Expressing Cause and Effect — English Bac SMB

Dans le programme du Bac SMB

English carries a coefficient of 2 in the Bac Sciences Maths B (SMB) stream, level with Philosophy. Mathematics dominates the stream (coefficient 9), followed by Physics-Chemistry and Engineering Sciences (coefficient 7 each), so English can look marginal — but it and Philosophy form the narrow margin where rankings and honours are actually decided. Reading, language and guided writing are all assessed.

À l'épreuve

Three parts: Reading Comprehension, Language, and Writing (a guided text of about 180 words). SMB candidates, trained to be rigorous and systematic, do well on the Language section if they treat each grammar point as a rule with a fixed structure; the risk is a dry essay that ignores vocabulary range and register, which the Writing section also scores.

Objectifs d'apprentissage

Build this into a clear paragraph plan for the Bac SMB English essay (coefficient 2)
Express a cause with because, since, as, due to, owing to, because of
Express a consequence with as a result, therefore, consequently, so, thus
Use cause / consequence verbs: lead to, result in, bring about, cause, be responsible for, stem from
Build a paragraph that clearly links a cause to its consequence in an argumentative essay

Notions clés

Connectors recap (revised from Linking Words)

Cause: because / since / as (+ clause), due to / owing to / because of (+ noun phrase). Consequence: therefore, thus, consequently, as a result, so.

Cause and consequence verbs

cause, lead to, result in, bring about, give rise to (to produce); stem from, be due to, result from, be caused by (to come from). E.g. “Overusing social media can lead to anxiety.” / “The rise in unemployment stems from a lack of investment.”

Building a cause–consequence paragraph

Typical structure: state the phenomenon → give its cause(s) (cause verbs / connectors) → draw its consequence(s) (consequence verbs / connectors) → optionally, a solution.

Erreurs fréquentes

Using a cause verb with a consequence verb's structure: “Pollution is stemmed from cars” is wrong — stem from is never passive; use “Pollution stems from cars” or “Pollution is caused by cars”.

Confusing cause and effect with result in / result from: result in introduces the consequence (X results in Y = X leads to Y), result from introduces the cause (Y results from X = Y comes from X) — opposite meanings despite the similarity.

Repeating because throughout a paragraph: varying with due to, since, as, or a verb like cause / stem from improves the written-work mark.

Exemple corrigé

Énoncé

Link these two ideas with a cause / consequence verb or connector, varying the wording: “Young people spend too much time on social media.” / “They can suffer from anxiety and poor concentration.”

Correction

Identify the direction of the relation. Excessive social-media use is the cause; anxiety and poor concentration are the consequence.

Choose a consequence verb. lead to fits perfectly to introduce a negative effect: “leads to”.

Assemble the sentence. “Spending too much time on social media can lead to anxiety and poor concentration among young people.”

Variant with the cause first. “Anxiety and poor concentration among young people often stem from spending too much time on social media.”

Le cours, puis l'entraînement.

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3 exercices pour t'entraîner

Exercice 1

Easy

Complete with because or due to: “The exam was postponed ___ a technical problem.”

Voir la correction

due to — followed by a noun phrase (a technical problem), not a clause.

Exercice 2

Medium

Rephrase with a consequence verb: “There was heavy rain. As a result, the match was cancelled.”

Voir la correction

“The heavy rain led to the cancellation of the match.” (or “resulted in the match being cancelled”) — lead to / result in replace as a result by folding cause and consequence into one sentence.

Exercice 3

Hard

Correct the meaning error: “Unemployment results in a lack of investment in the region.” (unemployment is presented as the CAUSE of the lack of investment, the opposite of what is meant: the lack of investment causes the unemployment)

Voir la correction

Reverse the direction with results from (comes from) rather than results in (leads to): “Unemployment results from a lack of investment in the region.” — or reword with the subject swapped: “A lack of investment results in unemployment in the region.”

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Questions fréquentes

result in and result from — how do I stop confusing them?

Remember that the subject of result IN is the CAUSE (X results in Y = X produces Y), while the subject of result FROM is the CONSEQUENCE (Y results from X = Y comes from X). A hint: “in” points forward (to the effect), “from” points back (to the origin).

How do I enrich a paragraph to avoid repeating because / therefore?

Alternate connectors (since, as, due to / thus, consequently, as a result) and verbs (lead to, stem from, bring about, be responsible for) depending on where the cause and consequence fall in the sentence.

Can I give several causes for one consequence in an essay?

Yes, and it is valued: “Youth unemployment stems from several factors, such as a lack of investment, an inadequate education system and a fast-changing job market.” shows a richer analysis than a single cause.

A maths-stream student often dislikes English — how do they raise the mark?

Treat it as structure. Every writing task = introduction + argument + counter-argument + conclusion; every grammar point = one rule + one correct example + one typical mistake. Memorise that framework, apply it to the 31 chapters with two example sentences each, and 12/20 is reachable without eating into the heavy maths programme.

How does this skill affect the Bac SMB Writing mark?

Organisation and connective range are explicit scoring criteria. A paragraph that states an idea, links it clearly to a cause or a consequence, and closes it earns marks that a list of unconnected sentences does not.