Writing Effectively at The World Health Organization

Parallel structure

Parallel structure refers to the alignment of ideas with their presentation in a text. It is based on the principle that elements that are similar in function should be similar in form. For example, a report on the success of a project might include sections on the activities completed as part of the project, work that remains to be done and recommendations for a second phase. Since each of these sections would be of similar importance, each would contain a similar level of detail and be identified with the same level of heading. Another example: an email describing a new, three-step process could include three paragraphs, each one describing one of the steps. Since all three steps are important, all three would receive equal emphasis.

Parallel structure operates at different levels, from the overall structure of your document all the way to how you put your sentences together. At this point, your focus is on the document-level structure. Later, in the next section on Drafting, you will see the same approach occurring at the sentence level.

Recognizing the parallelism allows your readers to predict the form and the flow of your ideas. Have a look below at some examples of good and not-so-good parallel structure that is used to reveal the organization of different documents. Move your cursor over the document to see our comments on the documents.

Example 1: Long Report
Strategic plan for malaria control and elimination in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region 2006-2010

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