Given the amount of space set aside in the Word template you provided, I assumed this section would be content on the order of a newspaper column (typically 800 words) or larger. At multi-author blogs where I've seen some of the behind-the-scenes discussion about site layout, one of the things people disagree about a lot is whether an entire column-scale piece should appear on the front page, or whether there should be an excerpt. I usually come down on the side of the excerpt, especially if there are going to be comments.

One of the most difficult decisions that has to be made – at least in my opinion – is how much of the page layout is going to be forced on the reader. This example follows my own preferences for font family and font size, and does its best to force those on the reader. The widths of the pseudo-columns are specified in pixels and the overall appearance depends very much on following my choice of font and sizes fairly closely.

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