Parallel: \"The dog ran across the yard, jumped over the fence, and sprinted down the alley<\/b>.\"<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nThe nonparallel example above is not<\/i> grammatically correct: \"down the alley sprinted\" is not a grammatically valid conclusion to \"The dog.\" The second\u00a0example, which does not attempt to employ parallelism in its conclusion, is grammatically valid; \"down the alley he sprinted\" is an entirely separate clause.\n\nParallelism can also apply to names. If you're writing a research paper that includes\u00a0references to several different authors, you should\u00a0be consistent in your references. For example, if\u00a0you talk about Jane Goodall and Henry Harlow, you should say \"Goodall and Harlow,\" not \"Jane and Harlow\" or \"Goodall and Henry.\" This is something that would carry on through your entire paper: you should\u00a0use the same mode of address for\u00a0every person you mention.\n\nYou can also apply parallelism\u00a0across a passage:\nManuel painted eight paintings in the last week.\u00a0Jennifer sculpted five statues in the last month. Zama\u00a0wrote\u00a0fifteen\u00a0songs in the last two months.<\/p>\nEach of the sentences in the preceding paragraph has the same structure: Name +\u00a0-ed<\/em> verb + number of things +\u00a0in the<\/em>\u00a0past time period. When using parallelism across multiple sentences, be sure that you're using it well. If you aren't careful, you can stray into being repetitive. Unfortunately,\u00a0really the only way to test this is by\u00a0re-reading the passage and seeing if it \"feels right.\" While this test doesn't have any rules to it, it can often help.\n\n
Practice<\/h3>\nDo\u00a0of the following sentences correctly employ parallelism? If not,\u00a0revise the sentences in the text frame below.\n- Kya is really good at\u00a0writing poems\u00a0and making\u00a0pottery.\u00a0Atswei is a good singer and a good dancer.<\/li>\n \t
- Don't forget to let the dog out or\u00a0to feed the cats.<\/li>\n \t
- In this paper, we will reference the works of Walton and\u00a0Sir John Cockcroft.<\/li>\n \t
- Whenever he drives, Reza pays attention to what he's doing and is watching the drivers around him.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n[practice-area rows=\"4\"][\/practice-area]\n[reveal-answer q=\"456006\"]Show Answer[\/reveal-answer]\n[hidden-answer a=\"456006\"]\n
- No. While the both\u00a0sentences are internally parallel, they are not parallel with each other. Here are two possible revisions to improve parallelism:\n
- Kya is really good at writing poems and making sculptures. Atswei is really\u00a0good at singing and dancing.<\/li>\n \t
- Kya is a\u00a0good poet and sculptor. Atswei is a good singer and a good dancer.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/li>\n \t
- Yes. This sentence is parallel. The two phrases \"to let the dog out\" and \"to feed the cats\"\u00a0are both infinitives.<\/li>\n \t
- No. While the sentence is grammatically correct, it is not parallel. The two following revisions are parallel versions of this sentence:\n
- In this paper, we will reference the works of Dr. Ernest Walton and Sir John Cockcroft.<\/li>\n \t
- In this paper, we will reference the works of Walton and Cockcroft.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/li>\n \t
- No. While the sentence is grammatically correct, it is not parallel. The two following revisions are parallel versions of this sentence:\n
- Whenever he drives, Reza pays attention to what he's doing and watches\u00a0the drivers around him.<\/li>\n \t
- Whenever he drives, Reza is paying\u00a0attention to what he's doing and watching the drivers around him.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n[\/hidden-answer]\n\n<\/div>\n
Rhetoric and Parallelism<\/h2>\nParallelism can also involve\u00a0repeated words\u00a0or\u00a0repeated phrases. These uses are part of \"rhetoric\" (a field that focuses on persuading readers)\u00a0Here are a few examples of repetition:\n- \"The inherent vice<\/strong> of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue<\/strong> of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.\" \u2014Winston Churchill<\/li>\n \t
- \"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe<\/strong> to assure the survival and the success of liberty.\" \u2014John F. Kennedy<\/li>\n \t
