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Parallel Structure

The document discusses parallel structure and how to use parallelism when writing sentences. It provides examples of parallel and non-parallel sentences and an exercise for the reader to correct sentences that lack parallel structure.

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Zio La
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22 views

Parallel Structure

The document discusses parallel structure and how to use parallelism when writing sentences. It provides examples of parallel and non-parallel sentences and an exercise for the reader to correct sentences that lack parallel structure.

Uploaded by

Zio La
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Parallel Structure

Parallelism is the repetition, not of thought, but of grammatical structures. These


structures can be simple (a repetition of single nouns), or complex (a repetition of complete sentence
structures). Whenever a sentence contains two or more similar elements, these elements must be kept
parallel.
Balance is always inherent in parallelism: word balances with word, phrase with phrase, sentence
with sentence. The result is rhythm within a paragraph that strengthens the coherence and
emphasizes the idea.
Parallelism is only one of several ways of achieving rhythm and coherence in a paragraph, and
should therefore be used sparingly.

Examples:

1. She was a woman who understood children, who enjoyed housework, and who worshipped her
husband.
2. Michael wanted to catch a snake, to put it in a cage, and to take it to school.
3. During spring break the students went to Oregon, to California, and to Utah.
4. In order to pass the TOEFL examination, he had barricaded himself in his room, chained
himself to his desk, and buried himself in his books.
5. If we are to finish this textbook, if we are to have a chance of finishing, we must meet each
day for at least two hours.

__Exercise _______________________________________________________________
Below are several sentences that contain errors in parallelism. Correct these sentences by
strengthening the parallel structures.

1. Fertilizer is used to enrich the soil, to improve crops, and for making more food.

2. She took a shower, got dressed, smiled at the mirror, and her lipstick was checked.

3. My home office is filled with student reports, scrap paper and the garbage can is overflowing.

4. It can be dangerous for one’s health to diet continually, to sleep all day, and not doing any
exercise.

5. I enjoy reading, swimming, jogging, gardening, and going on hikes.

-Edited from The Process of Composition by Joy M. Reid

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