{"id":1062,"date":"2015-03-05T21:59:40","date_gmt":"2015-03-05T21:59:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.candelalearning.com\/technicalwriting1xmaster\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=1062"},"modified":"2016-06-21T17:47:00","modified_gmt":"2016-06-21T17:47:00","slug":"use-paraellel-structure-2","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-jeffersoncc-technicalwriting\/chapter\/use-paraellel-structure-2\/","title":{"raw":"Use Parallel Structure","rendered":"Use Parallel Structure"},"content":{"raw":"<h4>What is parallel structure?<\/h4>\r\nParallel structure is established when words within a sentence are united by consistent use of grammatical forms. This stylistic element is also referred to as parallelism or parallel construction.\r\n<h4>Why is it important to use parallel structure?<\/h4>\r\nLack of parallel structure can disrupt the rhythm of a sentence, leaving it grammatically unbalanced. Proper parallel structure helps to establish balance and flow in a well-constructed sentence; the alignment of related ideas supports readability and clarity.\r\n<h4>Let\u2019s look at an example:<\/h4>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Not Parallel<\/strong>: The President traveled to several cities <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">meeting<\/span> voters, <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">to give<\/span> speeches, and <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">ask<\/span> for campaign funds.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Parallel<\/strong>: The President traveled to several cities <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">meeting<\/span> voters, <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">giving<\/span> speeches, and <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">asking<\/span> for campaign funds.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h4>How can a sentence be revised to reflect parallel structure?<\/h4>\r\n1.<em><strong>Find a list within a sentence<\/strong><\/em>: Look for words or phrases of equal importance that are separated by commas and joined by a conjunction\r\n\r\n<strong>Not parallel<\/strong>: Dr. Kall challenged his students to <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">initiate their own learning, be creative problem-solvers, and think independently<\/span>. (In this sentence, Dr. Kall wants his students to do or be three things, but the items in this list are not parallel in structure.)\r\n\r\n2. <em><strong>Evaluate the word forms within the list.<\/strong><\/em>\r\n<ol>\r\n\t<li>Do the verbs appear as infinitives (<em>to + verb<\/em>), or gerunds (<em>-ing words<\/em>)? As present tense or past tense? (Choose the voice and tense of the verb that is consistent with surrounding sentences.)<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Do the nouns or pronouns and their modifiers appear in consistent form?<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n3.<em><strong> Alter the words in the list to create proper parallel structure<\/strong><\/em>.\r\n\r\n<strong>Parallel<\/strong>: Dr. Kall challenged his students to become <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">self-motivated learners, creative problem-solvers, and independent thinkers<\/span>. (In this sentence, Dr. Kall wants his students to be three things instead of a combination of being and doing. Additionally, the list follows a pattern since the nouns and adjectives all appear in parallel form.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;","rendered":"<h4>What is parallel structure?<\/h4>\n<p>Parallel structure is established when words within a sentence are united by consistent use of grammatical forms. This stylistic element is also referred to as parallelism or parallel construction.<\/p>\n<h4>Why is it important to use parallel structure?<\/h4>\n<p>Lack of parallel structure can disrupt the rhythm of a sentence, leaving it grammatically unbalanced. Proper parallel structure helps to establish balance and flow in a well-constructed sentence; the alignment of related ideas supports readability and clarity.<\/p>\n<h4>Let\u2019s look at an example:<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Not Parallel<\/strong>: The President traveled to several cities <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">meeting<\/span> voters, <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">to give<\/span> speeches, and <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">ask<\/span> for campaign funds.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Parallel<\/strong>: The President traveled to several cities <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">meeting<\/span> voters, <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">giving<\/span> speeches, and <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">asking<\/span> for campaign funds.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>How can a sentence be revised to reflect parallel structure?<\/h4>\n<p>1.<em><strong>Find a list within a sentence<\/strong><\/em>: Look for words or phrases of equal importance that are separated by commas and joined by a conjunction<\/p>\n<p><strong>Not parallel<\/strong>: Dr. Kall challenged his students to <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">initiate their own learning, be creative problem-solvers, and think independently<\/span>. (In this sentence, Dr. Kall wants his students to do or be three things, but the items in this list are not parallel in structure.)<\/p>\n<p>2. <em><strong>Evaluate the word forms within the list.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Do the verbs appear as infinitives (<em>to + verb<\/em>), or gerunds (<em>-ing words<\/em>)? As present tense or past tense? (Choose the voice and tense of the verb that is consistent with surrounding sentences.)<\/li>\n<li>Do the nouns or pronouns and their modifiers appear in consistent form?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>3.<em><strong> Alter the words in the list to create proper parallel structure<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Parallel<\/strong>: Dr. Kall challenged his students to become <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">self-motivated learners, creative problem-solvers, and independent thinkers<\/span>. (In this sentence, Dr. Kall wants his students to be three things instead of a combination of being and doing. Additionally, the list follows a pattern since the nouns and adjectives all appear in parallel form.)<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t <section class=\"citations-section\" role=\"contentinfo\">\n\t\t\t <h3>Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t <div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <div id=\"citation-list-1062\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <div class=\"licensing\"><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Shared previously<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Use Parallel Structure. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Writing Commons. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/writingcommons.org\/open-text\/collaboration\/144-common-comments\/sentence-construction-\/541-use-parallel-structure\">http:\/\/writingcommons.org\/open-text\/collaboration\/144-common-comments\/sentence-construction-\/541-use-parallel-structure<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-nd\/4.0\/\">CC BY-NC-ND: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives <\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t <\/section>","protected":false},"author":277,"menu_order":8,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"Use Parallel Structure\",\"author\":\"\",\"organization\":\"Writing Commons\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/writingcommons.org\/open-text\/collaboration\/144-common-comments\/sentence-construction-\/541-use-parallel-structure\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by-nc-nd\",\"license_terms\":\"\"}]","CANDELA_OUTCOMES_GUID":"","pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-1062","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":1332,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-jeffersoncc-technicalwriting\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/1062","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-jeffersoncc-technicalwriting\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-jeffersoncc-technicalwriting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-jeffersoncc-technicalwriting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/277"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-jeffersoncc-technicalwriting\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/1062\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1911,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-jeffersoncc-technicalwriting\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/1062\/revisions\/1911"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-jeffersoncc-technicalwriting\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/1332"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-jeffersoncc-technicalwriting\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/1062\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-jeffersoncc-technicalwriting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-jeffersoncc-technicalwriting\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=1062"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-jeffersoncc-technicalwriting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=1062"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-jeffersoncc-technicalwriting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=1062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}