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RHETORICAL SKILLSWAYS TO COORDINATE AND SUBORDINATEIDEAS IN THE SENTENCEUse coordination to link ideas of equal weight1. Join main clauses with a comma and a coordinatingconjunction (and, but, for, or, yet, so).The Gulf War liberated Kuwait, and it lifted thehearts of millions of Americans.2. Join main clauses with a semicolon alone or a semicolonused with a conjunctive adverb: although, nevertheless,therefore, however, consequently, etc.He was very aware of the dangers of smoking;nevertheless he continued to smoke two packs aday.3. Within clauses, connect words and phrases with coordinatingconjunctions: and, but, or, nor.The trombones and trumpets became louder, andthe whole crescendo of the orchestra and chorusshook the building.Use subordination to position ideas logically and unambiguously1. Subordinate a clause by beginning it with a subordinatingconjunction: if, unless, before, after, since,when, because, as, how, if, etc.Before inflation consumes our collective savingsand our retirement systems, we must lower thenational debt,2. Use relative pronouns (who, that, which, what) to subordinateclauses that are more logically adjective ornoun clauses.The leader who attracted the most attention lastyear was Saddam Hussein.3. Use a phrase to carry a subordinate idea.Between the compressor and the fan lies themaster cylinder, (prepositional phrase)The window broken by the fury of the hurricaneallowed enough water in to destroy the contents ofthe room, (participial phrase; infinitive phrase)My son, a soldier with the 3rd Armored Division,spent several weeks in Iraq, (appositive phrase).4. Use a simple modifier.The reason sprawling Los Angeles is not attractiveas a city is that greedy builders put up relativelycheap and architecturally incompatible structures.Use coordination to link equal words and ideas. Use subordinationto de-emphasize ideas less important than themain idea.12. ERRORS IN PARALLELISMWhenever we list two or more words in a series, wemake sure they are grammatically identical:George, Fred, and Pefewent hunting on Monday.1 enjoy most nuts, but particularly peanuts, walnuts,and chestnuts.Suppose they are not identical:The campers ate a hearty meal of tuna sandwiches,scrumptious, and swallowed.The sentence makes no sense because it is a principle inall writing that words and ideas of equal importance areconstructed alike. Nouns are used with other nouns,verbs with other verbs of the same tense, adverbs withother adverbs, and so on. Parallelism is essential in writingbecause readers of English expect balance and symmetryin any coordinate sequence.AWKWARD:As a iecfurer, he was rude, with intimidatinggestures, and he calls some students names.PARALLEL:As a lecturer, he was rude, intimidating, andinsulting.AWKWARD:His wife gave him a day runner with a calculatorand even having a digital watch and a radio.PARALLEL:His wife gave him a day runner with a calculator,a digital watch, and even a radio.Sometimes the parallel structure simply needs to bepointed up by the repetition of a strategic word or words.AWKWARD:The Reverend Taylor wanted the church elders toestablish liaisons with local businessorganizations, offering the resources of the churchto the chamber of commerce, and schedule artsand lobby classes that were desired by everyone.PARALLEL:The Reverend Taylor wanted the church elders toestablish liaisons with local businessorganizations, to offer the resources of the churchto the chamber of commerce, and to schedule artsand hobby classes that were desired by everyone.AWKWARD:The keynote speech was interminable, repetitious,and could not easily be heard.PARALLEL:The keynote speech was interminable, repetitious,and inaudible.Errors in parallelism are often made after correlatives—either-or, neither-nor, whether-or, both-and, notonly-butalso.AWKWARD:Modern classical music is neither inspiring nor didI find it intellectually fulfilling. (An adjective madeparallel with a clause.}54