Parallelism
Read these two sentences:
The study collected data, ran the analysis, and produced a report.
The study collected data, the analysis was run, and a report was produced.
The first is effortless. The second makes you work. The first has parallelism. The second doesn't.
Parallelism is when you consciously repeat the same grammatical structure to create harmony, balance, and clarity. It is required with lists and comparisons/contrasts. Everywhere else, it is an ideal that we strive for because of its natural elegance.
Parallelism is everywhere in our world, from the natural to the manmade.
Photo by Christopher Michel
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When parallelism is applied correctly, the structure becomes invisible to the reader so that they can focus all of their mental energy on the content of the message.
When you see parallelism, it seems obvious and natural:
Parallelism in a list
Having these cultural characteristics means that the Dutch are relatively unaccepting of power differences, value their individuality and input, and prefer to solve conflicts through negotiation and relationship building.
My objections are, first, that the measure is unjust; second, that it is unconstitutional.
We administered 10 mg of this drug intravenously, then performed a CT scan 72 hours later.
Parallelism in a comparison/contrast
Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.
Surgery is recommended for high-risk patients, while therapy is recommended for low-risk patients.
Merchants, conquerors and prophets were the first people who managed to transcend the binary evolutionary division, 'us vs them', and to foresee the potential unity of humankind. For the merchants, the entire world was a single market and all humans were potential customers. They tried to establish an economic order that would apply to all, everywhere. For the conquerors, the entire world was a single empire and all humans were potential subjects, and for the prophets, the entire world held a single truth and all humans were potential believers. They too tried to establish an order that would be applicable for everyone everywhere. (Sapiens, Harari)
Parallelism across paragraphs
Autonomy was assessed with a three-item scale, based on Karasek’s (1985) job content instrument. A sample item is “I can decide myself how I execute my work”. All items were scored on a five-point scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always).
Opportunities for professional development were assessed with three items from the scale of Bakker, Demerouti, Taris, Schaufeli, and Schreurs (2003). A sample item is “I have sufficient possibilities to develop myself at work”. All items were scored on a five-point scale ranging from 1 (totally disagree) to 5 (totally agree).
Here, each paragraph follows exactly the same structure: what was assessed → how many items → a sample item → the scoring scale. That repeated structure lets the reader focus entirely on the differences in content, not the structure.
How to fix broken parallelism
The most common problem is a list where one item uses a different grammatical form than the others.
The method has three advantages: it is
The method has three advantages: it is fast, it is inexpensive, and it is easily replicated.
Participants were asked
Participants were asked to complete a survey, to rate their experience, and to write a short reflection.
Why does this technique work?
Writing means doing two tasks at once: generating ideas and shaping them into structure. Non-parallel sentences happen when we focus entirely on content and not at all on structure.
When the structure of a sentence mirrors the structure of the content, readers can place each new bit of information where it logically fits, quickly and effortlessly. Broken parallelism forces the reader to do that structural work themselves.
You can use parallelism to solve many writing problems. For example, parallelism can help you remove respectively, reduce wordiness, or call attention to one aspect over another.
"The likeness of form enables the reader to recognize more readily the likeness of content and function." (The Elements of Style, Strunk & White)
But when you are working to create parallelism from the chaos of your mind, it can be anything but easy:
How important is parallelism?
On a scale of 1-10, it's a 10: most important! Use parallelism everywhere you can. Are you struggling to add parallelism to your text? Ask for help!