Pick up points with parallelism!
Hey SAT Scholars! 📚🎓
Today, we're diving into the wonderful world of parallelism, a sneaky grammar concept that might just pop up on your SAT. Don't sweat it; we'll break it down and arm you with the skills to conquer it!
What's Parallelism? 🔀
Parallelism is all about balance. When constructing sentences, it's crucial to maintain consistency in structure. This means if you start a list or a comparison in one way, you must follow through with the same structure. No flip-flopping allowed!
Exercise 1: Spot the Parallelism Issue 🕵️
Identify the problem in the following sentence:
She likes dancing, to swim, and going to the movies.
Explanation: The issue here is that the sentence mixes verb forms. It starts with "likes dancing," which is a gerund (a verb form ending in -ing), but then it switches to "to swim" (an infinitive) and "going to the movies" (a gerund). To fix this, make all items in the list follow the same structure. For example, you could say, "She likes dancing, swimming, and going to the movies."
Exercise 2: Rewrite for Parallelism 📝
Rewrite the sentence for parallel structure:
They enjoy reading, hiking, and to play video games.
Explanation: In this sentence, the parallelism issue is similar to the first exercise. To make it parallel, change "to play video games" to "playing video games." The corrected sentence would be: "They enjoy reading, hiking, and playing video games."
Exercise 3: Parallelism in Comparisons ⚖️
Identify the problem in this comparison:
John is taller than his brother, faster than his cousin, and the smartest of all his friends.
Explanation: This sentence has a parallelism problem because the first two comparisons are adjective + than, but the last comparison is structured differently. To make it parallel, you can say, "John is taller than his brother, faster than his cousin, and smarter than all his friends."
Why Parallelism Matters on the SAT 🤓
Perfecting parallelism can earn you easy points on the SAT Writing and Language section. It's not just about grammar; it's about effective communication. It helps you express ideas clearly and maintain consistency, making your writing more polished.
So, keep your sentences in balance, SAT champs! Whether you're listing items, making comparisons, or constructing complex sentences, parallelism is your secret weapon to rock that SAT Writing section.
Keep practicing, and you'll be a parallelism pro in no time! And for help, contact us today for a trial session and see what a difference working with District Scholars can make! 📝👊
Happy studying! 📚🤓