 Do you like travelling? Whether local or abroad?

Do you like
flying or riding a water vehicle to other islands to other
countries, to other contents? Or do you prefer more to catch a
train, bus, an FX, a taxi, a jeepney, a tricycle, even a pedicab; or
to ride own car, motorcycle, a bicycle, a skateboard even a
wheelchair; or to simply walk around, to explore your
immediate surroundings?
 What pushes you to move from one location
to another? If none of the aforementioned
modes of transportation appeal much to you,
how else would you like to move around? Or
would you prefer to stay put where you are
and not travel altogether? Why would you
choose this option?
 It means identifying the causes and effects of a
particular situation, event, or phenomenon. It is
born out of the inherent human characteristic
of wanting to make connections and to
understand reasons.
 Causal analysis tackles the causes and effects of a
particular event, phenomenon, or situation. It
deals with the study of the relationship between
or among at least two happenings. It answers the
questions “why” and “how.” Some keywords
such as “therefore,” “because,” “following,” and
“previously” give the reader a clue that causal
analysis is used in a given piece of writing.
 A writer’s purpose for using causal analysis as
his/her primary mode of paragraph development
can largely be categorized into any—or all—of the
following three:
 informative (which primarily elucidates)

 persuasive (attempts to convince the reader to

believe what the writer is saying)
 speculative (which suggests possibilities)
 A cause is what prompted something to
happen, while an effect is what was yielded
after something else took place.
 One practical application of causal analysis as a
mode of paragraph development is a problem-
solution type of paper. For example, the problem
is usually the cause and the solution the effect. In
other instances, the problem could also be the
effect of another event and/or the solution could
be the cause of another. In either case, the
situation can result to a causal chain.
 A single cause does not usually yield to a
single effect. Nor is a single effect usually
made to happen by a single cause. A causal
chain is a set of cause and effect that leads to
multiple other sets-all happening one after
other.
 Take the example of acing an exam in a major
subject. If treated as an effect, probable causes that
come to mind are feeling good for the rest of the
day; receiving praises from the teacher, classmates,
and parents as well; passing the subject itself; and
maybe even landing you on the honour roll.
Taking all of these interconnected events into
consideration gives you a causal chain.
 Causal chains are commonplace in an essay that
uses causal analysis as one of its modes of
paragraph development. However, it is significant
to identify first the primary and secondary causes
and effects of the situation. This is to maintain
order and coherence in your essay, and also to
avoid losing focus. Concentrate on the immediate
rather than the remote causes and/or effects of
your paper.
 Take the example of acing an exam again. A primary cause is
studying well for the past few days as it can also be considered the
root cause.
 Arriving early for the exam schedule can be considered an
immediate cause as it happened closer to the situation of acing the
exam than reviewing well. In terms of effects, an immediate one
would be feeling good for the rest of the day, while a remote effect
can be landing you on the honour roll. Acing an exam solely cannot
guarantee you of receiving honours; however, it could lead you to
getting a high mark in your majors subject and giving you a higher
chance of acquiring high academic merit.
 When dealing with causal analysis, be wary of the
logical fallacy of faulty causality (propter hoc, ergo
propter hoc) [Latin: “after this, therefore because of
this.”]
 Faulty causality happens when one assumes that
event “A” is always the cause of event “B,”
and/or event “B” is always the effect of event
“A.”
 To concretize, consider the notion of “lucky charms.” A
person wears a lucky charm, usually a piece of jewellery,
in hopes of having luck on his/her side when in a rather
challenging situation. Let’s have the example of C. C
had worn a wooden necklace when he took the
entrance exam for a university. He passed the exam
and credits this to his lucky charm-the wooden
necklace, and so he wears this necklace for every other
entrance exam he would take so he would pass them all
as well.
 Faulty causality is when C believed that it is due to him
wearing a wooden necklace that made him pass the
exam. Just because you wore something during a test
dioesn’t automatically mean that it is the reason why
you’d pass.
 There could be many other reasons like being able to
review well, eating a full meal beforehand, or getting
enough sleep the night before. What C wore had
nothing to do with him passing the exam.
 One very practical application of causal analysis is
in proposals, particularly those that focus on
problem-solution. Problem solving depends on a
questioning attitude (critical thinking), imagination,
and creative thinking. While logic and reason are
primarily needed to solve a problem, creativity is
also called upon for thinkers to come up with new
angles, new perspectives, and new ideas to address
equally new challenges.
 The proposal is one way of addressing the problem
as it provides a possible solution to the issue at
hand. In writing a proposal, the statement of the
problem is almost always in the beginning; the rest
of the paper deals with the writer’s proposal,
together with pieces of evidence and reasoning to
further support the writer’s solution in an attempt
to solve the problem in the essay.
Balikbayan
 It refers to a Filipino visiting or returning to
the Philippines after a period of living in
another country.
Ex.
His return as a balikbayan is part of a growing
trend.
Benighted
 It a state of pitiful or contemptible intellectual
or moral ignorance, typically owing to a lack of
opportunity.
Ex.
They saw themselves as bringers of culture to
poor benighted peoples.
Kitsch
 It is an art, object, or design considered to be in
poor taste because of excessive garishness or
sentimentality, but sometimes appreciated in
an ironic or knowing way.
Ex.
They lava lamp is an example of sixties kitsch.
Romanticizing
 It deals with or describe in an idealized or
unrealistic fashion; make (something) seem
better or more appealing than it really is.
Ex.
They lava lamp is an example of sixties kitsch.
Thomasites
 It is a term used to describe hundreds of
American teachers sent by the U.S.
government to establish a public school
system in the Philippines starting in 1901.
 It’s the time of year when balikbayans
descend upon us in droves to remind us of
how benighted we are.

