What is parallelism and why does it matter?
Parallelism is about structuring your writing so that different clauses in a sentence, or different items in a list follow the same grammatical structure. It makes your writing clearer and easier to read.
Read the following extract from an insurance policy I just received. I needed to read it more than once to understand it. Can you see why?
Insurance policy extract
1.4 Policy Documents
When a Bond starts We issue the following Policy Documents to confirm the Agreement, based on the information given to Us by the Applicant(s) as part of the application for the Bond:
(a) the Contract Conditions Booklet (this document);
(b) a Contract Schedule which sets out the details of each Policy in the Bond;
(c) in this document where We mention Statement of Charges We mean the statement of Charges referred to in the Contract Schedule and any Endorsements. The Statement of Charges sets out details of certain charges, costs and limits at the Commencement Date of Your Bond; and
(d) any non-standard conditions, arrangements or supplementary information will be set out in the document(s) identified in the Related Documents section in the Contract Schedule or subsequent confirmation letter.
These Policy Documents together form the contractual conditions of the Bond.
Why is this extract difficult to read?
This extract contains a list which is not written in a parallel form. Paragraphs (a) and (b) follow grammatically from the introductory words ‘We issue the following Policy Documents…’ They are parallel and logical. But the reader stops abruptly at paragraph (c) because it has a different grammatical structure:
Paragraph (a) ‘the Contract Conditions Booklet (this document)’ is a noun phrase.
Paragraph (b) ‘a Contract Schedule which sets out…’ is also a noun phrase (with a relative clause adding extra information).
Paragraph (c) ‘in this document where We mention Statement of Charges…Endorsements.’ is a full sentence, not a noun phrase.
Paragraph (d) ‘any non-standard conditions…confirmation letter.’ is also a full sentence, not a noun phrase.
Revised version
Now try reading this revised version, where all 4 paragraphs start with a noun phrase:
When a Bond starts We issue the following Policy Documents to confirm the Agreement, based on the information given to Us by the Applicant(s) as part of the application for the Bond:
(a) the Contract Conditions Booklet (this document);
(b) the Contract Schedule, which sets out the details of each Policy in the Bond;
(c) the Statement of Charges (referred to in the Contract Schedule and any Endorsements), which sets out details of certain charges, costs, and limits at the Commencement Date of Your Bond; and
(d) the Related Documents (identified in the Contract Schedule or subsequent confirmation letter), which include any non-standard conditions, arrangements, or supplementary information.
These Policy Documents together form the contractual conditions of the Bond.