Ordering Sentences in a Community-Garden Article
An online newsletter runs a 120-word article about a community garden’s growth. The editor has six sentences in scrambled order: (A) The garden began in 2019 with eight raised beds. (B) Today it supplies 200 pounds of produce each month to a local food pantry. (C) Volunteers meet every Saturday to weed and water. (D) The city provided the empty lot after a petition drive. (E) In 2021, a grant paid for a greenhouse. (F) However, the garden still needs a full-time coordinator. The editor wants a chronological structure that emphasizes growth, then a closing sentence that points to a remaining need. The article must end with a sentence that sets up a volunteer recruitment link. The newsletter’s style is plain and direct, with no more than one transition per sentence.
1. What is the most logical order of sentences A–F? Explain the sequence.
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Most logical order: D, A, E, B, C, F. D establishes how the garden got its site; A gives the founding date and original size; E marks the 2021 expansion; B states the current output, which is the clearest measure of growth; C describes current operations; F closes with the remaining need and sets up the recruitment link. Putting B before E would break the chronological movement from 2019 to 2021 to today. Putting C earlier would interrupt the growth narrative with routine maintenance. F must stay last because the editor wants a closing sentence that leads into volunteer recruitment.
2. The editor must cut one sentence to meet a 100-word limit. Which sentence is the best candidate to cut, and why?
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If one sentence must be cut, cut C (“Volunteers meet every Saturday to weed and water.”). The editor wants to emphasize growth, and C describes routine operations rather than an expansion or outcome. A, D, and E establish origin and growth; B supplies a measurable current result; F supplies the closing need and recruitment hook. Cutting B would remove the strongest evidence of growth. Cutting F would remove the required closing. Cutting C costs the least and still leaves a coherent article.
3. Combine sentences D and A into one smoother sentence without changing the chronological relationship.
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Combine D and A to show cause and sequence: “After the city provided the empty lot following a petition drive, the garden began in 2019 with eight raised beds.” This replaces two short sentences with one clear chronological sentence and uses “After” to signal the relationship. The original order (D then A) is already logical, but the combined version reads more smoothly and saves words. Avoid a vague transition like “Then” because it would not show that the petition drive preceded the city’s decision.