Parallelism

Parallelism refers to using elements in sentences that are grammatically similar or identical in structure, sound, meaning or meter. This techniques adds symmetry, effectiveness and balance to the written piece.

Compare the following examples:

• Lacking parallelism: She likes singing, dancing, and to read.
• Lacking parallelism: He likes to jog and running.

• Parallel: She likes singing, dancing and reading.
• Parallel: She likes to sing, dance, and read.
• Parallel: He likes to jog and run.
• Parallel: He likes jogging and running.

In the above example, the first sentence has two gerunds and one infinitive. To make it parallel, the sentence can be written with three gerunds or three infinitives.

• Lacking parallelism: The boy ran around the yard, jumped over the fence, and down the alley he sprinted.
• Parallel: The boy ran aroun the yard, jumped over the fence, and sprinted down the alley.

The first nonparallel example, while inelegantly worded, is grammatically correct: "singing", "dancing", and "to read" are all grammatically valid conclusions to "she likes." The second nonparallel example is not grammatically correct: "down the alley he sprinted" is not a grammatically valid conclusion to "the boy".