Parallel structure

Parallel structure

​pp. 230 of Teacher's Edition; Questions from Benchmarks and TestNav Practice Tests

Parallel structure

aka. Parallelism

The use of similar grammatical forms or patterns to express ideas of equal significance.

• We saw historical automobiles, motorcycles, ships, and airplanes at the transportation museum.

• There they stopped, knelt, and prayed.

Words

Examples

Open Ended

Use parallel structure to rewrite the sentence below.

Planning, drafting and revision are three steps in the writing process.

• I could not wait to hop on that plane, to leave the country, and to explore the world.

• Pumping up the volume or clarifying sound helps people to hear each other over street noise or in echoing spaces.

Phrases

Examples

Multiple Choice

Which choice shows the correct way to revise the underlined portion of the sentence?

He held the keys to secure boxes of documents, dealt with official paperwork, and discharging many of the functions of the sovereign.

• NO CHANGE

• discharge

• discharged

• to discharge

• Ari likes his new school: The teachers are good, the students are nice, and the building is new.

• He developed a considerable acting career there by 1913, and he arrived in the United States in 1920.

Clauses

Examples

Open Ended

Use parallel structure to rewrite the sentence below.

Nevertheless, the music of this era will rest forever unheard, and unknown forever the names of its great composers will remain.

Multiple Choice

Which choice shows the correct way to revise the underlined portion of the sentence?

Perhaps that person speaks a different language or can communicate in a way that is unfamiliar to the others.

• NO CHANGE

• communicates

• will be communicating

• communicate

Multiple Choice

Which choice shows the best way to revise the underlined portion of the sentence?

She wanted only to live in seclusion in a rural castle in Scotland and to avoid other people, including her children.

• NO CHANGE

• avoided

• avoiding

• OMIT the underlined portion

Multiple Choice

Which change, if any, is needed to the underlined text?

The invention of the record and an upsurge in music publishing, almost anyone could own a piece of music.

• With the invention of the record

• When the record was invented

• Inventing the record

• No change

Drag and Drop

The benefits of parallel structure include

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​;

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. Without parallelism, the inconsistency in writing may​

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.

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

creating rhythm and balcnce

clarifying the relationships among ideas

be awkward, confusing, and distracting for readers

include unnecessary mix of grammatical forms

Hotspot

How confident are you on parallel structure?

Open Ended

Write a sentence with words in parallel structure.

Hint: Words can be nouns, verbs, adjectives etc.

Open Ended

Write a sentence with phrases in parallel structure.

Hint: Phrases are a group of words.

Open Ended

Write a sentence with clauses in parallel structure.

Hint: A clause is a group of words with its subject and verb.