Parallel Structure Practice A:

Yes, you do need to write the corrected sentences out

In the following pairs, one sentence has parallel structure,
and the other sentence lacks parallel structure.
Mark the CORRECT sentence.
1. A____ Jennifer is smart, beautiful, and loves everyone.
B____ Jennifer is smart, beautiful, and caring.
2. A____ Andy’s day is so long that he gets up at 6:00 a.m., leaves for work at 6:30 a.m., is eating dinner at 11:00
p.m., and goes to bed at 2:00 a.m.
B____ Andy’s day is so long that he gets up at 6:00 a.m., leaves for work at 6:30 a.m., eats dinner at 11:00 p.m.,
and goes to bed at 2:00 a.m.
3. A____ Bob was not only Sam’s roommate, but also he was his best friend.
B____ Bob was not only Sam’s roommate but also his best friend.
4. A____ If you go to the store, please remember to pick up your prescription, buy some shampoo, and to look for a
notebook.
B____ If you go to the store, please remember to pick up your prescription, to buy some shampoo, and to look
for a notebook.
5. A____ I spent two hours with Ms. Smith, reviewing my job performance, evaluating my goals, and discussing
my future with the company.
B____ I spent two hours with Ms. Smith, reviewing my job performance, evaluating my goals, and my future
with the company was also discussed.

6. A_____ Mr. Brown’s lecture was inaccurate, boring, and unnecessary.

B_____ Mr. Brown’s lecture was inaccurate, boring, and should have been omitted.
7. A_____ Most people play golf for pleasure, for exercise, and for social contacts.
B_____ Most people play golf for pleasure, for exercise, and so they can meet people.
8. A____ The most dangerous forms of transportation are bicycles, cars, and riding a motorcycle.
B____ The most dangerous forms of transportation are bicycles, cars, and motorcycles.
9. A____ Many people share the same three fears: making speeches, being in high places, and numbers.
B____ Many people share the same three fears: making speeches, being in high places, and working with
numbers.
Related sentence parts, such as items in a series, must be presented in parallel form.
Not all sentences need to be fixed. Correct the nonparallel elements in the following sentences:
10. She was healthy, wealthy, and a regular reader of my column.
11. He was handsome, brave, and the sort of person who would do anything for you.
13. In the facility construction stage, trees are often wounded by trenching, blacktopping, changing the grade, and
heavy machinery.
14. Recreation users inflict many wounds by pounding nails into trees, lantern burns, and damaging their roots with
vehicles and heavy equipment.
 Parallel Structure Practice B
Yes, you do need to write the corrected sentences out
On a separate sheet of paper,
Revise and Rewrite these awkward sentences to create Parallel Structure.
You can reword the sentences or even take words out to make them parallel.

1. The report was well-researched, concise, and it was also of great relevance to today’s world.
2. The researchers conducted studies, drew conclusions, conducted a peer review, and then a report of the
results was written for the public.
3. The legislative committee decided to review the research and also decided on inviting testimony from
experts.
4. Informing himself about the issue seemed just as important as to vote on it.
5. Now that the issues are on the table, the best approach is not to antagonize the opposition but getting
everyone to considering all the evidence.
6. When my classmate read the draft of my essay, she thought my supporting evidence was strong, but she
also thought that my weakness was my introduction.
7. As he worked on his essay, the student was thorough, hard-working, and thought about the issues.
8. She needed to know what the problem was, how to find information on it, and determining if the sources
were reliable. Some students enjoyed researching and reading more than the write-up.
9. Even though writing the essay was challenging for many students, they felt a sense of satisfaction and
more self-confident when they had finished.

10. “She likes reading the latest novels and to listen to music.”
12. “You will either listen to your father, or negative results will occur.
Rewrite the following paragraph, identifying where parallel structure rules are ignored:
13. To assess your effectiveness as a writer, consider whether your writing does the following. It should convey
your message with clarity, emphasis, precision, and style. It uses variety in sentence structure for good
stylistic effect. It provides organized, coherent, logical, insightful development of the subject. It supports
your main points with specific, detailed, compelling examples and illustrations. You commit no significant
errors in grammar, usage, spelling, or punctuation.”