Causal Argument

Savannah Ballard
Eng 101
10-16-14

The three types of causal arguments are speculations about possible causes, arguments for an unexpected or surprising cause, and predictions of consequences. In the first type of argument, speculations about possible causes, the arguer will think of reasons that particular incident could have occurred. The second type of causal argument, arguments for an unexpected or surprising cause, the arguer not only considers several potential causes to an incident, but they try to persuade the readers to see the plausibility of a surprising cause. The last type of causal argument, predictions of consequences, will predict the consequences of current, planned or future events.

                My first causal claim is, Using drugs or alcohol while pregnant may be a contributing cause to infants being born with NAS because the rise in NAS cases has drastically increased over the last several years.  My second claim is, Making poor and irrational choices may be a contributing factor in unplanned teenage pregnancies because teenagers are more apt to make a decision for immediate gain rather than considering long term consequences.

            Induction is used when a causal link cannot be explained directly. This method makes us infer a general conclusion based on a limited number of specific cases. An example of this includes eating dark chocolate and getting a migraine but not when you eat white chocolate, so the dark chocolate must be causing your headaches. Another example of induction is if a woman experienced painful heartburn after eating an egg roll but not after eating strawberries, she could conclude that the egg roll caused her heartburn.