balanced sentence

{{Short description|Sentence that employs parallel structures of approximately the same length and importance}}

A balanced sentence is a sentence that employs parallel structures of approximately the same length and importance.

Examples

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." (A Tale of Two Cities){{cite web|url= http://writing2.richmond.edu/writing/wweb/parstruc.html|title=Focusing Sentences Through Parallelism|accessdate=2008-03-11| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20080308223348/http://writing2.richmond.edu/WRITING/wweb/parstruc.html| archivedate= 8 March 2008 | url-status= live}}
"White chickens lay white eggs, and brown chickens lay brown eggs; so if white cows give white milk, do brown cows give chocolate milk?"
From Abraham Lincoln's 1863 Gettysburg Address, two powerful examples: "But in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate—we cannot consecrate—we cannot hallow—this ground." and "...that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."