Writing with Concord

Parallel Structure

Parallel structure for related ideas

Parallel structure for opposites
 Parallel structure

[W]e mutually pledge to each other our

our lives,
lives,
our fortunes,
our fortunes, and
and our
oursacred
sacredhonor.
honor.

Note the parallel grammatical forms our + noun

The repetition of the key word our adds to the

sense of order and purpose in the passage.
 Parallel structure for related ideas
Parallel structure can be used to connect single
words, phrases, clauses, or even entire sentences.

Duty, honor, country—those three hallowed

words reverently dictate what you ought to be,
what you can be, and what you will be.

nouns noun clauses

 Parallel structure for related ideas
Parallel structure is often seen in a series of three
items. In his speech “I Have a Dream,” Martin Luther
King, Jr., proclaims
And so let freedom ring from the prodigious
hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring
from the mighty mountains of New York.
Let freedom ring from the heightening
Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.

King repeats the key clause “let freedom ring” three

times, each instance followed by a prepositional phrase.

Each phrase also contains parallel elements:

from the + adjective + noun + of + name of state
 Parallel structure for opposites

Another technique of rhetoric is to

express opposites in parallel
structures.

Abraham Lincoln used parallel

structure to express opposites in
his Gettysburg Address:

with malice toward none,

with charity for all

with + contrasting nouns + preposition + contrasting pronouns

 Parallel structure for opposites
Here Winston Churchill expresses the contrast
between two systems of government by using
parallel structure.
The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal
sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism
is the equal sharing of miseries.

the inherent + contrasting nouns + of + noun

the + contrasting adjectives + sharing of + contrasting nouns

 Parallel structure for opposites

One special kind of parallel structure that orators use to

relate opposites is called chiasmus.

Like an X, chiasmus involves making two statements

that “cross,” as in this sentence from John F. Kennedy’s
inaugural address: A B
Let us never negotiate out of fear,

B A
but let us never fear to negotiate.
 Parallel structure for opposites

One of the most famous examples of chiasmus in

American rhetoric comes from the same speech.

Ask not what your country can do for you,

ask what you can do for your country.

ask + noun clause

what + subject + can do + prepositional phrase starting with for

 Parallel structure

On Your Own
The following sentences contain words that are not parallel in
form. Revise each sentence to create parallel structure.
1. Jen completed the test quickly, but her work was
incorrect.
2. Both nations agreed to stop fighting, and they are now
pursuing peace.
3. If we act on our emotions, then our emotions will perform
actions on us.
4. Optimists see the best in every situation, while
pessimists are seeing what is worst.

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The End