In writing, a parallel structure demonstrates that two or more ideas or items in a list are of equal importance. Parallelism is accomplished by beginning each idea or item with the same part of speech.
For example:
On Saturday, Jeanine wanted to visit her mother, mow the lawn and the dog needed a bath. NON-PARALLEL
The first two of Jeanine’s desires begin with verbs. Readers would trip over the last desire in this sentence. The following example uses parallelism and is much easier to understand.
On Saturday, Jeanine wanted to visit her mother, mow the lawn and bathe the dog. PARALLEL
Using parallelism makes it easier for your reader to understand what you are trying to convey; mixing forms risks misunderstanding.
More examples:
- During the soccer tournament, Adam played quickly, excitedly and he was very happy. NON-PARALLEL
- During the soccer tournament, Adam played quickly, excitedly and happily. PARALLEL
- Carla is enthusiastic, hard-working and is a nice person. NON-PARALLEL
- Carla is enthusiastic, hard-working and friendly. PARALLEL
- Over the weekend, Kevin bought a new MacBook Pro online, two software programs, and arranged for free shipping. NON-PARALLEL
- Over the weekend, Kevin bought a new MacBook Pro online, ordered two software programs, and arranged for free shipping. PARALLEL
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