Second Semester
Parallel StructurePersonal Narrative EssayPoetry of World War IDescriptive EssayAnimal Farm and allegoryNight by Elie WieselEssayAbsurdism and ExistentialismMacbeth
Everything turned out all right.
Everything turned out alright.
I need to wash my hair everyday.
I need to wash my hair every day.
My dad walked into my high school.
Dad walked into Skyline High School.
Pleasure PrincipleIs the Id
Atomic weapons and Lord of the Flies
The Albatross
metaphor for poets
Writing with ConcordParallel Structure
Parallel structure for related ideas
Parallel structure for opposites
Review A
Review B
Expressing related ideas in similar forms keeps writing on track.
Parallel structure for related ideas
Like railroad tracks, these similar forms are said to be parallel.
Parallel structure is the arrangement of corresponding parts of a sentence or group of sentences in similar grammatical forms.
Parallel structure for related ideas
Some of the greatest speakers and writers have used parallel structure to make their thoughts memorable.
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.
Thomas Jefferson ended the Declaration of Independence with this memorable clause:
[W]e mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.[W]e mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.
Parallel structure can be used to connect single words, phrases, clauses, or even entire sentences.
Parallel structure for related ideas
noun clauses
Here General Douglas MacArthur uses three strong nouns and three noun clauses in his farewell speech to the cadets at West Point.
Duty, honor, country—those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, and what you will be.
nouns
King repeats the key clause “let freedom ring” three times, each instance followed by a
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
prepositional phrase.
Each phrase also contains parallel elements:
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.
from the + adjective + noun + of + name of state
Parallel structure for opposites
Another technique of rhetoric is to express opposites in parallel structures.
with + contrasting nouns + preposition + contrasting pronouns
With malice toward none,
with charity for all
Abraham Lincoln used parallel structure to express opposites in his second inaugural address:
Parallel structure for opposites
the + contrasting adjectives + sharing of + contrasting nouns
The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.
Here Winston Churchill expresses the contrast between two systems of government by using parallel structure.
the inherent + contrasting nouns + of + noun
How does the use of parallel structure bring out the contrast that Churchill is making?
One special kind of parallel structure that orators use to relate opposites is called chiasmus.
Parallel structure for opposites
Let us never negotiate out of fear,
This technique gets its name from the Greek letter chi, which looks like an X.
Like an X, chiasmus involves making two statements that “cross,” as in this sentence from John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address:
but let us never fear to negotiate.
A
Φ Χ Ψ Ω
B
B A
One of the most famous examples of chiasmus in American rhetoric comes from the same speech.
Notice the parallel structure that makes this contrast possible. Both halves of the sentence are parallel and contain noun clauses that are also parallel.
Parallel structure for opposites
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
[End of Section]
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.
On Your Own
To all the peoples of the world, I once more give
expression to America's prayerful and continuing
aspiration: We pray that peoples of all faiths, all races,
all nations, may have their great human needs
satisfied; that those now denied opportunity shall
come to enjoy it to the full; that all who yearn for
freedom may experience its few spiritual blessings.
Review A
Identify each group of parallel structures in this famous sentence from President Eisenhower’s 1961 farewell address.
Review B
Write three statements contrasting your thoughts or experiences as a child with what you know or do now. Make each statement parallel in structure, and include one example of chiasmus.
Personal Narrative Essay
Personal Narrative Essay
Many college entrance essays, scholarship essays, and special programs require some kind of personal “story”.
This is an opportunity for practice of this kind
of essay.
Personal Narrative Essay
ExpositoryDescriptivePersuasiveNarrative
Personal Narrative Essay
DialogueThesis: has a point
Tell a story
The End