As a reader, some writing is just satisfying. Nothing makes me happier than a well-written book. I appreciate you, writers! One of the things that I find the most satisfying is the use of parallel structures. It just feels right. As kids, we are taught to find patterns, and I think we just don’t stop. Kind of like how we try to find faces in inanimate objects. There’s something about parallel structure that appeals to our brains as we read. So, how do you go about writing something so satisfying??
Parallel structure is often about power and importance. Well-written sentences can show that two things are equally important, although they might be a bit different. Parallel structure can be used with words, phrases, or clauses. Simple lists are the easiest way to create parallel structure. For example, I like to eat candy, ice cream, and chips. I like all of these foods equally and this list allows me to communicate that with my audience (I even used an Oxford comma, but you don’t have to in your lists, unless it adds clarity!). My best friends are Carl, Yuan, and David. You don’t want to prioritize one friend over another, so the list is your friend!
Okay, that was the easy stuff. Now for the more complicated parallelism list: using gerunds. Refresher: gerunds act like a noun, look like a verb (they have -ing as the ending). For example, I enjoy hiking, skiing, and fishing. If you want your reader to see that things are equal, you need to use equal words (that wasn’t as sophisticated as it could be, but hopefully you get the point). You can’t mix verbs and noun and gerunds into one list; your reader will feel uncomfortable and confused. Like walking into a giant garage sale, it’s overwhelming! Keep you readers happy. So for example, do NOT do this: I like to ski, go hiking, and my dog. WHAT?! Your brain tries to understand how they are related, but can’t compute. So, make it better: I like skiing, hiking, and playing with my dog. Done.
I think this is a great place to let you know that verb tense matters. Use the same verb tense to create parallelism in your writing. Here’s what not to do: We ate pizza, will go for a walk, and hope it doesn’t rain. CAN-NOT-COMPUTE! Here we have different tenses, but also different topics/subjects. Don’t do it. Just don’t.
Level up: you can also create parallelism with phrases. What? Oh yes, it’s true. This one gets tricky, especially with a word count. For instance, I like to hike, I like to swim, and I like to bike. I like to hike, swim, and bike. In this case the to “verb“ combination is a phrase (a small, simple phrase), but it helps your reader to see the pattern. You could use either of the above examples and they would be correct. Here’s another example: For dinner we like to grill salmon and steam rice. Small phrases that are parallel.
More on this, you can also use parallelism with clauses. My teacher told us that we should read daily, we should exercise regularly, and we should finish our homework on time. See the phrases? We have subjects and verbs creating directions that are all equally important to that teacher. What would this look like with phrases? Read daily, exercise regularly, and complete your homework. You cannot mix. See: Our teacher told us to read daily, that we should exercise everyday, and complete our homework. Your brain feels uncomfortable reading that. Just don’t do it. Phrases with phrases, clauses with clauses.
Don’t mix and match. For example, He was quick, ate noisily, and he liked to wear red socks. Ekk! Awful! Break it up, use similar grammatical patterns, make it easy on the reader. How could we fix this? He was quick, noisy, and flashy. He walked quickly, ate noisily, and dressed flashy. Reword your sentences to make a smooth experience for your reader.
Words after a colon. This one seems easy, until you get into it. If you are writing a list after a complete sentence, you can use a colon. For example, Here are the house rules: lots of laughter, lots of candy, and lots of hugs. (If we weren’t using a colon we could write: The rules of the house are to laugh a lot, eat candy a lot, and hug a lot.) Maybe review the proper use of a colon and then jump into parallel structure within lists??
To have some fun and add variety into your writing, you could use a string of parallel sentences (basically, using the same sentence structure repeatedly for an effect). For instance, I came. I saw. I made it awkward. Or, I tried. I failed. I learned. You can have some fun with this one (but don’t over do it or it sounds like you’re a robot!)
Want some bonus information? Of course you do. You can use some parallel structures with conjunctions. You could use either/ or, neither/ nor, not only/ but also. This structure with these conjunctions allows you to create equal weight for your information. Not only am I a talented musician, but I am also a talented pilot. Not only do I teach dancing, but I also teach yoga. Either we go to class, or we fail. Either I come to work on time, or I get fired. I neither like nor appreciate loud noises. Neither space not geography interest me.
So now you are an expert (right?) in identifying, enjoying, and creating parallelism in your writing! Experiment, read it out loud, look at good writing, and ask a friend. You can do it!