Cause and Effect, Course of Action
Sorting an event pair into cause, effect, common cause, or independent using chronology and plausibility, and judging whether a suggested course of action actually addresses a stated problem.
What you will be able to do
- Place an event pair as direct cause, reverse cause, common cause, or independent.
- Use chronology and plausibility to rule options in or out.
- Test a course of action for relevance, practicability, and proportion.
- Reject an extreme or out-of-scope action even when it touches the problem.
What is inside this lesson
- 1Two related question types
- 2Sorting the event pair
- 3The common-cause pattern
- 4Testing a course of action
- 5Worked examples
- 6Common mistakes
- 7Quick revision
- 8Practice
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Two related question types
Cause and effect. You get two events and must say how they connect: one caused the other, the other caused the first, both came from a third common cause, or they are independent.
Course of action. You get a problem and one or more suggested actions, and must say which actions should be taken up.
Both reward the same discipline: read what is actually stated, respect the order of events, and do not import a story of your own.
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