In one sentence, describe what the following article is about: After you've looked over your notes you will want to come up with a thesis statement, or argument, to guide your paper. This is what you will try to prove throughout your essay. Your thesis should be debatable and should be supported by the facts that you uncovered during your research. A thesis statement can be a single sentence or multiple sentences, depending on what you need to cover. It cannot be a quote, a basic statement of fact, or a question. As you are trying to craft your thesis statement it is helpful to consider what your evidence indicates about your topic. What causes and/or effects are clearly illustrated by your sources? For example, if a number of your sources discuss stock market issues as a cause of the Great Depression, then you may argue that, "Stock market instabilities, in part, led to the Great Depression." Identify at least three broad themes or ideas that can support your main thesis. These themes will become separate body sections of your paper. You will then place smaller or more detailed ideas or concepts under these larger 'umbrella' ideas. In the end, every piece of the organization should contribute toward proving your thesis in some way. While 3 ideas are typical for a 5-paragraph essay, you may find you have more ideas you want to include. Depending upon your topic and the length of your paper, scale up the number of ideas as needed. Be pretty flexible with your initial outline as you will find areas that you will need to expand or cut when you actually start writing. It may seem easier at first but you never have to limit yourself to the five-paragraph essay format, unless your teacher expressly requests that you do so. Otherwise, feel free to add additional paragraphs, up until the page limit, to create a stronger argument. Your introduction is the first paragraph of your essay and it has a great deal of work to do. It must grab the reader's attention. It needs to introduce the reader to the general topic. And, it must present the thesis statement to the reader, usually in the final sentence or two. For a cause and effect essay you will want to make clear whether or not you plan to cover both of these areas or just one. You can get a reader interested in your subject by opening with a vivid quote, exciting source, or quick anecdote. Just keep it brief. Your intro should only be a fairly short paragraph in comparison to the body ones. This is where you flesh out your outline. Each paragraph should cover one particular element of your argument. In the cause portions of your essay you will need to explain the event in question and make initial connections to the effect portion that is coming up. In the effect portion you will need to explain to the reader how you get from point A (cause) to point B (effect). Don't forget to add at least a paragraph explaining to the reader why these connections are important to them on an individual or group level. You could also mention this in the cause-and-effect paragraph. This is as an opportunity to make an educated statement about what the long and short term implications of this cause/effect cycle will be. Basically, why should we care? As you move through your body paragraphs, make sure that you emphasize that the cause that you are discussing occurred before the effect. And, as you are writing about an effect, make sure that you can prove it occurred after that particular cause. You want to avoid a situation where your causes and effects are so intertwined that they are without a causal relationship. For example, if you argue that the Great Depression caused a rise in unemployment you will need to have statistics to support this perspective. After all, unemployment existed before and after the event in question, so the causal relationship is what must be clarified. You must convince your readers that you are aware of alternative arguments or approaches. Don't overreach or over-promise as you describe the cause and effect relationship. Instead, use your evidence to show that, while other causes or effects may exist, the most important relationships are the ones that are found within your paper. For instance, if you are writing about the causes of the Great Depression you will want to discuss the stock market but also the income gap. Or, if you choose to focus solely on the Great Depression/stock market relationship then somewhere in your paper you'll want to acknowledge the other possible causes while stating that you've chosen this particular focus. Points you are proving may be major or minor. The goal is simply to explain how they affect the causal relationship. Use your concluding paragraph to sum up your thesis and major supporting points. However, do so very briefly as this paragraph should be roughly the same length as the introduction. You might also give some indication as to how your findings could change in the future if conditions or interpretations alter in some way. Throughout your body paragraphs you will want to develop and present natural pairings of detailed evidence and broad summary or interpretive remarks. Without the details your paper will be too vague. Without the interpretive comments your reader will just see a list of facts lacking analysis.
Summary: Develop a thesis statement. Create an outline. Craft a solid introduction. Write your body paragraphs. Emphasize the cause and effect timeline. Acknowledge or rule out other explanations. Craft a solid conclusion. Intermix specific details and bigger-picture statements.

In one sentence, describe what the following article is about: Towns and cities have different governing structure, so if you're working on changing a local law, figure out how yours works. Most have a mayor and some kind of city council. Some also have other positions within the city government, including city managers and commissioners. Some states allow you to file local or state referendums as a citizen, but most states do not. If you are in a state that does not, you need to get the city council or mayor to support your idea and bring it to a vote. Check to see you your state is one of them. In these states, you can file your intention to have your law on the ballot, then gather signatures, and finally file the petition with the signatures with the law. Then it will be put on the ballot. In most states, it's not quite this easy. This is a way for you to bring up your issue to local lawmakers. Check your city to see when there are meetings for constituents to bring up issues. You usually have a limited time to speak, so be prepared and be professional. You might have to go to many meetings before people begin to take you seriously, but this is an important step. Look at their websites. See what kinds of laws they have promoted in the past, and if yours might fit in. If you are going to change a local law, you need support from someone in the city government. If you don't want to approach the mayor directly, choose the council member from your district or one you think will be sympathetic to your cause. Tell them about your pattern of attending community meetings. Lay out your ideas for a law change. Bring copies of your proposed changes to share with the lawmaker. Ask their opinion on the feasibility of your goals. Listen to their suggestions. If they say that they need a petition with signatures from citizens showing support for your idea (probably at least 500 signatures), that's your next step. Or they might like it just as it is and say that they will take it to the rest of the council. Once you have presented the law and anything else they have asked for (like a petition), you have to wait and see what happens. The city council might choose to vote on your idea soon, or it might have to wait behind other outstanding business. It also might be that your law comes up for a vote but fails. In that case, you will need to do more work in talking to the city council and mayor, trying to get it heard and voted on again, this time with adequate support. If your law doesn't go anywhere the first time, talk to more constituents, make allies, and do the process again. This time, think about getting the media involved, having meetings specifically about the issue, and put up signs to help raise consciousness about the idea.
Summary:
Learn how city government works. File an initiative or referendum if you're in a state where citizens can. Go to community meetings if you can't file a referendum. Research the mayor and council members. Meet with your chosen lawmaker. Wait for the lawmakers to take action. Keep in mind that changing a law can take a long time. Try again.