WEEK 4: PARALLEL FORM - IN BULLET POINTS AND SENTENCES

CV: BULLET POINTS

Summer 2012 Sarajevo Film Festival Sarajevo, Bosnia Herzegovina Liaison officer for international guests Organised accommodation Arranged meetings and interviews Translated and interpreted (English-Bosnian) OR Summer 2012 Sarajevo Film Festival Sarajevo, Bosnia Herzegovina Liaison officer for international guests Organising accommodation Arranging meetings and interviews Translating and interpreting (English-Bosnian)

JOB APPLICATION LETTER: SENTENCES You can turn bullet points into sentences by using appropriate introductory words:
During my summer job for the Sarajevo Film Festival I organised accommodation, arranged meetings and interviews and translated and interpreted for international guests on a daily basis. OR My summer job for the Sarajevo Film Festival involved organising accommodation, arranging meetings and interviews and translating and interpreting for international guests on a daily basis.

REMEMBER TO STUDY THE ACTION WORDS VOCABULARY IN THE WEEK 2 PACKAGE See the CV section at the end. This will help you with both your CV and your job application letters.

PARALLEL FORM IN SENTENCES

ALL LISTS must be grammatically correct be the same part of speech (whether single words or phrases) bear the same relation to the governing words

A. VERBS - Lists of Verbs in Parallel Form:

must be the same voice are often the same tense infinitives must either be all whole or all base

Underline one incorrect verb form in each sentence. Correct the sentence in the space provided. 1. Jane likes hiking, swimming and to ski. ________________________________________________________ 2. Jane likes to hike, swimming and to ski. ________________________________________________________ 3. Jane likes to hike, swim and to ski. ___________________________________________________________ Jane likes to hike, swim and to ski. ___________________________________________________________ 4. Jane likes hiking and to swim. _______________________________________________________________ Jane likes hiking and to swim. ________________________________________________________________ 5. Jane likes to hike and swimming. _____________________________________________________________ Jane likes to hike and swimming. _____________________________________________________________ Jane likes to hike and swimming ______________________________________________________________

TO CHECK THAT SENTENCES ARE IN PARALLEL FORM, YOU CAN TURN THEM INTO BULLET POINTS. AND BACK AGAIN
Sentence examples are inspired by or adapted from The Owl at Purdue.

The following examples allow several variants because the verb to like can be followed by either an infinitive or a gerund (-ing verbal noun). X or

SENTENCE

GOVERNING WORDS

LIST

1. X INCORRECT X Jane likes hiking, swimming and to ski. Jane likes hiking, swimming and skiing. Jane likes hiking swimming to ski X hiking swimming skiing to hike swimming X to ski to hike to swim to ski to hike swim X to ski to hike to swim to ski hike swim ski hiking to swim hiking swimming to hike to swim to hike swimming to hike to swim hike swim

CORRECT

Jane likes

2. X INCORRECT X Jane likes to hike, swimming and to ski. Jane likes to hike, to swim and to ski. Jane likes

CORRECT

Jane likes

3. X INCORRECT CORRECT X Jane likes to hike, swim and to ski. Jane likes to hike, to swim and to ski. Jane likes to hike, swim and ski. TWO IN A LIST X Jane likes hiking and to swim. Jane likes hiking and swimming. Jane likes to hike and to swim. Jane likes

Jane likes

CORRECT

Jane likes to

4. X INCORRECT CORRECT CORRECT 5. X INCORRECT CORRECT CORRECT

Jane likes Jane likes Jane likes

X Jane likes to hike and swimming. Jane likes to hike and to swim. Jane likes to hike and swim.

Jane likes Jane likes Jane likes to

CORRECT VARIANTS - LIST OF TWO OR THREE: X3 Jane likes hiking, swimming and skiing. Jane likes to hike, to swim and to ski. Jane likes to hike, swim and ski. X2 Jane likes hiking and swimming. Jane likes to hike and to swim. Jane likes to hike and swim.

