Parallel Structure
- 1. How to organize lists effectively
- 2. What is a parallelism? It is important to be consistent in your wording in professional writing, particularly in employment documents; this is called parallelism. When you are expressing ideas of equal weight in your writing, parallel sentence structures can echo that fact and offer you a writing style that uses balance and rhythm to help deliver your meaning.
- 3. What is a parallelism? Incorrect: My degree, my work experience, and ability to complete complicated projects qualify me for the job. Correct: My degree, my work experience, and my ability to complete complicated projects qualify me for the job.
- 4. What is a parallelism? Incorrect: To keep horses at home, the owner must commit a significant amount of time to daily care and knowing how to identify signs of illness or injury in the horse. Correct: To keep horses at home, the owner must commit a significant amount of time to daily care and must know how to identify signs of illness or injury in the horse
- 5. Incorrect: •Prepared weekly field payroll •Material purchasing, expediting, and returning •Recording OSHA regulated documentation •Change orders •Maintained hard copies of field documentation Correct: •Prepared weekly field payroll •Handled material purchasing, expediting, and returning •Recorded OSHA regulated documentation •Processed change orders •Maintained hard copies of field documentation
- 6. 1. Words and Phrases •With the -ing form (gerund) of words: Parallel: Mary likes hiking, swimming, and bicycling. •With infinitive phrases: Parallel: Mary likes to hike, to swim, and to ride a bicycle. OR Mary likes to hike, swim, and ride a bicycle.
- 7. 2. Clauses Not Parallel: The coach told the players that they should get a lot of sleep, that they should not eat too much, and to do some warm-up exercises before the game. Parallel: The coach told the players that they should get a lot of sleep, that they should not eat too much, and that they should do some warm-up exercises before the game.
- 8. 2. Clauses Not Parallel: The salesman expected that he would present his product at the meeting, that there would be time for him to show his slide presentation, and that questions would be asked by prospective buyers. (passive) Parallel: The salesman expected that he would present his product at the meeting, that there would be time for him to show his slide presentation, and that prospective buyers would ask him questions.
- 9. Be sure to keep all the elements in a list in the same form. • Not Parallel: The dictionary can be used for these purposes: to find word meanings, pronunciations, correct spellings, and looking up irregular verbs. •Parallel: The dictionary can be used for these purposes: to find word meanings, pronunciations, correct spellings, and irregular verbs.