Hi, I am very confused between the use of Due to and Because of. I am not able to defrentiate between the usage of the two. Please help me and suggest some tips. I have two questions

OG 175

Two new studies indicate that many people become obese more due to the fact that their bodies burn calories too slowly than overeating.

A) due to the fact that their bodies burn calories too slowly than overeating

B )due to their bodies burning calories too slowly than to eating too much

C )because their bodies bum calories too slowly than that they are overeaters

D )because their bodies bum calories too slowly than because they eat too much

E) because of their bodies burning calories too slowly than because of their eating too much


The second problem is from Manhanttan GMAT SC question bank I am not posting it here because it may not be got idea to post the material here but for the people who have access to the bank it the "Wildfires" question.

Saurabh Malpani

Saurabh,

In my estimation, you are concentrating too hard on the distinction between 'because' and 'due to.' Neither would be considered incorrect in this context, and you should choose the correct answer on other grounds.

Here, this particular question tests parallelism, in that the two elements of the comparison should be structured in parallel fashion. In other words:

more due to/because X . . . than Y.

Answer choice A is incorrect, as "the fact their bodies burn calories too slowly" is not parallel to "overeating."

Answer choice B is incorrect, as "their bodies burning calories too slowly" is not parallel to "to eating too much."

Answer choice C is incorrect, as "their bodies burn calories too slowly" is not parallel to "that they are overeaters."

Answer choice D is correct, as "because their bodies burn calories too slowly" is parallel to "because they eat too much."

Answer choice E is incorrect, as the construction "of their bodies burning calories too slowly" is unnecessarily complex, wordy, and awkward.

In sum, you should not become overly centered on any distinction between the use of "because" and "due to," as the distinction is not going to be useful to help you solve the vast majority of GMAT problems. It is certainly not the central issue in this particular case.

I hope that this is somewhat helpful. - Andrew

Thanks you for your post Andrew.

But still any "General rule" that guides the usage of "Due to" and "Because"???


Thanks
Saurabh Malpani

Saurabh,

This was posted in the Verbal forum, and may be helpful to you (I want to give proper attribution).

Again, I wouldn't get too hung up on this issue. Best, - Andrew


Hi Saurabh,

Because of is used when you are providing a reason for an event
Due to is used when you are stating a cause and effect scenario

Thanks,
Diksha