Identify sentences that are parallel and not parallel. Identify ways to create parallelism in writing. Write and revise sentences using parallelism. Earlier in this chapter, we learned that increasing sentence variety adds interest to a piece of writing and makes the reading process more enjoyable for others. Using a mixture of sentence lengths and patterns throughout an essay is an important writing technique. However, it is equally important to avoid introducing variation within individual sentences. A strong sentence is composed of balanced parts that all have the same structure. In this section, we will examine how to create a balanced sentence structure by using parallelism.
Using Parallelism Parallelism is the use of similar structure in related words, clauses, or phrases. It creates a sense of rhythm and balance within a sentence. As readers, we often correct faulty parallelism—a lack of parallel structure—intuitively because an unbalanced sentence sounds awkward and poorly constructed. Read the following sentences aloud:
Faulty parallelism: Kelly had to iron, do the washing, and shopping before her parents arrived.
Faulty parallelism: Driving a car requires coordination, patience, and to have good eyesight.
Faulty parallelism: Ali prefers jeans to wearing a suit.
All of these sentences contain faulty parallelism. Although they are factually correct, the construction is clunky and confusing. In the first example, three different verb forms are used. In the second and third examples, the writer begins each sentence by using a noun (coordination, jeans), but ends with a phrase (to have good eyesight, wearing a suit). Now read the same three sentences that have correct parallelism.
Correct parallelism: Kelly had to do the ironing, washing, and shopping before her parents arrived.
Correct parallelism: Driving a car requires coordination, patience, and good eyesight.
Correct parallelism: Ali prefers wearing jeans to wearing a suit.
When these sentences are written using a parallel structure, they sound more aesthetically pleasing because they are balanced. Repetition of grammatical construction also minimizes the amount of work the reader has to do to decode the sentence. This enables the reader to focus on the main idea in the sentence and not on how the sentence is put together.
Tip
A simple way to check for parallelism in your writing is to make sure you have paired nouns with nouns, verbs with verbs, prepositional phrases with prepositional phrases, and so on. Underline each element in a sentence and check that the corresponding element uses the same grammatical form.
Creating Parallelism Using Coordinating Conjunctions When you connect two clauses using a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so), make sure that the same grammatical structure is used on each side of the conjunction. Take a look at the following example:
Faulty parallelism: When I walk the dog, I like to listen to music and talking to friends on the phone.
Correct parallelism: When I walk the dog, I like listening to music and talking to friends on the phone.
The first sentence uses two different verb forms (to listen, talking). In the second sentence, the grammatical construction on each side of the coordinating conjunction (and) is the same, creating a parallel sentence.
The same technique should be used for joining items or lists in a series:
Faulty parallelism: This committee needs to decide whether the company should reduce its workforce, cut its benefits, or lowering workers’ wages.
Correct parallelism: This committee needs to decide whether the company should reduce its workforce, cut its benefits, or lower workers’ wages.
The first sentence contains two items that use the same verb construction (reduce, cut) and a third item that uses a different verb form (lowering). The second sentence uses the same verb construction in all three items, creating a parallel structure.
EXERCISE 1
On your own sheet of paper, revise each of the following sentences to create parallel structure using coordinating conjunctions. Mr. Holloway enjoys reading and to play his guitar at weekends. The doctor told Mrs. Franklin that she should either eat less or should exercise more. Breaking out of the prison compound, the escapees moved carefully, quietly, and were quick on their feet. I have read the book, but I have not watched the movie version.
Oscar Wilde mocks the Victorian society, he thinks the society is pretentious, full of self-importance, ignorance, and idleness. He thinks that upper-class Victorian society has some ideas that are nonsensical.
His character Ernest/Jack leads a double life, he was discovered as a baby in a handbag in the cloakroom of Victoria Station. He was adopted and leads a double life because he portrays himself as a major landowner and a number of servants that hide his poor past. He creates a false brother that is an irresponsible black-sheep, so he can lead a scandalous life without getting in trouble.
Jack has a respect for all these Victorian rules and societies social rules - such as marriage and the money that comes with it - even though he knows they are false the same way he is. He pretends to disapprove his own behaviors as a way to portray a right and just character to the Victorian society.
Pacing in regards to writing is the rate at which big events happen. For example, a story would have slow pacing if it's mostly just people having small talk. When a murder or catharsis occurs, the pace picks up. When a piece of literature or filmography has bad pacing, the transition between slow and fast pacing is all but nonexistent. When it has good pacing, the big events are molded into the story appropriately and naturally. Hope this helped.
In 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed Congress in an effort to move the nation away from a foreign policy of neutrality.
The fundamental belief that Roosevelt had about the need for freedom in the world states that people in all nations of the world shared Americans’ entitlement to four freedoms:
“The freedom of speech and expression, the freedom to worship God in his own way, freedom from want and freedom from fear”
