What can I use as a meta description?

Selected answers from the Dumb SEO Questions Facebook & G+ community.

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  Michael Martinez: Yes, you can use the medta description in the text of the article. I do this all the time.
  
  No, there is no problem with duplicate content.
  
  Meta descriptions are optional, as far as the search engines are concerned.
  
  
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  Nic Hughes: no
  
  
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  Stockbridge Truslow: I actually train our writers to do that. It`s what`s called, in old school newspaper terms, the "Lede." On each page or article on the site, you have the h1 which is usually the page title. Below that - and before any other heading tag, you put in your lede. This is typically a couple of sentences though it could be a paragraph or two. Long articles might contain punch points, too - like a list of topics covered, etc.
  
  And yes - the very first sentence is typically your meta description. You want to write it in the form of a semantic triple - or in a way that describes what this page is actually going to be about - sort of a summary, if you will.
  
  So, your page about the various ways to use Acme Anvils to catch Roadrunners might start with something like this: (The are not valid HTML tags - they are just there for illustration)Acme Anvils are employed to catchroadrunners in many different ways. In this article we`ll explore some of the most unique applications that you can try at home.
  
  This immediately sets up the NLP extractions to understand that this article is going to be able using Acme Anvils to catch Roadrunners. Those entities are likely your keywords, too - so you hit on the "Match the Keyword" game, but also get into the semantic SEO game by hitting that triple right at the top.
  
  A great lede that telegraphs the meaning and primary entities right off the bat is one of the more powerful on-page ranking signals you can send right now. We`ve gone into sites that were not ranking all that well and that were either not hitting their triples in their ledes or that were not using them at all and simply put in good solid summary statements. The net result is always a huge jump and, if other people in your niche aren`t already doing it - it is a really easy way to jump from page 2 to Position 0. (Assuming the content is actually good and talks about what the lede says it does, of course).