Due to the highly sensitive nature of their work, all State Department

I chose D. The following is my reasoning:

Due to the highly sensitive nature of their work, all State Department staff members were instructed to store their files on secure servers.

(A) Due to the highly sensitive nature of their work, all State Department staff members were instructed to store their files on secure servers.
=> Wrong. "highly sensitive nature of their work" explains why "all State Department staff members were instructed..." But when we use "due to", it turns out that "highly sensitive nature of their work" explains "all State Department staff members". Illogical meaning!
(B) Because diplomatic work was highly sensitive, the State Department’s staff had been instructed to store all files on secure servers.
=> Wrong. Usage of past perfect "had been" is wrong. Past perfect is used only when an action happened before another action occurring in the past. In this question, the action "be instructed" does not happen before any other past action. That "diplomatic work was highly sensitive" must happen before or during the main action.
(C) Whereas diplomatic work was highly sensitive, the State Department’s staff was instructed to store their files on secure servers.
=> Wrong. Intended meaning expresses a causal relationship (Because of A, B happened). But in this option, as indicated by "whereas", A is contrasted by B. Intended meaning is changed!
(D) Because of the highly sensitive nature of their work, all State Department staff members were instructed to store their files on secure servers.
=> CORRECT!
(E) The State Department’s staff had been instructed to store their files on secure servers, since their work was highly sensitive.
=> Wrong. This option is eliminated for the same reason as in option (B)

Thank you, kawaljeet! And yes, it can be OK to have a pronoun come before its antecedent on the GMAT, as long as the two are close enough to each other to avoid ambiguity. So something like this is generally acceptable: "Because of their frustration with the president's policies, leftists protested in the streets for four years."

And here's an official example: https://gmatclub.com/forum/the-first-de ... 77464.html

The key is to think about what the phrase "due to _________" is trying to tell us. In this case, you want to ask yourself what, exactly happens "due to the highly sensitive nature of their work." Logically, the consequence of "the highly sensitive nature of their work" is that the staff members "were instructed" (to store their files on a secure server). And since that's a verb phrase -- and not a noun -- "due to" is inappropriate here.

I hope this helps!

Ashokshiva , in this case, there is a little gap in your understanding,
but that "gap" is very common.
because OF is different from because.

That is, in addition to due to, because, whereas, and since,
in this question we have yet another construction
with which to contend: "because of."

• because vs. because OF

because and because of are not the same.

Because
-- As you note, because should be followed by a clause.
-- Jargon: because is a subordinating conjunction that forms a
subordinate clause, also known as dependent clause — and a clause must have a subject and a verb.

Because OF
-- because of is a compound preposition, and prepositions should be followed by
nouns or noun phrases (each is an object of the preposition because of).

-- at the same time, because of modifies whole clauses.
We have to consider the logical relationship between the "because of" phrase and the clause that it modifies.

So we have to check two details when we see because of:
(1) is because of followed by a noun or a noun phrase?
(2) does because of modify a whole clause?
(Almost always, because of gives the reason for the event in the clause.)

• Correct answer D: analysis

(D) Because of the highly sensitive nature of their work, all State Department staff members were instructed to store their files on secure servers.

Preposition: Because of

Object of preposition (a noun phrase, correct):
the highly sensitive nature of their work

Clause that because of modifies:
all State Department staff members were instructed to store their files on secure servers.

Logical relationship between because of and the clause?
-- WHY were staff members instructed to store files on secure servers?
-- BECAUSE OF the highly sensitive nature of the staff members' work.

That logical relationship is correct.
The because of phrase tells us why
the staff members were given the instruction to store their files on secure servers.
The nature of their work is highly sensitive = needs to be kept secret.

Jargon: In correct answer D,
because of + noun phrase is an adverbial modifier of the whole clause that follows.

Here is an article that discusses the difference between
because and because of.

I hope that analysis helps.

can anyone differentiate between due to and because of?
I'm really confused between the two.

"Staff" is a singular noun (specifically a collective noun, if you like jargon), so "their files" and "their work" are both incorrect. More on that here.

I hope that helps a bit!

=============================================

Very nice Explanation but I have 1 doubt.

In option D-) and also in most of the options, we have "nature of there work" in the 1st clause. but its antecedent is afterwords, Is it fine for Sentence structure???

Hello GMATNinja
I may be naive to this explanation, but please help me here:-
In this sentence, "due to the highly sensitive nature of their work" is trying to describe "were instructed" -- but that doesn't work, since "due to _____" can only modify a noun
Here how "due to" is modifying "were instructed". Please enlighten me.

generis & GMATNinja

SHouldn't the word ''because'' be followed by a clause with a subject and a verb.?

In option-D, which is the correct option, ''Because'' is not followed by a clause.

is there any gap in my understanding.

pl. suggest

Thanks

Thank you so much !!!

Why the "(E) The State Department’s staff had been instructed to store their files on secure servers, since their work was highly sensitive" is not the correct answer?

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