This document discusses the concept of parallel structure and provides examples of parallel and non-parallel constructions. It defines parallelism as using the same pattern of words to show that two or more ideas have equal importance. The document then provides four examples of parallel and non-parallel phrases and sentences. It encourages the reader to fix non-parallel examples and confirms whether the reader's corrections are accurate.

1. PARALLEL
STRUCTURE
Riley Merrill, Jordyn Cardwell, Baylee Vancamp
You should probably
pay attention to these.
You can ignore
these ones though.
You don’t need to
know what they say.

2. parallelism
◦ Using the same pattern of words to show that two or more ideas in a sentence have the same level of
importance
There are a few
parallelism errors
throughout the
presentation…
find them

3. Example one.
◦ Not parallel:
I like to swim and hiking.
◦ Parallel:
I like to go swimming and hiking.
That’s a coordinating
clause… but you didn’t
need to know that.

4. Example B
◦ Not Parallel
Not only do I like to play fetch, but also chase cars.
◦ Parallel
Not only do I like to play fetch, but also to chase cars.
The words “but also” are
a correlative clause…
just… in case you’re
interested.
Also, I am a dog.

5. Example Three
◦ Not Parallel
I would rather pay for my education than financial aid.
◦ Parallel
I would rather pay for my education than receive financial aid.
Personally, I would rather receive financial aid.
I want ALL the scholarships!

6. Example IV
◦ Parallel
I need to buy milk, cereal, orange juice, and bananas.
◦ Not Parallel
I need to buy milk, some cereal, that orange juice, and your bananas.
That parallelism error is probably one
of the hardest to catch. You have to
watch! The parallel sentence came first.

7. Your turn! Fix it.
I like to do assignments and presenting projects.
It’s not hard.

8. Did you fix it?
It should be:
◦ I like to do assignments and to present projects.
Or
◦ I like doing assignments and presenting projects.
Or
◦ I hate homework and assignments are boring.
Hey.
I’m just kidding Nate:)

9. Fix this one too.
◦ This is a list; one, two, C, four, and E.
How’s it going?

10. Did you do it right?
The answer is:
◦ This is a list; one, two, three, four, and five.
Or
◦ This is a list; A, B, C, D, and E.
You’re not going to say anything? Fine.

11. Just because you’re ignoring me I’m not going to tell you what the parallel
mistakes were. So I hope you found them.