The Best Way To Ensure Parallel Construction in Your Essay is To Use Similar

The Best Way To Ensure Parallel Construction in Your Essay is To Use Similar

Parallel construction, also known as parallelism, is an essential writing technique that helps to improve the clarity and coherence of your essay. It involves using a consistent grammatical structure to express similar ideas or information within a sentence, paragraph, or entire essay. Parallel construction creates a rhythm and flow that makes your writing more pleasing to read and easier to understand. In this article, we will discuss the best ways to ensure parallel construction in your essay.

Use Parallel Structures for Lists

One of the easiest ways to use parallel construction in your essay is to create a list of items that have the same grammatical structure. This could include a list of adjectives, nouns, verbs, or phrases. For example:

Incorrect: The new restaurant serves delicious food, has a great atmosphere, and the waitstaff is friendly.

Correct: The new restaurant serves delicious food, has a great atmosphere, and employs friendly waitstaff.

In the incorrect example, the last item in the list changes the grammatical structure and breaks the parallelism. In the correct example, all items in the list are structured the same way, which creates a smoother flow and improves clarity.

Use Parallel Structures for Comparisons

When making comparisons in your essay, it's important to use parallel structures to ensure that the comparison is clear and easy to understand. For example:

Incorrect: The new restaurant is more expensive than the old one, has better food, and the service is faster.

Correct: The new restaurant is more expensive than the old one, has better food, and provides faster service.

In the incorrect example, the third item in the list changes the grammatical structure, which makes the comparison unclear. In the correct example, all items are structured the same way, which makes the comparison clear and effective.

Conjunctions such as "and," "or," and "but" can connect two or more ideas within a sentence or paragraph. To ensure parallelism, it's essential to use the same grammatical structure for each idea that is connected. For example:

Incorrect: I like to go hiking, swimming, and reading.

Correct: I like to go hiking, swimming, and reading books.

In the incorrect example, the last item in the list changes the grammatical structure, which breaks the parallelism. In the correct example, all items in the list are structured the same way, which creates a smoother flow and improves clarity.

Use Parallel Structures for Clauses

Parallelism can also be applied to clauses in your essay. A clause is a group of words that includes a subject and a predicate. To ensure parallelism, all clauses within a sentence should have the same grammatical structure. For example:

Incorrect: The new restaurant is more expensive than the old one, has better food, and the service is faster than the old one.

Correct: The new restaurant is more expensive than the old one, has better food, and provides faster service.

In the incorrect example, the third clause changes the grammatical structure, which breaks the parallelism. In the correct example, all clauses are structured the same way, which creates a smoother flow and improves clarity.

In conclusion, using parallel construction is an effective way to improve the clarity and coherence of your essay. By using consistent grammatical structures for lists, comparisons, conjunctions, and clauses, you can create a smoother flow and make your writing more pleasing to read. Remember to proofread your work carefully to ensure that you have used parallelism consistently throughout your essay.