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College of Law News
Herrera in Dec. `Maricopa Lawyer'
11/25/2008
Herrera in Dec. 'Maricopa Lawyer'
Tamara Herrera
The use of strategic punctuation to emphasize information may be more effective than underlining, boldfacing or otherwise altering typeface, Professor
Tamara Herrera
writes in a recent newspaper column, "Playing the Persuasion Game with Punctuation."
"Most legal writers know how to use colons to introduce lists and quotations, but writers can also use colons to elaborate or highlight information about the subject that precedes the colon," Herrera wrote in the December edition of
Maricopa Lawyer
.
The key is making sure the sentence preceding the colon is a complete one, and making as short of possible the information after the colon, for emphasis.
Legal writers also can use the dash to interrupt a sentence and highlight or elaborate a point.
"There is only one caveat to using punctuation for persuasive effect: use it sparingly," Herrera wrote.
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