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Using Parallel Form Exercise #1 [Main Heading] [Subheads] What's that you say? Now that you see a good parallel pattern, you'd like to vary it a bit, just for kicks? Sure. Let's vary the opening phrase of each sentence in the pattern, so we get "Open one door . . .Walk in one door . . . Pass through another door . . . ." Now we've put a little more life into those controlling verbs that introduce the parallel constructions. Want more life yet? How about "Fling open one door . . . Whisk through another door . . .Stride through another door . . . ." Want to shift your tone in the other direction, so the reader sees the conferenceer's energy and interest waning with door after endless door? How about "Mosey through . . . Slump through . . . Stagger through"? Want to make those last changes and also tinker with the repeated "you'll learn" part of the repeated pattern? Go ahead! How about "Mosey through one door and they'll lecture you on. . . Slump through another door and they'll steep you in the mysteries of. . . Stagger through another door and they'll convert you to . . ."? You get the idea. Once you master parallel form, you are free to vary elements of the pattern. How much of the pattern may you vary and still call it "parallel"? That I can't tell you in formulaic terms. But rest assured: as you become more mature in this technique, you'll see ever more clearly how far you can bend a pattern until it snaps and becomes useless. Good professional writers, like good philosophers, are good at seeing categories of things and how they relate to one another. Remember to use parallel form when dealing with coordinate elements on any level (words, phrases, sentences, headings). Variation within parallel patterns can add stylistic zip to your writing, but beware of embracing too many variations before you've mastered the parallel patterns themselves. This kind of advice applies to all kinds of things, doesn't it? A final note about parallel form: you've probably already reflected on the idea that visual patterns can be parallel, too. Bingo! What does that suggest to you about good page design for professional documents? Something very similar to what I've just been saying, I hope: visual parallel form can help users see categories of things and how they relate to one another. This goes not only for the visual elements of your pages, but for the typefaces and typestyles you use in headings and in all the text. Type is visual too, of course. But I'm going to have to leave off discussing this very important topic with you since, for the moment, my goal is to instruct you in professional writing style. |
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