Parallelism (also known as Parallel Structure) means having a grammatical balance between related ideas in a sentence. You will often write a sentence that contains two or more points (examples, details, etc.); these similar ideas must be the same grammatical structure. In other words, nouns should be paired with nouns, gerunds with gerunds, phrases with phrases and so on. Always make sure the supporting points presented in your thesis statement are in a parallel form.
Not Parallel
- International students sometimes have difficulty academically, financially, and they find it hard to meet people.
- The hiring of foreign workers should be encouraged because it benefits society by creating work opportunities and it strengthens international relations.
Parallel
- International students sometimes have difficulty academically, financially and socially.
- The hiring of foreign workers should be encouraged because it benefits society by creating work opportunities and strengthening international relations.
Note that in the above example, the preposition "by" is shared between the two gerunds; however, it would also be correct to write "by strengthening". Remember that you have options when trying to maintain parallelism. The key is to be consistent.
The following sentences are parallel:
- He was able to captivate the audience because he spoke sincerely and passionately.
- He was able to captivate the audience because he spoke with sincerity and passion.
- He was able to captivate the audience because he spoke with sincerity and with passion.