Which concept refers to phrases or sentences of similar construction placed side by side to aid cohesion?

• A. Parallelism
• B. Repetition
• C. Topic sentence
• D. Learning style

Answer: (A)

Parallelism is the use of matching grammatical forms in corresponding phrases or clauses to create balance, rhythm, and cohesion in writing. When you line up elements with the same structure, the ideas connect more smoothly and the sentence gains a clear, rhythmic flow. For example, phrases like “to win, to serve, to excel” or “We came, we saw, we conquered” demonstrate parallel structure, making the sequence feel intentional and easy to follow.

The concept described—phrases or sentences of similar construction placed side by side to aid cohesion—fits parallelism exactly, because it relies on repeating the same form to tie ideas together and guide the reader.

Repetition simply repeats words or phrases, not necessarily in a unified grammatical pattern. A topic sentence states the main idea of a paragraph, not how the sentence structures relate to one another. Learning style is unrelated to sentence construction.