Parallelism

E. Siler

A Basic English Rule

• Whenever we put grammatical structures in a list of two or more, the structures must be identical in grammatical/structural type (form).

• This rule is called the rule of “parallelism.”• It’s important to understand parallelism if you

plan to do any form of professional writing in English.

• Slides, resumes, brochures, and technical papers are all organized around the rule of parallelism.

Understanding Parallelism

• It’s best to think of parallelism in terms of examples.

Example 1: Noun phrases

• Slides, resumes, brochures, and technical papers are all organized around the principle of parallelism.

Analysis

• Slides, resumes, brochures, and technical papers are all organized around the principle of parallelism.

• This is a list of four noun phrases. • Three of the noun phrases are plural count

nouns: slides, resumes, brochures. • The fourth one is a plural count noun and an

adjective phrase: technical papers

Punctuation

• Slides, resumes, brochures, and technical papers are all organized around the rule of parallelism.

• Note that the parts of the list are divided by commas (,) and the last two elements in the list are connected with “and.”

Parallelism and Other Structures

• Parallelism is not just a way to arrange noun phrases.

Example 2: Verb Phrases

• Sometimes we list verb phrases.• My laboratory experience includes:– Autoclaving– Extracting DNA– Operating the sanitary incinerator

Example 3: Adjective Phrases

• Sometimes we list adjective phrases.• Bilingual; US-educated; Experienced in hotel

front desk work.

Example 4: Prepositional Phrases

• Sometimes we list prepositional phrases.• Experience – In hotels– In restaurants– At amusement parks

• Experience in– Hotels– Restaurants– Cafeterias

Example 5: Clauses

• Sometimes we list clauses.• I interviewed candidates , recommended short

list candidates, and organized interviews.

Resume Mistake #1

• [ Semester long one-on-one mentorship opportunity designed to develop professional skills and preparation in professional engineering.]

Analysis

• [ Semester long one-on-one mentorship opportunity designed to develop professional skills and preparation in professional engineering.]

• Problem: The two elements listed with “and” are not in the same form.

• One is an infinitive phrase (to develop . . .)• One is a noun phrase (preparation in . . .)

Fix it!

• [ Semester long one-on-one mentorship opportunity designed to develop professional skills and (to) prepare for a career in professional engineering.]

• Solution: Now we have two infinitive phrases.

Fix It!

• [ Semester long one-on-one mentorship opportunity designed for the development of professional skills and preparation in professional engineering.]

• Solution: Now we have two noun phrases.

Resume Mistake #2

• Experience

• Shoe CompanyPayless ShoesPurchasing Agent Assistant

• Econometrics LabUnemployment Rate Research (USA) Fall

2010

Analysis• Experience • Shoe Company

Payless ShoesPurchasing Agent Assistant

• Econometrics LabUnemployment Rate Research (USA) Fall 2010– Each entry starts with the general place the person worked (shoe company,

econometrics lab).– But after that different types of information are listed!– The first one lists the name of the company (Payless Shoes) and the title of

the position (purchasing agent assistant).– The second one lists the type of work done (unemployment rate research) ,

the country in which that research applies (USA) and a date (Fall 2010).

Fix It!

• The types of information listed must be identical! • Experience

Payless Shoes

Purchasing Agent Assistant (Spring 2011)Washington State University Econometrics Lab

Researcher (Fall 2010)

Resume Mistake #3

• Languages: Mandarin (Native) English (Academic)

• Professional: SWOT analysis international law entrepreneurship analysis for companies the process of export and import.

• Computer Skill: Proficient in Microsoft Office.

Analysis

• Categories are not in parallel order:– Languages – plural count noun– Professional – adjective– Computer Skill – singular count noun

Fix It!

• Skills– Language (modifier)– Professional (modifier)– Computer (modifier)OR– Language skills (noun phrase)– Professional skills (noun phrase) – Computer skills (noun phrase)

Analysis

• Remember: When we have two things in a list, we combine with AND. In a resume we could also use a semi-colon.

Language skills: Mandarin (Native) and English (Academic).

ORLanguage skills: Mandarin (Native);

English (Academic)

Analysis

• Remember: Wherever possible we want phrases to be roughly the same type and length.

• Professional skills: – SWOT analysis: (compound noun)– international law: (adjective noun)– entrepreneurship analysis for companies: (compound

noun with prepositional phrase) – the process of export and import: (noun modified by

prepositional phrase.

Fix It!

• Professional skills: • SWOT analysis: (compound noun)• international law: (adjective noun)• entrepreneurship analysis for companies:

(compound noun with prepositional phrase) • import/export processes: (compound noun).

Resume Mistake #4

• Experienced specialist in International Business Bilingual in Mandarin/English Sales experience Illustration experience

Analysis

• Experienced specialist in International Business Bilingual in Mandarin/English Sales experience Illustration experience

• This profile has a number of problems with parallelism:– Noun phrase focused on the person (specialist)– Adjective phrase (bilingual in Mandarin/English)– Noun phrase focused on sales experience.– Noun phrase focused on illustration experience.

Fix It!

• Bilingual international business experience Sales experience illustration experience