Have students select a piece of writing that they want to energize. Ask students to look for sentences that can be expanded in one of the following six ways using parallel structures:

1. Use prepositional phrases as in "History will show that he walked away with ... with ... and with .... Or "She walked down …. through … and across …."

2. Use who clauses, as in "She was a woman who ... who ... and who...." (Or an idea that …, that…, that….)

3. Use infinitive to phrases as in "Students need to help their troubled friends to ..., to ..., to ...."

4. Use clauses, as in "If we are to..., if we are to..., if we are to ..., then we must act now." Or "This was a place where…, where …, and where…."

5. __________ing, _____________ing, ___________ing, the…. (Or have students try this same structure with two complete phrases, such as "Diving through the branches, swerving around a tree trunk, the chickadee landed on the ranger's arm.")