: Degree of symmetry in lists For example, is the flow disrupted or does it sound weird if only one of the items has an adjective? My understanding of zoology was poor, but I knew animals

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It depends how different they are. "Wings" versus "powerful legs"? Having an adjective in one but not the other doesn't break the pattern for me.

Consider this example: "I knew animals would do everything to survive; birds would use their wings to fly away from snakes, buffaloes their powerful legs to escape from lions; and the ability to change their skin color is very useful to chameleons."

Here the third entry I've added doesn't match the pattern of the first two at all: I've put the "escape mechanism" first and the name of the creature second and I haven't followed the pattern of naming the predator they are escaping.

More jarring still is when a writer completely shifts gears. Like, "I knew animals would do everything to survive; birds would use their wings to fly away from snakes, buffaloes their powerful legs to escape from lions; and fish have gills to breathe underwater." All three things fit under the category of "things that help a creature to survive", but clearly the third is a very different nature from the first two.

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