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Cause & Effect
Verbal Reasoning · 6 Sections

Cause & Effect

Master the five relationship types — direct cause-effect, independent causes, common effect, and more — with real-world news-style examples and SSC/IBPS exam shortcuts.

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Section 1 of 6

⚡ What is Cause & Effect?

A cause is an event or condition that directly or indirectly brings about another event. The event that results is called the effect. In competitive exams (SSC CGL, IBPS PO, SBI PO), you are given two statements and must identify which of five possible relationships holds between them.

The 5 Relationship Types
(A) Statement I is the cause and Statement II is its effect.
(B) Statement II is the cause and Statement I is its effect.
(C) Both Statements I and II are independent causes of some common effect.
(D) Both Statements I and II are effects of independent causes.
(E) Both Statements I and II are effects of some common cause.

The key skill is distinguishing whether the two events are causally linkedto each other (A or B), parallel causes of something else (C), completelyindependent effects (D), or co-effects of a hidden third event (E).

Type A/B
Direct causal link between I and II
One event directly produces the other. The arrow of causation runs between the two given statements.
Type C
I and II → Common Third Effect
Both statements are independent causes. Neither caused the other, but both produce the same result (not stated in the pair).
Type D
Unrelated Cause A → I  |  Unrelated Cause B → II
Both events are effects but have completely different, unconnected root causes. There is no link at all between them.
Type E
Common Hidden Cause → I and II
A single unstated event (monsoon, recession, election) independently causes both Statement I and Statement II.
⚡Cause-Effect Classifier
Select a Relationship Type to Explore
Statement ICAUSESStatement II
(A) I causes IIStatement I is the direct cause. Statement II is the resulting effect. The causal arrow runs: I → II. The event in Statement I occurs first and produces the event in Statement II.Example: I: Heavy rain fell. II: Roads were flooded. → Rain (I) caused flooding (II).
Exam Approach: Always look for a time sequence first. If one event clearly happened before the other and directly produced it, choose A or B. If both events seem to respond to the same external trigger, choose E. If both events feed into the same outcome without depending on each other, choose C.

When Statement I directly produces Statement II, the answer is: — the causal arrow runs from I to II.

"Both Statements I and II are effects of some common cause" corresponds to option: — this is the hidden-cause pattern.

Option (D) — "Both are effects of independent causes" — means the two events: — completely unrelated with separate, independent root causes.

📝Practice Questions

Q1Which of the five relationship types describes the situation where Statement I directly causes Statement II?

Q2In option (E), "Both are effects of some common cause," what is the correct interpretation?

Q3A student marks option (C) for a pair of events. What does this mean?

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Section 2 of 6

➡️ Direct Cause-Effect Pairs

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Section 3 of 6

🔀 Independent Causes

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Section 4 of 6

🔗 Common Effect (Same Cause)

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Section 5 of 6

🔄 Ambiguous & Interchangeable Pairs

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Section 6 of 6

🚀 Exam Strategy & Shortcuts

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