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Mustang Minute April 23, 2014. Items Needed: Writing utensil Composition Book Index Card Semicolon/Colon Notes Lined paper for notes. In your Comp Book:
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Mustang MinuteApril 23, 2014 Items Needed: • Writing utensil • Composition Book • Index Card • Semicolon/Colon Notes • Lined paper for notes In your Comp Book: • Imagine that you are made Supreme Ruler of the universe. What would you do if you were in charge of the world? What would you change? What would you eliminate completely? What would you want to keep? Don’t forget to explain WHY! Begin with, “If I were in charge of the world I would…”
Parallelism:a mini-lesson Also called: Parallel structure Parallel syntax
What is Parallel Structure? • Parallel structure is repetition of the same pattern of words or phrases within a sentence or passage to show that two or more ideas have the same level of importance. • Parallel structure refers to identical grammatical structure to create a rhythm and balance to connect a flow of ideas. • This helps to achieve balanced writing.
Churchill understood parallelism • Winston Churchill did not say: “I have nothing to offer but bleeding, toil, tears, and sweating.” • He said: “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.”
Why is it important? • Parallel structure helps to organize ideas, making a text or speech easier to understand. • Parallel structure can also create a satisfying rhythm in the language an author uses.
How do I do it in my own writing? • Repeat the same pattern of words at key points in the text. Use parallel structure to organize ideas within a sentence, as in Example 1, or within a longer passage, as in Example 2.
Example 1: Example 1: • "Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears;I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him." —William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar • Note: The author uses parallel structure in both lines. In the first line, parallel structure equates three different groups of society: friends, Romans, and "countrymen." In the second line, the author uses parallel structure with the phrases "to bury Caesar, not to praise him."
Example 2: • "I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…” • “I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood... “ • “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." —Martin Luther King, Jr., "I Have a Dream" speech • Note: Here, King repeats the words "I have a dream," in order to emphasize his message and give listeners the sense that his dream can be expressed in many ways, all of which are equally important. King's repetition also creates a kind of rhythm that works well in public speaking.
The Flight by Norman Mailer • Foreman threw a wild left. Then a left, a right, a left, a left, and a right. Some to the head, some to the body, some got blocked, some missed, one collided with Ali's floating ribs, brutal punches, jarring and imprecise as a collision at slow speed in a truck. • Across that embattled short space Foreman threw punches in barrages of four and six and eight and nine, heavy maniacal slamming punches, heavy as the boom of oaken doors, bombs to the body, bolts to the head, punching until he could not breathe, backing off to breathe again and come in again, bomb again, blast again, drive and steam and slam the torso in front of him, wreck him in the arms, break through those arms, get to his ribs, dig him out, dig him out, put the dynamite in the earth, lift him, punch him, punch him up to heaven, take him out, stagger him---great earthmover he must have sobbed to himself, kill this mad and bouncing goat.
Use prepositional phrases • History will show that he walked away with…with…and with… • She walked down…through…and across…” Example • He spoke with grace, with eloquence, and with passion.
Use who clauses • She was a woman who…who…and who… • An idea that…, that…, that… Example: • She was a woman who helped everyone, who gave encouragement to all, and who had faith in humanity.
Use infinitive to phrases • Students need to help their troubled friends to…, to…, to…” Example: • Students need to help their friends to withstand peer pressure, to face adversity, to make good choices.
Use whole clauses or phrases • If we are to…, if we are to…, if we are to…, then we must act now. • This was a place where…, where…, and where… Example: • If we are to be free, if we are to succeed, if we are to live, then we must act now.
Use participles • …in _______ing, _______ing, _______ing the… Example • Laughing, dancing, sweating, the girls partied into the night.
Remember the purpose or Effect of Parallelism • Writers use parallelism as a rhetorical and stylistic device: • to emphasize ideas, • to contrast ideas, • to connect ideas.
LET’S PRACTICE!On the back of your index card rewrite each sentence to make it parallel. • Many gases are without color, odorless, and they have no taste. • Many gases are colorless, odorless, and tasteless. • May gases are colorless, odorless, and flavorless. • Mr. Foster is not only an excellent barber but also sings well. • Mr. Foster is not only an excellent barber but also an excellent singer.
