4.3 Parallel Structure

ACCUPLACER Suite Study Guide Exam

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1 Chapter 1: ACCUPLACER Suite Overview & Testing Mechanics

1.1 The ACCUPLACER Testing System & Computer-Adaptive Mechanics 1.2 Placement Policies, Score Scales & Institutional Cut Scores 1.3 Test-Taking Strategies, Tool Mechanics & Pacing

2 Chapter 2: Next-Generation Reading

2.1 The Reading Test Blueprint: Set-Based and Discrete Items 2.2 Information and Ideas: Close Reading & Central Themes 2.3 Summarizing and Understanding Relationships 2.4 Rhetoric, Text Structure & Author's Purpose 2.5 Analyzing Point of View and Authorial Purpose 2.6 Analyzing Arguments: Claims, Counterclaims, and Evidence 2.7 Synthesis & Paired Text Comparative Analysis 2.8 Vocabulary in Context & Figurative Language 2.9 Passage Genre, Content Area, Mode, and Text Complexity 2.10 Answer-Choice Traps and Evidence Discipline

3 Chapter 3: Next-Generation Writing: Expression of Ideas

3.1 The Writing Test Blueprint: Passage Sets and Content Distribution 3.2 Development: Proposition and Supporting Evidence 3.3 Focus: Adding, Retaining, and Deleting for Relevance 3.4 Organization: Logical Sequence and Paragraph Order 3.5 Introductions, Conclusions, and Transitional Cohesion 3.6 Effective Language Use: Precision and Word Choice 3.7 Concision: Eliminating Wordiness and Redundancy 3.8 Style, Tone, and Voice Consistency 3.9 Syntax: Sentence Combining for Rhetorical Purpose

4 Chapter 4: Next-Generation Writing: Standard English Conventions

4.1 Sentence Boundaries: Fragments, Run-ons, and Comma Splices 4.2 Subordination and Coordination 4.3 Parallel Structure 4.4 Modifier Placement: Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers 4.5 Inappropriate Shifts in Verb Tense 4.6 Inappropriate Shifts in Verb Voice and Mood 4.7 Inappropriate Shifts in Pronoun Person and Number 4.8 Subject-Verb Agreement, Pronoun Case, and Verb Forms 4.9 Possessive Determiners, Contractions, and Confusable Adverbs 4.10 Pronoun Clarity and Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement 4.11 Frequently Confused Words, Noun Agreement, and Logical Comparison 4.12 Within-Sentence Punctuation: Semicolons, Colons, Dashes, and Apostrophes 4.13 Items in a Series and Nonrestrictive Elements 4.14 End-of-Sentence Punctuation, Hyphenation, and Unnecessary Punctuation

5 Chapter 5: Next-Generation Arithmetic

5.1 Whole Number Operations, Estimation & Multi-Step Applications 5.2 Fractions, Mixed Numbers & Operations 5.3 Decimal Operations & Place-Value Conversions 5.4 Percent Calculations, Increase, Decrease, and Applications 5.5 Number Comparisons and Equivalents Across Formats

6 Chapter 6: Next-Generation Quantitative Reasoning, Algebra, and Statistics (QAS)

6.1 Rational Numbers, Absolute Value, and Order of Operations 6.2 Exponents, Radicals, and Scientific Notation 6.3 Ratio, Proportional Relationships, and Unit Conversions 6.4 Creating and Evaluating Algebraic Expressions 6.5 Linear Equations, Inequalities, and Systems of Two Equations 6.6 Linear Applications, Functions, and Graphs 6.7 Probability and Sets 6.8 Descriptive Statistics: Center, Spread, and Graphical Displays 6.9 Geometry for Pre-Algebra and Algebra 1

7 Chapter 7: Next-Generation Advanced Algebra, Quadratics & Polynomials

7.1 Advanced Linear Equations, Systems, and Coordinate Geometry 7.2 Factoring Methods for Quadratics, Cubics, and Polynomials 7.3 Quadratic Equations, Vertex Form & Parabolic Functions 7.4 Polynomial Equations, Roots, and Graphs 7.5 Radical and Rational Equations and Functions 7.6 Geometry for Algebra 1 and Algebra 2

8 Chapter 8: Functions, Exponentials, Logarithms & Trigonometry

8.1 Function Notation, Transformations, Compositions & Inverses 8.2 Domain, Range, and Interpreting Functions in Context 8.3 Exponential & Logarithmic Functions, Laws & Modeling 8.4 Right-Triangle Trigonometry, the Unit Circle, and Radian Measure 8.5 Law of Sines, Law of Cosines, and Trigonometric Equations 8.6 Choosing Your Math Test: Arithmetic, QAS, or AAF

9 Chapter 9: WritePlacer & WritePlacer ESL Essays

9.1 WritePlacer Prompt Format, Planning, and the Writing Process 9.2 The WritePlacer Scoring Rubric & 6 Core Dimensions 9.3 Reading the WritePlacer Score Scale: What Each Band Demonstrates 9.4 Essay Architecture: Thesis, Evidence Integration & Structure 9.5 WritePlacer ESL Scoring Standards & Synthesis

10 Chapter 10: ACCUPLACER ESL Placement Suite

10.1 The ESL Placement Suite: Structure, Scoring, and Score Interpretation 10.2 ESL Reading Skills & Passage Comprehension 10.3 ESL Sentence Meaning & Context Clues 10.4 ESL Language Use & Grammatical Mechanics 10.5 ESL Listening Comprehension & Spoken Contexts

4.3 Parallel Structure

Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI

The official skill is recognizing and correcting problems in parallel structure in sentences.

