Test Questions on Identifying Cause and Effect in Reading Passages

📚 Quick Study Guide

• 🔍 Cause is why something happened. Think of it as the reason behind an event.
• 💡 Effect is what happened. It's the result or consequence of the cause.
• 📝 To identify cause and effect, ask yourself: "What happened?" (Effect) and "Why did it happen?" (Cause).
• 🔗 Look for signal words like: because, so, since, therefore, as a result, consequently, due to, if...then.
• 🍎 Sometimes, one cause can have multiple effects, and one effect can have multiple causes.
• 🧠 Pay attention to the order of events. Cause usually comes before effect, but not always! Writers can sometimes present the effect first to create suspense.

🧪 Practice Quiz

1. Which of the following best describes the 'cause' in a cause-and-effect relationship?
   1. The result of an event
   2. The reason why something happened
   3. A description of the event
   4. The time when the event occurred
2. Read the sentence: "Because it was raining, the baseball game was cancelled." What is the effect?
   1. It was raining
   2. The baseball game
   3. The baseball game was cancelled
   4. Because it was raining
3. Read the sentence: "John studied hard; therefore, he got an A on the test." What is the cause?
   1. He got an A on the test
   2. He studied hard
   3. Therefore
   4. The test
4. Which of these signal words indicates a cause-and-effect relationship?
   1. However
   2. Although
   3. Because
   4. Meanwhile
5. Read the passage: "The power went out due to the storm. Consequently, the alarm system failed and a burglar broke in." What is the initial cause in this passage?
   1. The burglar broke in
   2. The alarm system failed
   3. The storm
   4. The power went out
6. Read the sentence: "Since Mary was tired, she went to bed early." What is the effect?
   1. Since Mary was tired
   2. Mary was tired
   3. She went to bed early
   4. The bed
7. Which of the following is an example of multiple effects from a single cause?
   1. The dog barked because he was hungry.
   2. The sun came out and the birds started singing.
   3. The heavy rain caused flooding, power outages, and traffic delays.
   4. The student studied hard and got a good grade.