In English grammar, “parallel construction” (or parallelism) refers to which of the following practices when you are organising headings, lists or sentence parts?

Introduction / Context:
This question is about the concept of parallel construction, also known as parallelism, in English grammar and composition. Parallel construction is a stylistic and grammatical principle that improves clarity, readability and rhythm in writing. It is frequently tested in competitive exams because it shows whether a candidate can recognise and produce balanced structures, especially in lists, headings and series of phrases or clauses.

Given Data / Assumptions:
1) The term under discussion is “parallel construction”.2) Options describe different writing practices such as giving both sides of an argument, starting paragraphs similarly, using the same grammatical pattern for headings and repeating paragraphs.3) We assume the standard definition of parallelism as used in grammar and style guides.4) The correct answer should directly explain the grammatical idea rather than a broad essay strategy.

Concept / Approach:
Parallel construction means using the same grammatical pattern for elements that have the same level of importance within a sentence or outline. For example, in a list of activities, all items should be in the same verb form, such as hiking, swimming and cycling. Similarly, in an outline or headings, similar sections should follow the same grammatical structure. Therefore, any option that describes consistent grammatical patterns across similar items is likely to be correct, while options about argument balance or paragraph repetition are unrelated to parallelism as a grammatical concept.

Step-by-Step Solution:
1) Recall the definition: Parallel construction requires similar grammatical forms for items that are coordinate or of equal rank.2) Check option A: “give both sides of the argument in your essay”. While presenting both sides is good practice, this relates to content balance, not grammatical form.3) Check option B: “begin each paragraph of your essay in the same way”. This suggests a repetitive opening style and does not address grammatical similarity of multiple items.4) Examine option C: “use the same grammatical construction in all similar headings throughout an outline”. This matches the essence of parallelism, which requires that items of the same type, such as headings or bullet points, use the same grammatical structure.5) Check option D: “repeat the first paragraph of your essay as the last paragraph”. This refers to repetition for emphasis or conclusion, not parallel structure.6) Option C is therefore the only one that directly describes the requirement of identical grammatical patterns for similar elements, which is the core of parallel construction.

Verification / Alternative check:
Think of a typical outline for a report: Introduction, Literature Review, Methodology, Results, Discussion, Conclusion. All headings are in noun form, representing parallel construction. If you changed one heading to a verb phrase like “To discuss the results”, the outline would lose parallelism. Option C explicitly refers to using the same grammatical construction in similar headings throughout an outline, which is exactly what parallel construction demands. The other options, even if they describe useful writing strategies, do not talk about grammatical pattern consistency, confirming that C is the correct answer.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option A talks about argument balance, not grammatical balance.Option B concerns structural similarity in paragraph openings but not necessarily grammatical parallelism within lists or headings.Option D mentions repeating paragraphs, which is a rhetorical choice but unrelated to the concept of parallel grammatical structures.None of these is incorrect because option C already captures the accepted definition of parallel construction.

Common Pitfalls:
Students sometimes confuse parallelism with general balance in content or with simple repetition of words or ideas. They may think that any kind of symmetry is parallel construction. In reality, parallelism is specifically about matching grammatical forms in related elements, such as using verbs ending in ing for all items in a list or using noun phrases for all headings. Remembering that parallel construction is first and foremost a grammar concept, not a broad essay planning technique, will help you answer such questions correctly.

Final Answer:
Parallel construction means that you use the same grammatical construction in all similar headings throughout an outline or in similar items within a sentence.