What is parallelism?
Parallelism is the symmetrical repetition of written or spoken grammatical structure also called parallel structure or parallel construction. Used effectively, parallelism enforces your message and helps your audience understand and retain your message. For example:
“I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” –Martin Luther King Jr.
What is faulty parallelism?
Faulty parallelism refers to an asymmetrical repetition of written or spoken grammatical structure. It feels imbalanced. Faulty parallelism weakens your message. Faulty parallels can often be found in lists. See examples below:
- Faulty: Driving a car requires coordination, patience, and to have good eyesight.
Parallel: Driving a car requires coordination, patience, and good eyesight. - Faulty: The company offers special college training to help hourly employees move into professional careers like engineering management, software development, service technicians, and sales trainees.
Parallel: The company offers special college training to help hourly employees move into professional careers like engineering management, software development, technical services, and sales.
What are some different types of parallelism?
Parallelism appears in many different grammatical structures, lists, and comparisons. See more examples of faulty and functioning parallelism below.
Grammatical structures
Verb forms
- -ing things: The “-ing” (gerund) form of words vs. infinitive phrases “to (verb).
- Example: The teacher said that he was a poor student because he waited until the last minute to study for the exam, completed his lab problems in a careless manner, and his motivation was low
Inconsistent tense
- Waited, completed, and his motivation was low
- Corrected: lacked motivation
- The teacher said that he was a poor student because he waited until the last minute to study for the exam, completed his lab problems in a careless manner, and lacked motivation.
Nouns mixed with verbs
- We like lamb chops and to fry brussels sprouts.
OR We like to grill lamb chops and fry brussels sprouts.
Plural mixed with singular
- Public transit such as buses or a train
- Corrected: buses or trains
Adverb mixed with prepositional phrase
- Deftly and with pizzazz
- Corrected: with deftness and pizzazz
Anaphora, Epistrophe, and Symploce
- Anaphora is the repetition of a sequence of words at the beginnings of neighboring clauses to lend them emphasis.
- Example: “To raise a happy, healthy, and hopeful child, it takes a family; it takes teachers; it takes clergy; it takes business people; it takes community leaders; it takes those who protect our health and safety. It takes all of us.” -Hillary Clinton.
- Epistrophe (or epiphora) is the repetition of words at the ends of neighboring clauses to lend them emphasis.
- Example: “…that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.” -Abraham Lincoln
- Symploce is the repetition of a sequence of words at the beginnings and the ends of neighboring clauses to lend them emphasis; a combination of anaphora and epistrophe.
- Example: “We should take comfort that while we may have more still to endure, better days will return: we will be with our friends again; we will be with our families again; we will meet again.” -Queen Elizabeth II
Asyndeton
- The deliberate omission of one or more conjunctions from a series of related clauses to affect the rhythm of a passage and make it more memorable.
- A well-known example of effective asyndeton is: Veni, vidi, vici. (I came, I saw, I conquered.)
Articles and Prepositions
- These should either be used only once or repeated with each term.
Articles “a,” “an,” and “the”
- Quickly, accurately, and in a detailed manner
- Corrected: Quickly, accurately, and thoroughly, OR in a quick, accurate, and detailed manner
Prepositions (of, in, by, at, etc.)
- In spring, summer, or in winter
- Corrected: In spring, summer, or winter OR In spring, in summer, or in winter
- Put the spatula on the counter or you can put it in the drawer.
- Corrected: Put the spatula on the counter or in the drawer.
Correlative conjunctions
- Both long and tedious
- Travelers must consider not only the cost, but also the distance
- Either my actions or my deeds
- Neither here nor there
Lists
- Example: We are interested in word meanings, pronunciations, correct spellings, and looking up irregular verbs.
Comparisons
- Example: Googling is better than the Bing search engine.
- Corrected: Google’s search engine is better than Bing’s search engine.
- OR Google’s search engine is better than Bing’s.
Why edit for parallelism?
First and foremost, faulty parallelism is grammatically incorrect and should be edited for correctness’ sake. As an additional benefit, editing faulty parallelism allows you to use parallelism to your advantage. Make the most of it to enforce and help your readers understand and retain your message.
Do you need a major revamp of your most important documents, but none of your staff have the time to dedicate to such a large project? Contact MATC Group! Our experienced and knowledgeable technical writers are waiting to help you deliver high-quality deliverables, on time and on budget.
Related Blogs
Punctuating Abbreviations: The Basics
The Importance of the Active Voice
References
Wikipedia, “Anaphora (rhetoric),” 10 March 2022. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaphora_(rhetoric). [Accessed 30 March 2022].
Wikipedia, “Asyndeton,” 14 November 2021. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asyndeton. [Accessed 30 March 2022].
Wikipedia, “Asyndeton,” 14 November 2021. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asyndeton. [Accessed 30 March 2022].
A. E. Underwood, “Parallelism,” 14 January 2021. [Online]. Available: https://www.grammarly.com/blog/parallelism/. [Accessed 18 March 2022].
Literary Devices, “Parallelism,” 24 March 2022. [Online]. Available: https://literarydevices.net/parallelism/. [Accessed 24 March 2022].
