Virginia SOL 10.LU.1.A
The Standard
Use, edit, and revise parallel structure across complex sentences and paragraphs in writing.
Virginia Standards of Learning for English · Grammar
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students identify ideas that serve the same role and express them in matching grammatical forms. They revise lists, comparisons, and paired ideas within complex sentences. They also maintain a consistent pattern across related sentences in a paragraph.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can spot a shift such as “planning, drafting, and to revise” and change it to a consistent pattern. The student can maintain that pattern across related sentences and explain how it improves clarity or emphasis.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may match word endings but overlook mismatched phrases or clauses. They often fix lists within one sentence but miss pattern shifts across a paragraph. Some confuse purposeful parallel structure with unnecessary repetition.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: Revise for parallel structure and underline each matching pattern: “The committee planned to survey students, interviewing teachers, and to review attendance data; its goals were reducing absences, to improve communication, and stronger family involvement.”
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs color-coded sentence strips with mismatched list items; students rearrange and rewrite the strips so each item follows one grammatical pattern.
Ask students to write three versions of one claim using repeated infinitives, gerunds, and clauses, then discuss which version best fits the emphasis.
Run a parallelism relay where teams correct one sentence card, explain the pattern, and pass the marker to the next teammate.
Have students edit a college application paragraph or workplace email so duties, goals, and qualifications appear in matching forms.
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Printable 10.LU.1.A Worksheet
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Related Standards
- 6.W.3.A
Revise writing for clarity of content, word choice, sentence variety, and transition among paragraphs.
- 9.LU.1.A
Use parallel structure across sentences and paragraphs to link and compare/contrast ideas in writing and speaking.
- 8.W.3.A
Revise writing for clarity of content, word choice, sentence variety, and transition among paragraphs.
- 7.W.3.A
Revise writing for clarity of content, word choice, sentence variety, and transition among paragraphs.
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