Don't use words that hedge or evade such as "it is my understanding,"
"possibly," "perhaps," or "could." Customers and prospects become
distrustful when they are exposed to a lack of forthrightness. These
words may be used, however, in situations when you are making a
suggestion to a difficult person or one opposed to your ideas.

In response to last week's tip on margins, a reader commented:

"This is a practice that is and should be changing for the purpose of
reducing the use of paper. Almost everything I write or produce in my
job is with .5" margins, and it works fine. Thanks for the opportunity
to comment."

What do you think?

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See how many words you can match to their meanings:
Alliteration, onomatopoeia, personification, epic

1. a long poem that tells the story of an heroic person
2. the repetition of initial consonant sounds
3. a figure of speech giving human traits to ideas or
inanimate objects
4. the use of words to imitate sounds

See answers below.

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Quote of the week:
Genius without education is like silver in the mine. Benjamin Franklin

Send us your favorite quote and you may see it posted here.

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Vocabulary word of the week:
Salient(adj.): something that stands out; of notable significance.
Example: Let's discuss the proposal's salient points.

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Answers:

Alliteration: the repetition of initial consonant sounds
Onomatopoeia: the use of words to imitate sounds
Personification: a figure of speech giving human traits to ideas or
inanimate objects
Epic: a long poem that tells the story an heroic person

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