Friday, December 2, 2011

PARALLELISM



One of the most common errors I observe when reading essays is parallelism. I remember the technique that my teacher taught us to avoid that particular mistake. She said, "separate the words in  bullet points and identify if they are in the same part of speech or not". Since then, I rarely commit that mistake. Try this technique and it can save you from being criticized by others : )

CORRECT                                                    INCORRECT
 Katy Perry likes:                                              Katy Perry likes:
*fireworks                                                        *fireworks
*cherry lipstick                                                 *to wear cherry lipstick
*California                                                       *living in California

-STEPHANIE BERNARDO



 


17 comments:

  1. Parallelism is important in order to "balance" words that are in the same structure (e.g. noun).

    -Angenica Martirez

    ReplyDelete
  2. Parallelism should be observed carefully in constructing sentences to avoid vagueness with what you want to convey or say.

    ReplyDelete
  3. "One of the most common errors I observe when reading essays is parallelism."

    Why not just say:"One common error I observed when reading essays is parallelism."

    You can not say "the most" if it is only one of many.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sometimes, I fail to consider parallelism when I construct sentences. The absence of parallelism causes awkwardness and confusion. This tip will be very useful, Stephanie. By the way, your example is so nice. I love Katy Perry :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thank you for posting this. Now, it is easy to understand parallelism.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Parallelism is important so a writer can construct a sentence that is clear. When parallelism is in a sentence it is more easy to be read.

    ReplyDelete
  7. By using parallel structure, we both clarify the meaning of our writing, and add pleasing symmetry to it.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I often commit mistakes when constructing a sentence. Thank you for sharing your teacher's idea and also your post.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Jessica, your sentence is not parallel.
    The second sentence should be rewritten in this manner: Thank you for sharing her idea and writing your post.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Parallelism is one of our topics in English1. Thank you for sharing, it will be easier for us to understand parallelism when Ma'am discuss it.

    ReplyDelete
  11. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  12. "One of the most common errors I observe when reading essays is parallelism." I don't think parallelism is an error. Maybe you should have written "...is the neglection of parallelism". I think you could come up with a better replacement since "neglection" is very rarely used. Anyway, it's a very good post. Thank you for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  13. KC, I think Stephanie was correct. I think "One of the most common errors" is grammattically sound.

    ReplyDelete
  14. The tip you have shared is great. Anyway, we will surely discuss parallelism later on our course.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Your post is very helpful Stephanie. Thanks for sharing this! I usually commit mistakes regarding neglecting parallelism especially in speaking English.

    ReplyDelete

What do you think?

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.