Definition, Comparison, Contrast, and Cause-Effect

Definition and Example in Academic Writing

Comparison and Contrast

Cause and Effect

Read the passage: "Coral reefs around the world have bleached with increasing frequency over the past four decades. Because ocean temperatures have risen steadily, the symbiotic algae that feed corals and give them color have begun to abandon the reefs. As a result of this algal loss, the corals starve and turn white. Warmer water also drives away the fish species that graze on reef algae, and therefore competing algae overgrow the coral skeletons. Consequently, recovery between bleaching events has slowed, since weakened reefs need years to recolonize. The reason for the recent collapse of several Caribbean reefs can be traced directly to this chain of temperature-driven losses." In this passage, what do the phrases "because" and "the reason for" signal?

Read the passage: "Print journalism and social media news operate on opposite clocks. A daily newspaper commits its front page at midnight and cannot change a single word afterward; social media feeds, however, update by the second and rewrite themselves continuously. Unlike print readers, who encounter the same headlines as every other subscriber, feed users each see a personalized stream shaped by algorithms. Print stories run long because column inches are purchased in bulk, whereas social posts are compressed to a headline and an image. Yet the two formats share one discipline: both depend on a credible headline to earn the reader's next minute of attention." Which pattern organizes this passage?

Read the passage: "Economists use the term 'negative externality' to describe a cost that a transaction imposes on people who were not part of it. A factory that dumps waste into a river shifts cleanup costs to downstream communities that never bought its products; the river damage is a negative externality. For instance, when shipping firms burn heavy fuel oil, coastal cities absorb the health costs of the resulting air pollution without appearing on any shipping invoice. To illustrate further, noise from an expanded airport lowers nearby property values, and the affected homeowners had no seat at the airline's planning table." Which statement best describes the pattern of this paragraph?

Complete the sentence: Words such as "because," "since," and "due to" signal the ____, while words such as "therefore," "thus," and "consequently" signal the ____.