dahariz believes that young

people have basically three problems when learning. First, sometimes, they are
given too much and because of this, they don’t learn to try hard enough on their
own. Second, some people are trying to go too fast without learning the patience
to do things step-by-step (or slowly-but-surely). Third, some people need ask for
advice and direction from others about how to organize their time, study habits
and lives better. I think this is all great advice for Omani students and youth.