Parallel Structure: A Strategy for Improving the Simplicity, Power, and Beauty of Your Legal Writing
“Use parallel structure here, for greater readability.” I don’t know how many times I’ve written that comment on students’ memo and brief drafts. I do know that the majority of those times, I’ve gotten this follow-up question: “Can you explain exactly what you mean by parallel structure?” It’s a hard writing technique to explain, which is why I thought this column on the subject might be useful.
My go-to legal writing style manual, The Aspen Handbook for Legal Writers, devotes five pages to parallel structure in its chapter on readability.[i] The section begins with a classic example of parallelism attributed to Julius Caesar: “I came, I saw, I conquered.” Imagine if Caesar had said instead, “I came, I spent some time seeing, and eventually I was the conqueror.” I doubt that statement would be remembered today.
Good orators have long recognized the simplicity, power, and beauty of parallelism. Here are three compelling examples.
- Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people. – Eleanor Roosevelt
- Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty. – President John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address
- We’ve seen the unfurling of flags, the lighting of candles, the giving of blood, the saying of prayers – in English, Hebrew, and Arabic. – President George W. Bush, Post-9/11 Address to the Nation
As legal writers, we can bring the same simplicity, power, and beauty to our documents by consciously and consistently using parallel structure. To that end, I offer this short primer on parallelism.
The Aspen Handbook explains parallel structure this way: “Parallelism requires that ideas or elements in a sentence are presented in similar or parallel form, so that adjectives are paralleled by adjectives, nouns by nouns, gerunds by gerunds, and so forth.”[ii] The Handbook describes parallel structure as both a grammatical requirement and “an opportunity to achieve balance and effect in writing.”[iii]
When we read writing that does not use parallelism well, we may have the sense that something is “off,” even if we can’t quite put our finger on what it is. Consider this sentence: “I expect you to conduct yourselves responsibly, ethically, and with respect.” Now consider this revised version of the sentence: “I expect you to conduct yourselves responsibly, ethically, and respectfully.” It took just one small change—from adverb, adverb, prepositional phrase to adverb, adverb, adverb—to make the sentence parallel. But doesn’t that small change make the sentence so much more pleasant to read?
Because there is no need for me to reinvent the wheel, I’m sharing here The Aspen Handbook’s approach to achieving parallel structure.[iv] That approach centers on four situations that require parallelism.
1. Use parallel structure for words or phrases that are connected by coordinating conjunctions.
There are seven coordinating conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so. (A common acronym for these conjunctions is FANBOYS.) Phrases linked by any of these words must be parallel.
Not parallel: The clerk is responsible for filing documents, scheduling hearings, and communication with attorneys.
Parallel: The clerk is responsible for filing documents, scheduling hearings, and communicating with attorneys.
Not parallel: I don’t like to get up too early or staying up too late.
Parallel: I don’t like getting up too early or staying up too late.
2. Use parallel structure for words or phrases that are connected by correlative conjunctions.
Correlative conjunctions are pairs of words that connect elements, such as either-or, neither-nor, both-and, and not only-but also. The elements that follow the second conjunction in the pair should have the same structure as the elements that follow the first conjunction in the pair.
Not parallel: Jane is both smart and thinks creatively.
Parallel: Jane is both smart and creative.
Not parallel: Not only do I expect you to be on time, but also you should be well-prepared.
Parallel: I expect you to be not only on time but also well-prepared. I expect you not only to be on time but also to be well-prepared.
3. Use parallel structure when making comparisons using the words than or as.
Not parallel: The attorneys for the first defendant were more effective than for the second defendant.
Parallel: The attorneys for the first defendant were more effective than the attorneys for the second defendant.
Not parallel: Judge Jackson’s opinions are not as well-written as those of Judge Hall.
Parallel: Judge Jackson’s opinions are not as well-written as Judge Hall’s.
4. Use parallel structure for lists, headings, and items in a series.
“When making lists, using headings, or placing items in a series, make sure the structure is parallel. Presentation must be parallel or consistent as well so that if the first heading in a document or item in a list is a complete sentence, later ones should also be [complete] sentences. Similarly, if the first heading or item is a clause, later ones should also be clauses.”[v]
Not parallel: The defendant’s argument is accurate, logical, and it comports with public policy.
Parallel: The defendant’s argument is accurate, logical, and consistent with public policy.
Not parallel: I am skilled in drafting documents, interviewing clients, and the use of case management software.
Parallel: I am skilled in drafting documents, interviewing clients, and using case management software.
The Aspen Handbook’s section on parallel structure concludes by offering several strategies for checking your writing for parallelism; I’ll quote directly here for precision and clarity.
- Examine words that appear on either side of the words and and or;
- Put words and phrases in columns to make sure they match in their structure;
- Read aloud and listen to the rhythm and sounds of elements to make sure they sound the same; and
- Consider introducing each element with the same word, such as by, as in
You can increase profits by cutting costs, by consolidating operations, or by reducing overhead.
If you like, once you determine the list is parallel, you may remove the introductory word (in this example, by) from all but the first word in the list.[vi]
In the next month, I’ll be working with my legal writing students on using parallelism more effectively to improve the simplicity, increase the power, and enhance the beauty of their writing. (See what I did there?) I hope you’ll give it a try, too!
[i] Deborah E. Bouchoux, The Aspen Handbook for Legal Writers: A Practical Reference 116-Id20 (5th ed. 2021).
[ii] Id. at 116.
[iii] Id. at 117.
[iv] Id. at 117-19.
[v] Id. at 118-19.
[vi] Id. at 119-20.
Laura Graham serves as Professor of Legal Writing and Director of Legal Analysis, Writing, and Research at Wake Forest University School of Law, where she has been teaching since 1999. She was the first recipient of the law school’s Graham Award for Excellence in Teaching Legal Research and Writing, which is named in her honor, and currently serves as president of the Association of Legal Writing Directors. Graham is a graduate of Wake Forest University and Wake Forest University School of Law. She welcomes emails from readers at [email protected].