Items joined by a coordinating conjunction must share the same grammatical form: all nouns, all gerunds, or all matching clauses.

Correlative pairs such as not only/but also and either/or require identical structures on both sides.

Comparisons must compare logically equivalent things, not a thing on one side and a person or attribute on the other.

A repeated preposition or article must either appear before every item in a series or before only the first.

Last updated: August 2026

The Symmetry Requirement

Parallel structure: The student will recognize and correct problems in parallel structure in sentences.

Parallelism is a simple principle with a wide reach: elements that serve the same grammatical function in a sentence must take the same grammatical form. When they do not, the sentence reads as though it lost its footing partway through — and readers feel the stumble even when they cannot name it.

Parallelism in Series

Items joined by and or or must match in form.

✗ The internship involves drafting reports, client interviews, and to attend site inspections.

Three items, three different forms: a gerund phrase, a noun phrase, an infinitive phrase. Repair by choosing one form and holding it:

✓ The internship involves drafting reports, interviewing clients, and attending site inspections. (all gerunds)

✓ The internship involves report drafting, client interviews, and site inspections. (all noun phrases)

Either is correct. Consistency is the requirement, not any particular form.

The Detection Method

The fastest way to test a series is to read each item separately against the stem :

The internship involves... drafting reports. ✓ The internship involves... client interviews. ✓ The internship involves... to attend site inspections. ✗

The third breaks. This works because parallel items must each combine grammatically with the same lead-in.

Parallelism in Clauses

The requirement extends beyond words:

✗ The report concluded that the levee was undersized, that maintenance had lapsed, and inspection records were incomplete.

Two items use that ; the third drops it. Either repeat that before all three or use it only before the first:

✓ ...that the levee was undersized, that maintenance had lapsed, and that inspection records were incomplete. ✓ ...that the levee was undersized, maintenance had lapsed, and inspection records were incomplete.

The same all-or-first-only rule governs repeated prepositions and articles:

✗ The grant supported research in Ohio, Michigan, and in Indiana. ✓ ...in Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana. — or — ...in Ohio, in Michigan, and in Indiana.

Correlative Conjunctions

Correlatives come in fixed pairs, and the structures following each half must match exactly:

Pair
not only ... but also
either ... or
neither ... nor
both ... and
whether ... or
not ... but

✗ The grant not only funded the survey but also the equipment.

After not only comes a verb phrase ( funded the survey ); after but also comes a noun phrase ( the equipment ). Mismatch. Two repairs:

✓ The grant funded not only the survey but also the equipment. (noun ↔ noun)
✓ The grant not only funded the survey but also purchased the equipment. (verb ↔ verb)

The first repair is the more elegant move and the one students overlook: rather than expanding the second half, shift the correlative rightward so the shared verb sits before it.

Also note the fixed pairings. Neither pairs with nor , never with or ; not only pairs with but also , not with and also .

Parallelism in Comparisons

Comparisons must set logically equivalent things side by side. This overlaps with logical comparison in the usage category, and it appears on the test in both guises.

✗ The turbine's output exceeded the older model.

This compares an output to a model — a quantity to a machine. Repair:

✓ The turbine's output exceeded that of the older model. ✓ The turbine's output exceeded the older model's .

The repair devices are worth memorizing: that of (singular), those of (plural), or a possessive.

✗ Unlike most community colleges, the district's enrollment grew during the recession.

This compares colleges to an enrollment figure. Repair: Unlike most community colleges, the district enrolled more students during the recession.

Comparison signals that should trigger a parallelism check: than, as, like, unlike, similar to, compared with, in contrast to .

Parallelism With And Joining Verbs

A compound predicate requires matching verb forms in tense and voice:

✗ The committee reviewed the proposal and is recommending approval.

Past tense joined to present progressive. Unless the passage genuinely marks a time shift, make them agree:

✓ The committee reviewed the proposal and recommended approval.

✗ The samples were collected in June and the lab analyzed them in July.

Passive joined to active. Consistent voice reads better:

✓ The samples were collected in June and analyzed in July.

Why Parallelism Carries Weight

Parallelism is one of the few conventions errors that damages meaning as well as form. A faulty comparison can state something false — the turbine's output exceeded the older model literally claims a number is larger than a machine. A broken series can obscure which items belong together. That is why parallelism items appear across both the Sentence Structure category and, as logical comparison, the Conventions of Usage category.

A practical scanning habit: whenever you see and , or , a correlative pair, or a comparison word, stop and check that the elements on each side match in form.