Writing with Concord: Parallel Structure

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Writing with ConcordParallel Structure
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What is Parallelism?

• It was the best of times, it was the worst of
  times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age
  of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it
  was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season
  of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was
  the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair,
  we had everything before us, we had nothing
  before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we
  were all going direct the other way - in short,
  the period was so far like the present period,
  that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on
  its being received, for good or for evil, in the
  superlative degree of comparison only.
• -opening lines from A Tale of Two Cities
• by Charles Dickens

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What is Parallelism?

• Also referred to as parallel construction or
  parallel structure, this term comes from Greek
  roots meaning beside one another.

Parallelism refers to the grammatical or
rhetorical framing of words, phrases, sentences,
or paragraphs to give structural similarity.
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What is parallelism?
Parallelism refers to the grammatical or
rhetorical framing of words, phrases, sentences,
or paragraphs to give structural similarity.
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Parallel structure for related ideas
Expressing related ideas in similar forms keeps
writing on track.
Like railroad tracks, these similar forms are
said to be parallel.
Parallel structure is the arrangement of
corresponding parts of a sentence or group of
sentences in similar grammatical forms.
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Parallel structure for related ideas
Some of the greatest speakers and writers have
used parallel structure to make their thoughts
memorable.
Thomas Jefferson ended the Declaration of
Independence with this memorable clause
We mutually pledge to each other our lives, our
fortunes, and our sacred honor.
We mutually pledge to each other our lives, our
fortunes, and our sacred honor.
Note the parallel grammatical forms
our noun
The repetition of the key word our adds to the
sense of order and purpose in the passage.
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Parallel structure for related ideas
Parallel structure can be used to connect single
words, phrases, clauses, or even entire sentences.
Here General Douglas MacArthur uses three strong
nouns and three noun clauses in his farewell
speech to the cadets at West Point.
Duty, honor, countrythose three hallowed words
reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you
can be, and what you will be.
noun clauses
nouns
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Parallel structure for related ideasNoun clauses

