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SAT Reading and Writing skill page

SAT Parallel Structure Practice

Make items in a list or comparison match in grammatical form.

Practice parallel structure in Dolphin SATPractice questions
10-16 min practice time3 questions on pageStandard English Conventions
Practice time10-16 min
Question bank3 questions
Best forStandard English Conventions

What this tests

What to know for this SAT skill

Dolphin question bank

Practice your skill

Question 1 of 3Easy
Which choice is parallel? The program teaches students to plan, draft, and ___.
  1. revising
  2. revise
  3. revision
  4. they revise
Show answer and solution
Correct answerB. revise

Solution walkthrough

  1. Plan, draft, and revise are all base-form verbs.
Question 2 of 3Medium
Which sentence uses parallel structure?
  1. The job requires patience, focus, and being creative.
  2. The job requires patience, focus, and creativity.
  3. The job requires being patient, focus, and creativity.
  4. The job requires patience, to focus, and creativity.
Show answer and solution
Correct answerB. The job requires patience, focus, and creativity.

Solution walkthrough

  1. All three items are nouns, so the list is parallel.
Question 3 of 3Hard
Which choice best completes the sentence? The device is not only affordable but also ___.
  1. it is reliable
  2. reliable
  3. having reliability
  4. to be reliable
Show answer and solution
Correct answerB. reliable

Solution walkthrough

  1. Not only affordable but also reliable keeps the adjective pattern parallel.

Avoid these traps

Common mistakes on this skill

Matching meaning but not grammatical form

Items in a list or comparison should use corresponding structures, such as all nouns or all -ing verbs.

Breaking a correlative pair

With pairs such as not only/but also, the material following each half should be grammatically parallel.

Study plan

How to practice this skill in Dolphin

  1. Identify the items being listed, compared, or paired.
  2. Reduce each item to its grammatical skeleton.
  3. Revise the nonmatching item so all parts use the same form and logical level.
Practice parallel structure in Dolphin SAT

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FAQ

Questions about SAT Parallel Structure Practice

What is parallel structure?

It is the use of matching grammatical forms for ideas that serve the same function in a sentence.

Does parallel structure require identical words?

No. It requires corresponding grammar, not repeated vocabulary.