Parallelism The art of equality of structures… By AJ Brown

Parallelism of content Order of ideas must be discussed in same order in each body paragraph Ex. – body #1 – Japan (age of nation; people; traditions) Ex. – body #2 – Libya (age of nation; people; traditions) of grammar Structures on both sides of the conjunction must be the same part of speech. ex. - noun and noun ex. - verb and verb ex. - adjective and adjective ex. - phrase and phrase ex. - clause and clause

Examples of order of ideas parallelism [ classification essay ] (1) body 1 – grammar errors; (a) define; (b) give example; (c) give another example; (d) state reason students make this kind of error (2) body 2 – pronunciation errors; (a) define; (b) give example; (c) give another example; (d) state reason students make this kind of error (3) body 3 – spelling errors; (a) define; (b) give example; (c) give another example; (d) state reason students make this kind of error [ contrast essay ] (1) body 1 – geographical location; (a) the US; (b) Japan; (c) contrasting statement (2) body 2 – age; (a) the US; (b) Japan; (c) contrasting statement (3) body 3 – people; (a) the US; (b) Japan; (c) contrasting statement

Examples of grammatical parallelism I spoke to a doctor and a nurse. [2 noun phrases] Swimming, bicycling, or rowing are excellent forms of exercise. [ 3 gerunds as subjects] The children threw the plates and spilled the juice. [2 verb phrases (v + o)] He kicked the ball above the goal and to the left. [2 prep phrases (prep + o)] Her husband is handsome but rather slow. [2 adjectives] Go to your room right now, or I’ll have to call your mother home from the office. [2 independent clauses]

How do I keep my words parallel? #1 find a coordinating word (or, and, but) and draw a mental triangle around it. Her dress was beauty but expensive. but The conjunction is like a balance because the structures on both sides must be parallel.

How do I keep my words parallel? #2 underline the phrases or clauses on either side of the triangle…be careful choosing what they are (nouns, verbs, prep phrases, etc.). Her dress was beauty but expensive. but

How do I keep my words parallel? #2a underline the phrases or clauses on either side of the triangle…be careful to check if it is a list of 3 or more! Her dress was beauty, tasteful, but expensive. but

How do I keep my words parallel? #3 determine what part of speech the underlined words should be. Her dress was beauty, tasteful, but expensive. [after BE verb…could be n. or adj...-ful and –ive are for adjectives, so …] Her dress was beauty but expensive. but but beautiful, beautiful

Patterns for Parallelism #1 (same structure) noun phrase verb phrase prep phrase gerund infinitive adjective adverb (same structure) noun phrase verb phrase prep phrase gerund infinitive adjective adverb and but or

Patterns for Parallelism #2 (same structure), noun phrase verb phrase prep phrase gerund infinitive adjective adverb and but or (same structure), noun phrase verb phrase prep phrase gerund infinitive adjective adverb (same structure) noun phrase verb phrase prep phrase gerund infinitive adjective adverb

Practice … you try on paper! 1. His idea is clever, original, and everyone likes it. 1. His idea is clever, original, and likeable. 2. Swim contests, rowing, and diving are water sports. 2. Swimming, rowing, and diving are water sports. 3. In winter, it can snow, hail, and there are ice storms. 3. In winter, there are snow, hail, and ice storms. 4. She studies every night and learning a lot. 4. She studies every night and learns a lot. 5. They are kind, generous, and make people laugh. 5. They are kind, generous, and funny.