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Parallel Structure: Skill in Context
Parallel structure is important not just for a grocery list that is easy to follow at the grocery store. It is also important in coordinating complex ideas so that they, too, are easy to follow. In the Old Testament, for example, parallel structure is used to clarify ideas; the repetition of structure helps the reader understand the meaning:
Some of the most memorable sayings are memorable because of excellent use of parallel structure. Consider, for example,
Moreover, parallel structure is a common feature of modern music, emphasizing the songwriter's ideas and helping us remember the words to a song. For example, in many of her songs, as in the excerpt from "Thank You," below, Alanis Morisette uses parallel structure to reveal the irony of her own self-discovery:
Using parallel structure this expressively in your own writing is not as difficult as it may seem. Try experimenting a bit. For example, use a negative to define a positive: "not __, but __." Or once you have a basic sentence written down, go back to it and see if you might add more information to the sentence using coordination: "She was exhausted," might become "She was exhausted after spending nine hours on her feet at work, sitting in rush hour traffic, waiting in line at the grocery store, and retrieving her kids from after school activities." When writing longer texts, see if you can find ways to combine like ideas using parallel structure.