Short Writing Exercise: Week 2

Posi 5335

Patricia M. Shields

Examine each of the five sentences below. Using the The Elementary Principles of Composition (Ch. 2 Strunk and White), specify principles that could be used to improve the sentence. Using the insights from the principles, rewrite sentences 2, 3 & 5.

1. According to Peterson (1994: 88), once the federal government significantly ceased to be a major provider of financial support for public services and initiatives undertaken at the local level, municipalities had to become more reliant upon their own resources to get things done.

2. With the help of the United States Supreme Court, the states were able to regulate their states game.

3. Les (2000:175) writes that one reason for a business to close shop downtown or move out of downtown is due to “diminished market support,” which include too much outlying competition or a poor retail mix downtown.

4. Federal policies for providing assistance to downtowns have also largely focused on the center cities of major metropolitan areas (Burayidi, 2001:3). However, a majority of the U.S. population resides in smaller communities.

5. When a downtown has a myriad of opportunities that attracts visitors on workdays, evenings and weekends, this can be a factor in encouraging new business and the expansion of existing business

6. Generally, they (three different authors referred to above) agree that the four main elements a downtown needs to go beyond being one dimensional are: a mix of business, a diversity of uses, high density and formalized planning.