I’m talking about the balikbayans from
America, who force us each year to make an
apologia for the indolence of the Filipinos.
 

They’re the ones who sally forth to bedazzle

the natives. They queue up in East or West
Coast airports with tons and tons of
baggage, many of them containing groceries
for relatives who can’t wait to have a taste
of America.
 They also bring us homilies, delivered with the
proselytizing zeal of Thomasites, which are
forceful for their use of contrasts. It’s too hot
in the Philippines. It’s nice to snuggle by the
hearth in America. There’s grime and smog in
our streets. You can’t drive without anti-
pollutants in the States. Filipino drivers are
maniacs. American drivers follow traffic rules.
 But you realise it’s really all a question of
values. There’s no sense knocking America. If
you desperately want the creature comforts,
are wil ing to work on two jobs for most of
your waking hours, don’t greatly mind that
your white friends are promoted faster than
you, then America’s the place for you.
 Perhaps we shouldn’t greatly mind our
compatriots flaunting their successes at
us―they flaunt them before Americans too. In
the West Coast particularly, Filipinos insist on
wearing signature clothes and are louder than
Americans. They call it freedom. Americans call
it kitsch.
 

And then you realise that the physical fact of

Filipinos migrating abroad is really just the tip of
the iceberg. Or you realise that it’s just the end
result of a process that’s been going on or
before us for a long time. Most of us are
expatriates right here in our own land. America
is our heartland whether we get to there or not.
 Nothing demonstrates this better than that the
balikbayan does succeed in bedazzling the natives. If he
flaunts his wares, it’s simply because he knows the
audience wil lap it up. Or else the seemingly indifferent
would actually be green with envy. The balikbayan was
among the hordes who queued up in front of the
American Embassy. He was envied no end by friends for
getting that previous visa. He was importuned to bring
home all those gifts. Why ever would he think he’s being
an ae?
 It’s the lack of any sense of nationhood, of being
Filipino, among us that makes expatriation the most
preferred option of all… But surely there’s a
tragedy in seeing the fundamental question of
one’s life as nothing more than which country can
provide a better living? Surely there must be more
to life than this? But we have no sense of
belonging to this particular earth, to this particular
time.
 If we had, we would not think of choosing
between a benighted life and one that promises to
be either less so or simply better. We would only
want to do something about our benightedness.
In the end, it’s not really leisure that’s worth pitting
against all those cares and skyscrapers and
groceries.
It’s purpose.
Directions: In 3-5 sentences, answer the following questions in a
scholarly manner. [2Opts.]
1. Identify the main situation or phenomenon including its root cause
Conrado de Quiros talks about from the selection.
2. Identify a causal chain in the selection. After doing so, answer the
following;
 What are the possible immediate and remote causes?
 What are the effects of this phenomenon? Identify which are the
primary effects, the possible immediate effects, and also the remote
effects.