Parallelism: Avoiding Faulty Parallelism

Faulty parallelism usually results when you join nonmatching grammatical

forms.

Parallelism with Coordinating Conjunctions

• The coordinating conjunctions are and, but, for, or, nor, yet, and so.

• To avoid faulty parallelism, write the words that accompany coordinating conjunctions in matching grammatical forms.

Example

• NO: Love and being married go together.

• YES: Love and marriage go together.

• YES: Being in love and being married go together.

Parallelism with Correlative Conjunctions

• Correlative conjunctions are paired words such as not only…but (also), either…or, and both…and.

• To avoid faulty parallelism, write the words joined by correlative conjunctions in matching grammatical forms.

Example

• NO: Differing expectations for marriage not only can lead to disappointment but also makes the couple angry.

• YES: Differing expectations for marriage not only can lead to disappointment but also can make the couple angry.

Parallelism with Than and As

• To avoid faulty parallelism when you use than and as for comparisons, write the elements of comparison in matching grammatical forms.

Example

• NO: Having a solid marriage can be more satisfying than the acquisition of wealth.

• YES: Having a solid marriage can be more satisfying than acquiring wealth.

• YES: A solid marriage can be more satisfying than wealth.

Effectively Integrating Sources into Your

WritingBlending information and

ideas from others with your own writing

Integrating Sources• Before trying to

integrate sources into your writing, you need to have analyzed and then synthesized the material.

• Analysis requires you to break ideas down into their component parts so that you can think them through separately.

• The best time to do this is while you’re reading your sources and taking content notes.

Integrating Sources

• Synthesis requires you to make connections among different ideas, seeking relationships and connections that tie them together.

Using Quotations Effectively

Quotation--the exact words of a source enclosed in

quotation marks

Quotations• Although quotations provide

support, you can lose coherence in your paper if you use too many quotations.

• If more than a quarter of your paper consists of quotations, you’ve probably written what some people call a “cut and paste special”--merely stringing together a bunch of quotations.

• Doing so gives your readers--including teachers--the impression that you’ve not bothered to develop your own thinking, and you’re letting other people do your talking.

Quotations• Avoid using quotations

that are too long.• Readers tend to skip

over long quotations and lose the drift of the paper.

• Your teacher might assume that you just didn’t take the time to paraphrase of summarize.

• If you do need to quote a long passage, make absolutely sure every word in the quotation counts.

Guidelines for Using Quotations

• Use quotations from authorities on your subject to support or refute what you write in your paper.

• Never use a quotation to present your thesis statement or topic sentences.

Guidelines for Using Quotations

Select quotations that fit your message. Choose a quotation only in

these cases:• Its language is particularly appropriate or distinctive.

• Its idea is particularly hard to paraphrase accurately.

• The authority of the source is especially important to support your thesis or main point.

• The source’s words are open to interpretation.

Guidelines for Using Quotations

• Never use quotations in more than a quarter of your paper. Instead, rely on paraphrase and summary.

• Quote accurately. Always check each quotation against the original source--and then recheck it.

• Integrate quotations smoothly into your writing.

• Avoid plagiarism.• Enter all documentation precisely and carefully.