- \"And that government of the people, by the people, for the people<\/strong>, shall not perish from the earth.\" \u2014Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\nWhen used this way, parallelism makes your writing or speaking much stronger.\u00a0These repeated phrases seem to bind the work together and make it more powerful\u2014and more inspiring. This use of parallelism can be especially useful in writing conclusions of academic papers or in persuasive writing.","rendered":"
What exactly is parallel structure? It’s simply the practice of using the same structures or forms multiple times: making sure the parts are parallel to each other.\u00a0Parallel structure can be applied to a single sentence, a paragraph, or even multiple paragraphs. Compare the two following sentences:\n<\/p>\n
\n- Yara\u00a0loves running,\u00a0to swim, and biking.<\/li>\n
- Yara\u00a0loves running, swimming, and biking.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Was the second sentence\u00a0easier to comprehend than the first? The second sentence uses parallelism\u2014all three verbs are gerunds, whereas in the first sentence two are gerunds and one is an infinitive. While the first sentence is technically correct, it’s easy to trip up over the mismatching items.\u00a0The application of parallelism improves writing style and readability, and it makes sentences easier to process.<\/p>\n
Compare the following examples:<\/p>\n
\n- Lacking parallelism: “She likes cooking, jogging, and to read<\/i>.”\n
\n- Parallel: “She likes cooking, jogging, and reading.”<\/li>\n
- Parallel: “She likes to cook, jog, and read.”<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
- Lacking parallelism: “He likes to swim and running<\/i>.”\n
\n- Parallel: “He likes to swim and to run.”<\/li>\n
- Parallel: “He likes swimming and running.”<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Once again, the examples above\u00a0combine\u00a0gerunds and infinitives. To make them parallel, the sentences should\u00a0be rewritten with just\u00a0gerunds or just\u00a0infinitives.\u00a0Note that the first nonparallel example, while inelegantly worded, is grammatically correct: “cooking,” “jogging,” and “to read” are all grammatically valid conclusions to “She likes.”<\/p>\n
\n- Lacking parallelism: “The dog ran across the yard, jumped over the fence, and down the alley sprinted<\/b>.”<\/li>\n
- Grammatical but not employing parallelism: “The dog ran across the yard and jumped over the fence, and down the alley he sprinted<\/strong>.”<\/li>\n
- Parallel: “The dog ran across the yard, jumped over the fence, and sprinted down the alley<\/b>.”<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The nonparallel example above is not<\/i> grammatically correct: “down the alley sprinted” is not a grammatically valid conclusion to “The dog.” The second\u00a0example, which does not attempt to employ parallelism in its conclusion, is grammatically valid; “down the alley he sprinted” is an entirely separate clause.<\/p>\n
Parallelism can also apply to names. If you’re writing a research paper that includes\u00a0references to several different authors, you should\u00a0be consistent in your references. For example, if\u00a0you talk about Jane Goodall and Henry Harlow, you should say “Goodall and Harlow,” not “Jane and Harlow” or “Goodall and Henry.” This is something that would carry on through your entire paper: you should\u00a0use the same mode of address for\u00a0every person you mention.<\/p>\n
You can also apply parallelism\u00a0across a passage:<\/p>\n
Manuel painted eight paintings in the last week.\u00a0Jennifer sculpted five statues in the last month. Zama\u00a0wrote\u00a0fifteen\u00a0songs in the last two months.<\/p>\n
Each of the sentences in the preceding paragraph has the same structure: Name +\u00a0-ed<\/em> verb + number of things +\u00a0in the<\/em>\u00a0past time period. When using parallelism across multiple sentences, be sure that you’re using it well. If you aren’t careful, you can stray into being repetitive. Unfortunately,\u00a0really the only way to test this is by\u00a0re-reading the passage and seeing if it “feels right.” While this test doesn’t have any rules to it, it can often help.<\/p>\n\n
Practice<\/h3>\n
Do\u00a0of the following sentences correctly employ parallelism? If not,\u00a0revise the sentences in the text frame below.<\/p>\n
\n- Kya is really good at\u00a0writing poems\u00a0and making\u00a0pottery.\u00a0Atswei is a good singer and a good dancer.<\/li>\n
- Don’t forget to let the dog out or\u00a0to feed the cats.<\/li>\n
- In this paper, we will reference the works of Walton and\u00a0Sir John Cockcroft.<\/li>\n
- Whenever he drives, Reza pays attention to what he’s doing and is watching the drivers around him.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n