1. A participial phrase must be placed as close to the noun it modifies as possible.

Which one is more preferable?

A) Alarmed by her silence, Tom nervously watched the woman.
B) Tom nervously watched the woman, alarmed by her silence.

2. Is the following sentence parallel?

The coach told the players that they should get a lot of sleep, not eat too much, and do some warm-up exercises before the game.