Parallel Structure expresses
similar ideas in similar grammatical form.
Not parallel:
Jane is tall, blond, and with blue eyes
Parallel:
Jan is tall, blond, and blue-eyed.
Use similar grammatical form for:
Items
in a series:
Not
parallel:
In spincasting, your stance, how
you hold the
rod, and the
way in which you swing
may
affect distance and accuracy.
Parallel:
In spincasting, your stance, your manner of
holding
the rod, and your swing may affect
distance and accuracy.
Not
parallel:
He asked me to return his bike
and that I
should
lock it up.
Parallel:
He asked me to return his bike and to lock
it up.
OR
He asked that I return his bike
and that I lock it up.
Items
to be compared:
Not
parallel:
I like tennis better than to play indoor games.
Parallel:
I like tennis better than indoor
games.
Sentence
parts separated by double conjunction:
(either…or,
neither…nor, both…and,
not only…but also)
Not parallel: I like either football or taking part in track events
Parallel:
I like either football or track events.