B1 IntermediateB1 · Module 03Class 09

B1 · Module 03 · Class 09 — The Flight to London

Narrative Scene

Seat 14A, Mexico City → London Heathrow

The flight is eleven hours. Santiago has a window seat and a printed copy of his slide deck. By the time the meal trays are cleared, he has marked up five slides with a red pen.

"The problem with this section," he writes in the margin of slide 7, "is that I state what happened — but I never explain why."

He thinks about Claire Beaumont. She is a Partner at Vantage Capital. She will not sit quietly through twenty minutes of data. She will ask: "What caused this?" "What does this lead to?" "What is the implication?"

Santiago turns to a clean page in his notebook and writes two columns: CAUSE and EFFECT. Between them, he starts building a list of linking phrases. By the time the plane begins its descent over southern England, the page is full.

Analysis Language
causal factor	/ˈkɔːzəl ˈfæktə/	One of the reasons that contributed to a particular outcome
underlying	/ˌʌndəˈlaɪɪŋ/	Existing as a deeper or fundamental cause, not immediately obvious
correlation	/ˌkɒrəˈleɪʃən/	A relationship between two variables — not necessarily cause and effect
margin compression	/ˈmɑːdʒɪn kəmˈpreʃən/	A reduction in profit margin, often caused by rising costs or falling prices
structural	/ˈstrʌktʃərəl/	Relating to the fundamental organisation or composition of something, not a temporary fluctuation

Language Focus

Cause-and-Effect Structures

Cause-and-effect language is the backbone of data presentations and analysis. There are four structural families. Each places the emphasis differently — on the cause, the effect, or the relationship itself.

1. CAUSE → EFFECT: The cause is the subject

These structures place the CAUSE as the grammatical subject and explain what it produces.

Structure	Example
[Cause] resulted in [effect]	The regulatory change resulted in a 15% cost increase.
[Cause] led to [effect]	The entry of new competitors led to margin compression across the sector.
[Cause] caused [effect]	The currency depreciation caused a significant reduction in real returns.
[Cause] contributed to [effect]	Several structural factors contributed to the underperformance of Sector B.
[Cause] triggered [effect]	The liquidity crisis triggered a wave of asset disposals in Q3.
[Cause] drove [effect]	Strong consumer demand drove revenue growth of 18% last year.

2. EFFECT → CAUSE: The effect is explained by the cause

These structures begin with the EFFECT and explain what produced it.

Structure	Example
[Effect] because of [cause]	Returns declined because of a sharp rise in operating costs.
[Effect] due to [cause]	The project was delayed due to regulatory uncertainty.
[Effect] as a result of [cause]	Three firms exited the market as a result of increased compliance requirements.
[Effect] owing to [cause]	Investor confidence fell owing to a lack of transparency in the reporting.
[Effect] stems from [cause]	The underperformance stems from a misalignment between targets and available capital.
[Effect] is attributed to [cause]	The growth is attributed to strong infrastructure investment in the southern regions.

3. RELATIVE CLAUSE / PARTICIPLE: Embedded cause-effect

These structures embed the relationship within a single sentence — more concise and formal.

Structure	Example
…, which led to [effect]	Demand fell sharply in Q2, which led to a full strategic review.
…, which resulted in [effect]	The merger was approved in January, which resulted in significant restructuring costs.
…, resulting in [effect]	Three suppliers withdrew, resulting in a critical gap in the supply chain.
…, causing [effect]	The deadline was missed, causing the client to request a formal explanation.
…, thereby [verb+ing]	Costs were reduced by 12%, thereby improving the fund's overall return profile.

4. FORMAL LINKING ADVERBS: Sentence-level connectors

These stand at the start of the effect-sentence and connect it formally to the cause before it.

Structure	Example
Consequently, [effect]	Investor appetite weakened. Consequently, three deals were put on hold.
As a result, [effect]	The timeline slipped by six weeks. As a result, the Q2 launch was cancelled.
Therefore, [effect]	The regulatory environment is unstable; therefore, phased entry is advised.
This led to [effect]	Compliance costs increased by 30%. This led to a full operational review.
This resulted in [effect]	Capital was reallocated. This resulted in a 9% improvement in returns.

Key Contrasts to Know

because vs because of: "because" + clause | "because of" + noun phrase

e.g. "Costs rose because interest rates increased." / "Costs rose because of the interest rate rise."

due to vs owing to: both + noun phrase; "due to" is slightly more formal in reports

result in vs result from: "result IN" = what it produces | "result FROM" = what produced it

e.g. "The merger resulted in higher costs." / "Higher costs resulted from the merger."

Phrasal Verbs

account for — to explain the reason for something; also to represent a proportion

"The logistics cost alone accounts for 40% of the total expenditure."

narrow down — to reduce a number of options or possibilities to a smaller set

"The analysis narrowed down the candidate markets from twelve to three."

break down — to separate into smaller parts for analysis; also to fail

"The chart breaks down total spend by category across all four quarters."

The following is Santiago's spoken narration for Slides 6–9 of his Vantage presentation.

Read the script and underline every cause-and-effect structure.

SLIDE 6 — "What happened to infrastructure returns in LatAm, 2022–2025?"

"Between 2022 and 2024, infrastructure returns across Latin America declined

by an average of 4.2 percentage points. This was primarily due to a combination

of currency volatility and regulatory uncertainty in three key markets.

The depreciation of the Brazilian real and the Colombian peso resulted in

a significant reduction in USD-denominated returns for foreign investors.

Consequently, several international funds reduced their LatAm allocations,

which led to reduced deal flow and higher competition for the remaining assets."

SLIDE 7 — "What caused the recovery from mid-2024?"

"The recovery stems from two structural changes. First, a new regulatory framework

in Colombia — introduced in Q2 2024 — reduced approval timelines from 18 months

to approximately 7 months, thereby lowering execution risk for incoming investors.

Second, energy transition legislation drove a significant increase in greenfield

infrastructure pipeline. As a result, deal volume in the sector increased by 34%

in the 12 months to March 2025."

SLIDE 8 — "Why do these three markets stand out?"

"Colombia, Chile, and Mexico account for over 70% of the viable deal pipeline

we identified. Their outperformance is attributed to three factors: regulatory

clarity, currency stability relative to the regional average, and an established

base of institutional co-investors, which reduces single-fund exposure.

These conditions, taken together, led to risk-adjusted returns of between

11% and 16% — significantly above the fund's stated benchmark."

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