Cause and Effect

Cause and effect is a relationship between events or things, where one is the result of the other or others. This is a combination of action and reaction.

Cause and Effect: “Because Of” and “Due To”

Adverb clauses introduced by because express cause and effect relationships:

Because it was raining, I wore a hooded sweatshirt.

Because of and due to are phrasal prepositions. They express the same cause-effect relationship

as because. 

However, a preposition is followed by a noun object, not by a subject and a verb:

Because of the rain, I wore a hooded sweatshirt.

Due to the rain, I wore a hooded sweatshirt. introduced by the fact that. Native English speakers rarely use it in conversations or informal writing:

Due to the fact that it was raining, I wore hooded sweatshirt.

Like adverb clauses, phrasal prepositions can also follow the main clause. Note the lack of a comma in these instances:

I wore a hooded sweatshirt because of the rain.

I wore a hooded sweatshirt due to the rain.

I wore hooded sweatshirt due to the fact that it was raining. 

CAUSE

Consequently (adverb) and as a result (prepositional phrase) are connectives that transition the reader from the idea expressed in one clause to the idea expressed in the next clause. These connectives are followed by a clause expressing the effect of situation stated in the clause before it. A comma separates the adverb from the clause.  

CAUSE	EFFECT
CLAUSE	CONNECTIVE ADV or PREP + CLAUSE
She had no other options.	Consequently,  she married at thirteen.  (Adv + Cls)
She was not protected.	As a result,  she had a baby at thirteen. (PP + Cls)
She had no access to health education or medical clinics.	Therefore, she was more likely to get HIV. (Adv + Cls)
There was poor sanitation in the village.	As a consequence,  she had health problems. (PP + Cls)

EFFECT

Because (since, as) and  because of (due to, on account of) are connective prepositions that relate additional, nonessential information to the main clause.  Because is complemented by a clause and because of is complemented by a noun phrase (NP) that states a reason (cause) for the effect stated in the main clause.

EFFECT	CAUSE / REASON
CLAUSE	CONNECTIVE PREP + CLAUSE
She married at sixteen	because she had no other options.  (PP + Cls)
She had a baby at seventeen	as she was not protected.
She was more likely to get HIV	since she had no access to health education or clinics.
She had health problems	because of poor sanitation in the village. (NP)