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Parallelism!



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Tue Jul 21, 2015 1:48 pm
fukase says...



Parallelism!


Intro

Parallel grammatical structures are common not only in everyday expressions ---- sink or swim ---- but also in elegant prose. See how Jonathan Franzen uses parallelism in talking about a job:

Since I was paid better than the minimum wage, and since I enjoyed topological packing puzzles, and since the Geyers liked me and gave me lots of cake, it was remarkable how fiercely I hated the job -- how I envied even those friends of mine who manned the deep-fry station at Long John Silver's or cleaned the oil traps at Kentucky Fried Chicken.


The parallelism indicated by the underscores brings a sense of orderliness to a long yet cohesive sentence. Making similar structures parallel will help clarify your writing!

So, some of you might understand this topic already by looking at the example shown above, but I bet some of you still don't understand. Without much further ado, please continue to read.

Learning Time!

Pointers!

Red: Need to be repair/ Wrong concept of parallelism.
Blue: Correction/Additional words.
Green: Explanation for the confusing correction.


1. Parallel structures in series, list, outlines, and headings

*All items in a series should be in parallel form — all nouns, all prepositional phrases, all adverb clauses, and so on. Such parallelism makes a series both graceful and easy to follow.


Examples:

— The quarter horse skipped, pranced, and was sashaying. (sashayed.)

— The children ran down the hill, skipped over the lawn, and (jumped) into the pool.

— The duties of the job include baby-sitting, house-cleaning, and preparation of (preparing) meals.

*Items in a list should be parallel.

Example:

— Kitchen rules: (1) Coffee to be made only by library stuff. (2) Coffee service to be closed at 4:00 PM. (3) Doughnuts to be kept in cabinet. (4) No faculty members should handle coffee materials. (Coffee materials not to be handled by faculty.)

*Item on a formal outline and headings in a paper should be parallel too.

2.Parallel structures to pair ideas

*Parallel structures can help you pair two ideas effectively. The more nearly parallel the two structures are, the stronger the connection between the ideas will be. Parallel are especially appropriate when two ideas are compared or contrasted.


Examples:

— History became popular, and historians became alarmed. ‒WILL DURANT

— I type in one place, but I write all over the house. ‒TONI MORRISON

*To create an especially forceful impressions, writers may construct a balance sentence, one with two clauses that mirror each other.

Example:

— Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind. ‒JOHN F. KENNEDY

With coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet)

*When you link ideas with a coordinating conjunction — and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet — try to make the ideas parallel in structure.

Examples:

— We performed whenever folks would listen and wherever they would pay.
— Consult a friend (who is) in your class or who is good at math.

With coordinating conjunctions ( either . . . or, both . . . and, neither . . . nor, not . . . but, not only . . . but also, just as . . . so, whether . . . or.)

*Use the same structure after both parts of a correlative conjunction — either . . . or, both . . . and, neither . . . nor, not . . . but, not only . . . but also, just as . . . so, whether . . . or.

Examples:

— The organization provided both scholarships for young artists and grants for established ones.

— I wanted not only to go away to school but also to (live in) New England.

^*The edited sentence is more balance. Both parts of the correlative conjunction (not only . . . but also) precede a verb.

3. Including all necessary words

*In addition to making parallel elements grammatically similar, be careful to include all words — prepositions, articles, verb forms, and so on — that are necessary for clarity or grammar.

Examples:

— We'll move to a city in Southwest or (in) Mexico?

^*To a city in Mexico or to Mexico in general? The editing makes the meaning clear.

— I had never before (seen) and would never again see such a sight.

^*In the unedited version, had . . . seen is not grammatical.


4. Parallelism for emphasis and effect

*Parallel structures can help a writer emphasize the most important ideas in a sentence, as Joan Didion does in the following sentence:


I would like to promise her that she will grow up with a sense of her cousins and of rivers and of her great-grandmother's teacups, would like to pledge her a picnic on a river with fried chicken and her hair uncombed, would like to give her home for her birthday, but we lived differently now and I can promise her nothing like that.
— JOAN DIDION, "On Going Home"

The first two parallel phrases — would like to promise her, would like to pledge her — introduce a series of specific, concrete details and images that lead up to the general statement in the last phrase, that she would like to give her daughter a sense of home. Although Didion could have stated this general point first and then gone on to illustrate it with concrete details, she archives greater emphasis by making it the last in a series of parallel structures.

Hitherto, thanks for reading! Anyway, next would be the important parts:

EDITING FOR PARALLELISM

— Look for any series of three or more items, and make all of the items parallel in structure. If you want to emphasize on particular item try, putting it at the end of the series.

— Be sure items in lists are parallel in form.

— Be sure headings are parallel in for.

— Check for sentences that compare, contrast, or otherwise pair two ideas. Often these ideas will appear on either side of and, but, or, nor, for, so, or yet or after each part of either . . . or, both . . . and, neither . . . nor, not only . . . but also, just as . . . so, or whether . . . or. Edit to make the two ideas parallel in structure.

— Check all parallel structures to be sure you have included all necessary words — articles, prepositions, the to of the infinitive, and so on.

THINKING ABOUT YOUR OWN USE OF PARALLELISM

— Well, read carefully several paragraphs from a draft you have recently written, nothing any series of words, phrases, or clauses. Using the thing I wrote on this topic, determine whether the series are parallel, and if not, revise them for parallelism. Then reread the paragraphs, looking for places where parallel structures would add emphasis or clarity, and revise accordingly Can you draw any conclusions about your use of parallelism? Feel free to reply!

Spoiler! :
Note: I was only sharing the information that I read from a writer's handbook. I could, however, accept some questions about this, though, feel free to do so. If I did wrong, feel free to point it! If you want to add anything regarding to this topic, feel free to do so.
I love Koku.
He is damn cute and should be the main character
and not some lazy old man that supposedly genius but a sucker in his own life.
Koku is Koku.
Koku is CUTE.
~ B-The Beginning (A Netflix Anime.)
  








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