Question

For this week’s journal entry, please revise the following sentences so that they use parallel construction. 

1. Roma mystics are famous for their traditions of fortune-telling by reading Tarot cards, interpreting dreams, and they also look into crystal balls. 

2. According to some traditions, every dream is supposed to contain its own symbol of the past or can predict the future. 

3. When you have your tea leaves read, a true Romani will put a lot of effort into the ritual itself, including making the tea, selecting the appropriate China, and plays soothing music. 

4. Palm readers examine lines on the palm, fingers and their lengths, and the prominence of the mounts. 

5. Some critics of fortune-telling suggest that trained psychologists could also notice personal traits such as nervousness, that someone was lonely, or cheerful, which would also let them make reasonable predictions about a client's future. 

Next, revise the following sentences so that they show variety in sentence length and structure. You may need to combine sentences or expand the sentences with details to add interest and variety. 

1. Washington is the only state named after a president. Many cities and counties are named after presidents. 

2. California is bordered by the Pacific Ocean. There are many islands, waterways, and rivers not to mention the evergreen forests near the coast. 

3. The car battery would not start. The battery was dead. I called a tow truck. 

4. She was not like her sister in fact they were total opposites. 

5. Ricky Martin will remain my favorite singer although he has fallen out of fashion and I think he is terrific. He has done some free concerts for good causes too.

Answer 1

A. Parallel construction

 

1. Roma mystics are famous for their traditions of fortune-telling by reading Tarot cards, interpreting dreams, and looking into crystal balls.

 

2. According to some traditions, every dream is supposed to contain its own symbol of the past or a prediction of the future.

 

3. When you have your tea leaves read, a true Romani will put a lot of effort into the ritual itself, including making the tea, selecting the appropriate china, and playing soothing music.

 

4. Palm readers examine lines and their length on the palm and fingers, as well as prominence of the mouths.

 

5. Some critics of fortune-telling suggest that trained psychologists could notice personal traits such as nervousness, loneliness, and cheerfulness, which would also let them make reasonable predictions about a client's future.

 

B. Variety in sentence length

1. Washington is the only state named after a president. However, many cities and counties are named after presidents.

 

2. California is a state bordered by the Pacific Ocean. We can find islands, waterways, and rivers, as well as evergreen forests near the coast.

 

3. The car would not start and I think the battery's dead, so I called a tow truck.

 

4. She was not like her sister. In fact, they were total opposites.

 

5. Ricky Martin is terrific! He has done some free concerts for good causes. Athough he has fallen out of fashion, he will remain as my favorite singer.

 

In constructing parallel sentences, take note of similar usage of nouns, verbs, etc.

 

On the other hand, sentence variety let's you create interesting and well-organized sentences so the reader will remain focused on your text.