Parallel Construction

EXPLANATION AND EXAMPLES

According to the APA (2010, p. 84), parallel construction means writers present “parallel ideas in a parallel or coordinate form.”

What does this mean?

In essence, it means each part of your sentence must work grammatically, or be parallel, before and after the coordinating conjunction.

Writers tend to lose parallelism when using coordinating conjunctions in pairs (such as between…and, both…and, neither…nor, either…or, not only…but also) as well as when listing phrases.

Between…and

Correct:

I recorded the difference between the number of times students said they accomplished the first task and the number of times students said they accomplished the second task.

Incorrect:

I recorded the difference between the number of times students said they accomplished the first task and the second task.

Not Only, But Also

Correct:

Not surprisingly, the scores on the midterm predicted not only student performance overall but also student performance on the final.

Incorrect:

Not surprisingly, not only did the scores on the midterm predict performance overall but also student performance on the final.

Both…and

Correct:

The terms of the contract were difficult both to understand and to carry out.

Incorrect:

The terms of the contract were both difficult to understand and carry out.

Neither…Nor; Either…Or

Correct:

Neither the questions on the quiz nor the questions on the midterm appeared on the final.

Incorrect:

Neither the questions on the quiz nor to the midterm appeared on the final.

Listing

The following list exhibits parallel construction:

To pass the class, students must complete every assignment on time, must participate at least twice per week in the online discussion, and must give an oral presentation during the last week of class.

How do we know? When we break it down to match each element of the list with the root of the sentence, it reads like this:

To pass the class, students must complete every assignment on time.

To pass the class, students must participate at least twice per week in the online discussion.

To pass the class, students must give an oral presentation during the last week of class.

Here’s an example of a similar list that is lacking parallel construction:

Students who wish to graduate on time should consider taking a full course load each semester, should make sure to study on the weekends, and they shouldn’t party too hard.

How do we know it’s not parallel? Let’s break it down:

Students who wish to graduate on time should consider taking a full course load each semester.

Students who wish to graduate on time should make sure to study on the weekends

Students who wish to graduate on time they shouldn’t party too hard.

See how this last sentence isn’t grammatically correct? That’s how we know the list isn’t parallel. Luckily, to make it parallel is a simple fix:

Students who wish to graduate on time should consider taking a full course load each semester, should make sure to study on the weekends, and shouldn’t party too hard.

Maintaining parallelism means including verbs and preposition within each part, like this:

To pass the class, students need to complete every assignment on time, to participate at least twice per week in the online discussion, and to give an oral presentation during the last week of class.