By changing the independent phrase they are beautiful to the noun beauty , the writer shows the direct relationship between the words shade , shelter , and beauty . When used correctly, parallelism creates a flow and causes main ideas to stand out. Parallelism can be used by a writer to help guide the reader through the paper. Parallelism familiarizes the reader with the theme of the individual sentence, the paragraph, or the paper as a whole. Parallelism shows these similarities through the use of similar words, phrases, and punctuation.
Parallelism is required when using compound elements, comparisons, and lists.
Work through the following exercises to better understand the use of parallelism. If you need further explanation, please consult an English tutor. The following sentence demonstrates faulty parallelism. Meredith likes biking, swimming and to read. One way to correct faulty parallelism is to write out the elements that need to be expressed similarly.