Chapter 12 - Cause and Effect - Exercise

The College Writer: Chapter 12 – Cause and Effect – Exercise

Our Tired, Our Poor, Our Kids - Reading for Better Writing Exercise - Page 183:

1. In one sentence, state the cause/effect relationship that Quindlen outlines in “Our Tired, Our Poor, Our Kids.”
Homelessness in America is on the rise due to low-minimum wage and cutting or terminating of peoples welfare benefits or EARP (Emergency Assistance Rehousing Program).

2. In writing, an allusion is an indirect reference to another text. What allusions can you identify in this piece? Why does the writer use allusions in this essay?
This author makes reference to surveys or statistics that were made or completed by New York City, the National Low Income Housing Coalition, San Diego and the Home for the Homeless. I think the author uses these allusions in this essay to give the reader a better understanding of what is really going on out there in America. I think many people do not know or understand the severity of the homeless in this country.

3. Use a pencil or sticky notes to distinguish portions of the essay where Quindlen addresses the cause(s) and the effect(s) of the problem. What is the approximate ratio of space given to each? How are the cause and effect sections arranged? How do these factors affect the essay’s message?
In the first two paragraphs, the author shows effects. In Paragraph one, when the author is talking about six people living in the same room, furniture stacked up and side by side, and just the conditions in general. In paragraph two the author seems to be showing the difference between the more fortunate and the homeless in this country. He also lists out some statistics for the reader. In paragraphs three and four I think there is a combination of cause and effect. The paragraph talks about people on EARP. The author shows us the cause of a person with EARP, and the effect of when a landlord finds out about it, they will not get a call back. Paragraph five tells us about middle-class America and then shares how much the rent on a two-bedroom apartment is. The effect of this is shown in paragraph six, which is that people who make minimum wage cannot afford these high rents. Paragraph seven holds both cause and effect. It lists out some more studies done on how welfare reform has made homelessness worse. The last two paragraphs of this article/ story are a summarization. The ratio of space given to each cause and effect is probably 4 to 6 with the effects standing out more in this essay. The cause and effect sections of the essay are mostly combined. In reading it, you get a more clear understanding of the homelessness in this country.

4. Notice that Quindlen occasionally begins sentences with conjunctions such as but or and. Where, and why? Where might this strategy work in your writing?
The author seemed to start sentences with the words “but” and “and” when comparing middle-class Americans to the homelessness in America or when he was trying to say that this situation can happen to anyone.