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Ontario Tech acknowledges the lands and people of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation.

We are thankful to be welcome on these lands in friendship. The lands we are situated on are covered by the Williams Treaties and are the traditional territory of the Mississaugas, a branch of the greater Anishinaabeg Nation, including Algonquin, Ojibway, Odawa and Pottawatomi. These lands remain home to many Indigenous nations and peoples.

We acknowledge this land out of respect for the Indigenous nations who have cared for Turtle Island, also called North America, from before the arrival of settler peoples until this day. Most importantly, we acknowledge that the history of these lands has been tainted by poor treatment and a lack of friendship with the First Nations who call them home.

This history is something we are all affected by because we are all treaty people in Canada. We all have a shared history to reflect on, and each of us is affected by this history in different ways. Our past defines our present, but if we move forward as friends and allies, then it does not have to define our future.

Learn more about Indigenous Education and Cultural Services

Parallel Structure

Parallelism is “the use of matching sentence structure, phrases, or longer parts so as to balance ideas of equal importance” (Cambridge Dictionary Online, 2019).

Parallel structure is an important component of good writing. It ensures that your text flows smoothly and that your grammatical forms are consistent. Done well, parallelism can give your writing more impact.

Tip: 

Words in a series or in a compound sentence should be written in the same tense and in the same style of speech. In the examples below, the italicized words and phrases are in parallel form, and the bolded ones are not.

  • Correct: In the summer, I like to go swimming, camping and hiking.
  • Incorrect: In the summer, I like to go swimming, camping and for hikes.

 

  • Correct: After we completed the assignment, we waited for the grade.
  • Incorrect: After we completed the assignment, we wait for the grade.

 

  • Correct: She not only corrected my grammar, but also corrected my spelling.
  • Correct: She corrected not only my grammar, but also my spelling.
  • Incorrect: She not only corrected my grammar, but also my spelling.

 

  • Correct: The participants were told to make themselves comfortable, to read the instructions, and to ask about anything they did not understand.
  • Incorrect: The participants were told to make themselves comfortable, to read the instructions, and that they should ask about anything they did not understand (example extracted from APA, 2010, p. 86).

References:

American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Parallelism. (2019). In Cambridge Dictionary Online. Retrieved from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/parallelism