B. ADJECTIVES
X Your proposal should be clear, logical and persuade your audience. - clear - logical - persuade your audience X Your proposal should be clear, logical and persuasive. Your proposal should be - clear - logical - persuasive ALTERNATIVE: Your proposal should be clear and logical, and (it) should persuade your audience. Your proposal should be

C. ADVERBS

( It is more elegant to use either all adverbs or all adverbial phrases.) X The assistant was told to write the report The assistant was told to - quickly quickly, accurately and without unnecessary detail. write the report - accurately - without unnecessary detail The assistant was told to write the report The assistant was told to - quickly quickly, accurately and concisely. write the report - accurately - concisely ALTERNATIVES: The assistant was told to write the report quickly and accurately, and without unnecessary detail. The assistant was told to write the report with speed, with accuracy, and without unnecessary detail.

D. CLAUSES
X He failed because he always waited until the last minute to revise, he never completed his assignments on time and his concentration was low. He failed because he always waited until the last minute to revise, he never completed his assignments on time and he lacked concentration. He failed because he always waited until the last minute to revise, never completed his assignments on time and lacked concentration. X The consultant told them that they should hire a lawyer, that they should not enter the workplace, and to prepare for a long process. The consultant told them that they should hire a lawyer, that they should not enter the workplace, and that they should prepare for a long process. The consultant told them that they should hire a lawyer, they should not enter the workplace, and they should prepare for a long process. The consultant told them that they should hire a lawyer, should not enter the workplace, and should prepare for a long process. The consultant told them that they should hire a lawyer, not enter the workplace, and prepare for a long process. He failed because he (always) waited ... he (never) completed ... his concentration was low. X he (always) waited ... he (never) completed ... he lacked ... (always) waited ... (never) completed ... lacked ... that they should hire ... that they should not enter ... to prepare ... X that they should hire ... that they should not enter ... that they should prepare ... they should hire ... they should not enter ... they should prepare ... should hire ... should not enter ... should prepare ... hire ... not enter ... prepare ...

He failed because

He failed because he

The consultant told them

The consultant told them

The consultant told them that The consultant told them that they The consultant told them that they should

E. VOICE

DO NOT MIX PASSIVE AND ACTIVE IN LISTS

X Not Parallel: The salesman expected that he would present his product at the meeting, that there would be time for him to show his slide presentation, and that questions would be asked by prospective buyers. (passive) Parallel: The salesman expected that he would present his product at the meeting, that there would be time for him to show his slide presentation, and that prospective buyers would ask him questions. (active)

F. ARTICLES ETC

PAY ATTENTION TO DETAIL X You will be required to write a research paper, report and a proposal. You will be required to write a research paper, a report and a proposal. You will be required to write a research paper, report and proposal.

4 You will be required to write - a research paper - report X - a proposal - a research paper - a report - a proposal - research paper - report - proposal

You will be required to write

You will be required to write a

G. PARALLEL FORM PAIRS

both and not only but (also) either or neither nor

EXAMPLES GOVERNING WORDS She is They worked You can He likes PAIRING CONJUNCTION both not only either neither WORD/PHRASE/CLAUSE IN PARALLEL FORM kind diligently walk to the station to sing PAIRING CONJUNCTION and but also or nor WORD/PHRASE/CLAUSE IN PARALLEL FORM intelligent. extremely efficiently. take the bus. to dance.

You can also check the parallel form by leaving out the pairing words and diagramming the sentences as before: EXAMPLES GOVERNING WORDS PARALLEL FORM In her opinion he is both clever and handsome. he is clever handsome She wanted not only to travel, but also to work. She wanted to travel to work You have a choice of either chocolate or vanilla. (You have) a choice of chocolate vanilla With hindsight it is clear that it was neither a moral it was a moral choice nor a pragmatic choice. a pragmatic choice

TASK: Underline the words/phrases/clauses/ in the sentences below that are NOT in parallel form. Then correct the sentences by filling in the chart provided. 1. He spoke not only clearly but also was confident. confidently 2. He was neither arrogant nor did he act timidly. timid 3. She is both intelligent and does generous deeds. generous 4. The report concluded that the company was neither following the correct procedures nor installed the correct safety equipment. installing 5. You can either go to Zenica or be staying in Sarajevo. stay 6. The result was not only unexpected but also a disappointment. disappointing 7. We not only reached our target but it was surpassed. surpassed it

