Because of or Due To Confusion

Let me take this opportunity to confuse you a bit. Maybe you’re already confused about some things. I’m often confused. Thankfully, there are lots of great resources available to “unconfuse” me. Here are two phrases that often muddle writers: Due to  and because of. Is there a difference and does it matter?

The phrase due to accompanies nouns: “Her bad grade was due to her failure to study.” Bad grade=noun.

The phrase because of  accompanies verbs: “She failed because of not studying.” Failed=verb.

Sure, you can say “She failed due to a lack of studying.” But it’s traditionally correct to follow this rule, and that example is a bit clunky. Why not just say, “She failed because she didn’t study”? That works too.