Transcript Parallelism: a mini

Mustang Minute
April 23, 2014
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Items Needed:
Writing utensil
Composition Book
Index Card
Semicolon/Colon
Notes
Lined paper for
notes
In your Comp Book:
• Imagine that you are
made Supreme Ruler of
the universe. What
would you do if you were
in charge of the world?
What would you change?
What would you
eliminate completely?
What would you want to
keep? Don’t forget to
explain WHY! Begin
with, “If I were in charge
of the world I would…”
Parallelism:
a mini-lesson
Also called:
Parallel structure
Parallel syntax
What is Parallel Structure?
• Parallel structure is repetition of the same
pattern of words or phrases within a sentence or
passage to show that two or more ideas have the
same level of importance.
• Parallel structure refers to identical grammatical
structure to create a rhythm and balance to
connect a flow of ideas.
• This helps to achieve balanced writing.
Churchill understood parallelism
• Winston Churchill did not say:
“I have nothing to offer but bleeding, toil, tears, and
sweating.”
• He said:
“I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and
sweat.”
Why is it important?
• Parallel structure helps to
organize ideas, making a text or
speech easier to understand.
• Parallel structure can also create a
satisfying rhythm in the language
an author uses.
How do I do it in my own writing?
• Repeat the same pattern of words at key points
in the text. Use parallel structure to organize
ideas within a sentence, as in Example 1, or
within a longer passage, as in Example 2.
Example 1:
Example 1:
• "Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears;
I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him." —William
Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
• Note: The author uses parallel structure in both lines.
In the first line, parallel structure equates three
different groups of society: friends, Romans, and
"countrymen." In the second line, the author uses
parallel structure with the phrases "to bury Caesar,
not to praise him."
Example 2:
• "I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live
out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be
self-evident, that all men are created equal…”
• “I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the
sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will
be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood... “
• “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in
a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their
skin but by the content of their character." —Martin Luther
King, Jr., "I Have a Dream" speech
• Note: Here, King repeats the words "I have a dream," in
order to emphasize his message and give listeners the sense
that his dream can be expressed in many ways, all of which
are equally important. King's repetition also creates a kind of
rhythm that works well in public speaking.
The Flight by Norman Mailer
• Foreman threw a wild left. Then a left, a right, a left, a left,
and a right. Some to the head, some to the body, some got
blocked, some missed, one collided with Ali's floating ribs,
brutal punches, jarring and imprecise as a collision at slow
speed in a truck.
• Across that embattled short space Foreman threw punches in
barrages of four and six and eight and nine, heavy maniacal
slamming punches, heavy as the boom of oaken doors, bombs
to the body, bolts to the head, punching until he could not
breathe, backing off to breathe again and come in again,
bomb again, blast again, drive and steam and slam the torso
in front of him, wreck him in the arms, break through those
arms, get to his ribs, dig him out, dig him out, put the
dynamite in the earth, lift him, punch him, punch him up to
heaven, take him out, stagger him---great earthmover he
must have sobbed to himself, kill this mad and bouncing goat.
Use prepositional phrases
• History will show that he walked away
with…with…and with…
• She walked down…through…and across…”
Example
• He spoke with grace, with eloquence, and with
passion.
Use who clauses
• She was a woman who…who…and who…
• An idea that…, that…, that…
Example:
• She was a woman who helped everyone, who
gave encouragement to all, and who had faith
in humanity.
Use infinitive to phrases
• Students need to help their troubled friends to…,
to…, to…”
Example:
• Students need to help their friends to withstand
peer pressure, to face adversity, to make good
choices.
Use whole clauses or phrases
• If we are to…, if we are to…, if we are to…, then
we must act now.
• This was a place where…, where…, and where…
Example:
• If we are to be free, if we are to succeed, if we are
to live, then we must act now.
Use participles
• …in _______ing, _______ing, _______ing
the…
Example
• Laughing, dancing, sweating, the girls partied
into the night.
Remember the purpose or Effect
of Parallelism
• Writers use parallelism as a rhetorical and
stylistic device:
▫ to emphasize ideas,
▫ to contrast ideas,
▫ to connect ideas.
LET’S PRACTICE!
On the back of your index card rewrite
each sentence to make it parallel.
1. Many gases are without color, odorless, and
they have no taste.
▫
▫
Many gases are colorless, odorless, and tasteless.
May gases are colorless, odorless, and flavorless.
2. Mr. Foster is not only an excellent barber but
also sings well.
▫
Mr. Foster is not only an excellent barber but
also an excellent singer.