A clause is a group of words that contains a verb
and its subject and is used as part of a
sentence.
Subject
Verb
Part of a Sentence
Duane finished first
Duane finished first
Duane finished first
Duane finished first, and Scott finished last.
A subordinate clause (or dependent clause) does
not express a complete thought and cannot stand
by itself as a sentence.
Noun Clause
We did not realize that Duane finished first.
that Duane finished first
A noun clause is a kind of subordinate clause
that functions as a noun.
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Parallel structure for related ideas
Parallel structure is often seen in a series of
three items. In his speech I Have a Dream,
Martin Luther King, Jr., proclaims
And so let freedom ring from the prodigious
hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from
the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom
ring from the heightening Alleghenies of
Pennsylvania.
King repeats the key clause let freedom ring
three times, each instance followed by a
prepositional phrase.
Each phrase also contains parallel elements
from the
adjective
noun
of name of state
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Parallel structure
Identify the grammatical forms or key words that
are parallel in each of the following famous
quotations.
1. Among these rights are Life, Liberty, and
the pursuit of Happiness.
2. Government of the people, by the people, for
the people, shall not perish from the earth.
3. That's one small step for a man, one giant
leap for mankind.
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Parallel structure
Identify the grammatical forms or key words that
are parallel in each of the following famous
quotations.
1. Among these rights are Life, Liberty, and
the pursuit of Happiness.
In this quotation from the Declaration
ofIndependence, Life, Liberty, and pursuit are
parallel because they are nouns. The final item
is varied by adding a prepositional phrase, of
Happiness.
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Parallel structure
Identify the grammatical forms or key words that
are parallel in each of the following famous
quotations.
2. Government of the people, by the people, for
the people, shall not perish from the earth.
In this quotation from Abraham LincolnsGettysbur
g Address, of the people, by the people, and for
the people are parallel because they are
prepositional phrases. The repetition of the key
word people adds to the parallelism.
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Parallel structure
Identify the grammatical forms or key words that
are parallel in each of the following famous
quotations.
3. That's one small step for a man, one giant
leap for mankind.
In this quotation from astronaut Neil Armstrong,
one small step for a man and one giant leap for
mankind are parallel because both begin withthe
key word one followed by an adjective, a
noun, and a prepositional phrase beginning with
for.
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Parallel structure for opposites
Another technique of rhetoric is to express
opposites in parallel structures.
Abraham Lincoln used parallel structure to
express opposites in his Gettysburg Address
with malice toward none, with charity for all
with contrasting nouns preposition
contrasting pronouns
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Parallel structure for opposites
Here Winston Churchill expresses the contrast
between two systems of government by using
parallel structure.
The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal
sharing of blessings the inherent virtue of
socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.
the inherent contrasting nouns of noun
the contrasting adjectives sharing of
contrasting nouns
How does the use of parallel structure bring out
the contrast that Churchill is making?
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Parallel structure for opposites
One special kind of parallel structure that
orators use to relate opposites is called
chiasmus.
This technique gets its name from the Greek
letter chi, which looks like an X.
F ? ? O
Like an X, chiasmus involves making two
statements that cross, as in this sentence from
John F. Kennedys inaugural address
A
B
Let us never negotiate out of fear,
B
A
but let us never fear to negotiate.
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Parallel structure for opposites
One of the most famous examples of chiasmus in
American rhetoric comes from the same speech.
Ask not what your country can do for you,
ask what you can do for your country.
Notice the parallel structure that makes this
contrast possible. Both halves of the sentence
are parallel and contain noun clauses that are
also parallel.
ask noun clause
what subject can do prepositional phrase
starting with for
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Parallel structure
On Your Own
The following sentences contain words that are
not parallel in form. Revise each sentence to
create parallel structure. 1. Jen completed
the test quickly, but her work was
incorrect. 2. Both nations agreed to stop
fighting, and they are now pursuing peace. 3. If
we act on our emotions, then our emotions will
perform actions on us. 4. Optimists see the best
in every situation, while pessimists are seeing
what is worst.
End of Section
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Parallel structure
Possible Answers
The following sentences contain words that are
not parallel in form. Revise each sentence to
create Parallel structure . 1. Jen completed
the test quickly but incorrectly. 2. Both nations
agreed to stop fighting and to pursue
peace. 3. If we act on our emotions, then our
emotions will act on us. 4. Optimists see the
best in every situation, while pessimists see
the worst.
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Review A
Identify each group of parallel structures in
this famous sentence from President Eisenhowers
1961 farewell address.
To all the peoples of the world, I once more give
expression to America's prayerful and continuing
aspiration We pray that peoples of all faiths,
all races, all nations, may have their great
human needs satisfied that those now denied
opportunity shall come to enjoy it to the full
that all who yearn for freedom may experience its
few spiritual blessings.
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Review A
Identify each group of parallel structures in
this famous sentence from President Eisenhowers
1961 farewell address.
To all the peoples of the world, I once more give
expression to America's prayerful and continuing
aspiration We pray that peoples of all faiths,
all races, all nations, may have their great
human needs satisfied that those now denied
opportunity shall come to enjoy it to the full
that all who yearn for freedom may experience its
few spiritual blessings.
All Nouns
Noun Clauses
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Review B
Write three statements contrasting your thoughts
or experiences as a child with what you know or
do now. Make each statement parallel in
structure, and include one example of chiasmus.
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Review B
Write three statements contrasting your thoughts
or experiences as a child with what you know or
do now. Make each statement parallel in
structure, and include one example of chiasmus.
possible answers

• Then, I kept to myself. Today, I reach out to
  others.
• 2. As a child, I thought about play. As a young
  adult, I think about work.
• 3. If I did well, I expected some reward
• now I am rewarded by doing well. (chiasmus)

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The End