5 Governing Words 1. He spoke 2. He was 3. She is 4. The report concluded that the company was 5. You can 6. The result was 7. We Pairing conjunction not only neither both neither Word/phrase/clause in parallel form clearly arrogant intelligent following the correct procedures go to Zenica unexpected reached our target Pairing conjunction but also nor and nor Word/phrase/clause in parallel form confidently. timid generous installing the correct safety equipment. stay in Sarajevo disappointing surpassed it.

either not only not only

or but also but

EXERCISES
A Below are descriptions of job activities on a CV. The first one in each list is in the correct grammatical form. Make all the bullet points parallel in form to the first (1) in the following lists: Health Project Researcher (As Heath Project Researcher, I...) Examined a new mechanism to reduce sickness Gaps were identified in the research Went to Sarajevo University to survey students identified gaps in the research surveyed Sarajevo University students

Doctors at the Sarajevo Medical Faculty gave interviews interviewed doctors at the Sarajevo Medical Faculty Tasks: (My tasks included the...) Negotiation of terms of contract Delegated responsibilities Establishing penalties for contract violation Create bonus scheme delegation of responsibilities establishment of penalties for contract violation creation of a bonus scheme

B. The following sets of bullet points are from a report. They are preceded by a heading, in the form of the first part of a sentence. None of the bullet points below are in correct parallel form vis a vis the heading. Make all of the following bullet points in the correct parallel form for the heading provided. The Project Consultant should: managing the client portfolio a marketing survey to be conducted consolidation of the corporate identity manage the client portfolio conduct a marketing survey consolidate the corporate identity

Success will depend on the: research must be thorough how management responds to change whether the data are accurate employees must all participate thoroughness of the research response of management to change/management response to change accuracy of the data participation of all employees

Underline the words that are not in parallel form and correct them in the space provided.

1. It is important engaging your audience, to look at your audience and to involve your audience. _____________to engage________________________________________________________________________ 2.A successful presentation relies on repeated practice, personal passion and to deliver it smoothly. _________________________________________________________________smooth delivery_______________ 3. We need to examine the background, methodology, results and what is implied. ______________________________________________________implications______________________ 4. The problems we might face include disrespect between departments, resist to new technologies and insufficient communication channels. ________________________________________________________resistance_________________________ 5. We considered the possibility of either setting up a forum for discussion, make staff reports mandatory or restructuring the company. _____________________________________________________________making______________________ 6. The issues we will address today are the tight schedule, the high costs, and what the main drawbacks are. ___________________________________________________________________the main drawbacks________

COMPLEX SENTENCES: Make sure the list is BOTH grammatically correct AND in parallel form
In this example none of the elements of the list is parallel to any other element: X The marketing campaign was a success because of the appealing design of the poster, the leaflets were widely distributed and they engaged a popular celebrity for the television commercial. A. GOVERNING WORDS: The campaign was a success because of the appealing design of the poster noun phrase X the leaflets were widely distributed passive clause X they engaged a popular celebrity active clause noun phrase noun phrase noun phrase the appealing design of the poster the wide distribution of leaflets the engagement of a popular celebrity

OPTION A - NOUN PHRASES: The marketing campaign was a success because of the appealing design of the poster, the wide distribution of leaflets and the engagement of a popular celebrity for the television commercial. B. GOVERNING WORDS: The campaign was a success because X the appealing design of the poster noun phrase the leaflets were widely distributed passive clause they engaged a popular celebrity active clause passive clause passive clause passive clause the poster was designed appealingly the leaflets were widely distributed a popular celebrity was engaged

OPTION B - PASSIVE CLAUSES: The marketing campaign was a success because the poster was designed appealingly, the leaflets were widely distributed and a popular celebrity was engaged for the television commercial. C. GOVERNING WORDS: The campaign was a success because X the appealing design of the poster noun phrase the leaflets were widely distributed passive clause they engaged a popular celebrity active clause active clause active clause active clause the poster had an appealing design they distributed the leaflets widely they engaged a popular celebrity

OPTION C - ACTIVE CLAUSES: The marketing campaign was a success because the poster had an appealing design, they distributed the leaflets widely and they engaged a popular celebrity for the television commercial.