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Parallelism

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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More on Writing in Style

A style manual will not cover all the grammatical and writing questions that you confront as someone who works for a tribal government. Even the most comprehensive guide will not tell you the proper way to address a tribal leader in a letter or which source will be used to guide you on the proper name for tribal governments.

These are questions that may require research and consultation with department heads. Once a decision is made, it should be documented in a style sheet. A style sheet is a supplement to the style manual and it should address spelling, grammar and other writing questions that cannot be answered anywhere else. It should be shared and used like any other reference.

Style sheets are fluid documents that are constantly amended and updated as needed. As with most writing style questions, there may be several correct answers. The key to a good writing style is to decide on one answer and stick to it.

Below are some useful sources that may help you in developing a style sheet for your tribal organization.

National Congress of American Indians Tribal Directory – This is updated regularly and is a good source for checking the proper spelling and preferred reference for American Indian and Alaska Native governments.

Websites for Tribal Governments

U.S. Government Web sites – These will help you with the proper titles for government officials, the spelling of names and the official names for various agencies and departments.

U.S. Department of Interior -- includes the Bureau of Indian Affairs

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services -- includes the Indian Health Service

Writing in Style

Have you ever had an argument with one of your colleagues over whether this word or that should be capitalized or whether to use a comma or not? Before you come to blows with your office mates, remember this: you both may be right.

There are many questions about grammar that can be answered in several ways, for example the capitalization of certain words, how to write time, or whether to use courtesy titles. These types of grammatical questions are called style questions. In most cases, there are several correct answers. The most important thing is consistency — within all your correspondence and documents, within your department and across your organization.

Most dictionaries contain a basic style guide, but more comprehensive guidance on style questions can be found in style manuals. There are several well-respected style manuals available; which one you select may depend on the type of writing you do. Most manuals will tell you how to cite other works within your document and give you some guidance on capitalization, italicization and punctuation. If you do very specialized writing, such as legal writing or grant writing, be sure to have an additional style manual that will guide you on the standards for that industry. Below are just a few of the commonly used style books available today.

GENERAL

The Elements of Style: A Style Guide for Writers

BUSINESS

The AMA Style Guide for Business Writing

Style Guide: For Business and Technical Communication

GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS

United States Government Printing Office. Style Manual.

LAW

The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation

Quotation Mark Usage

In the workplace, correct usage of quotation marks is essential. Today, you’ll get a basic overview of quotation mark usage.

Quotation marks are called for in the following situations:

• To note someone else’s exact written or spoken words. **Remember that quotation marks indicate that the words within the quotes are exactly what the person said — word-for-word.
• Shelly said, “I would never do that in one million years.”


• To note the title of short works or smaller parts of a bigger work. Short works include songs, book chapters, poems, articles, short stories and essays.
• “Wild Horses”: A song by the Rolling Stones

Remember the following tips about quotation mark usage:

• In the workplace or in research writing, it is crucial that your quotes are exact. Otherwise, you may state what someone wrote or said with an indirect quote.
• Direct quote: Carol said, “I absolutely hate this restaurant.”
• Indirect quote: Carol said that she didn’t like the restaurant.


• Always make sure that you provide closing quotation marks for every quote.


• Commas and periods should always be inserted before the closing quotation mark.
• Stacy said, “Insert a period at the end of that sentence.”


• Exclamation points and question marks should always be inserted after the closing quotation mark, unless they are part of the quotation.
• “Do you believe his luck?” Robin asked me after the lottery drawing.


• Colons and semicolons should always be inserted after the closing quotation mark, unless they are part of the quotation.
• If you remember one thing about what your father said today, let it be, “Don’t let negative people get the best of you”; but I understand that sometimes that’s easier said than done.


• When you need to use quotation marks within a quote, you should use single quotation marks for the interior quote.
• “I don’t usually listen to the Beach Boys but I do like their song ‘Feel Flows’ a lot,” Mike said.