Week 6: Rhetoric: Persuasion and identification

The language of cause and effect
A writer may choose to emphasise either the cause or the effect. In both cases, either a verb
or a conjunction can be used to show the link.
(a) Focus on causes
With verbs
The heavy rain caused the flood
led to
resulted in
produced
With conjunctions
Because of the heavy rain there was a flood
Due to
Owing to
As a result of
(b) Focus on effects
With verbs (note use of passives)
The flood was caused by the heavy rain
was produced by
resulted from
With conjunctions
There was a flood due to the heavy rain
because of
as a result of
Compare the following:
Because children were vaccinated, diseases declined (because + verb)
Because of the vaccination, diseases declined (because of + noun)
As/since children were vaccinated, diseases declined (conjunction + verb)
Owing to/due to the vaccination, diseases declined (conjunction + noun)
Conjunctions are commonly used with specific situations, while verbs tend to be used in general
cases:
Printing money commonly leads to inflation (general)
Due to July’s hot weather, demand for ice cream increased (specific)
Note the position of the conjunctions in the following:
The teacher was ill, therefore/hence/so/consequently the class was cancelled.