Over at aol/huffpo news there is an article about the Sarah Palin email fiasco. The headline of the article indicates that the Sarah Palin emails were written at about an 8.5 grade level, or middle school. Which sets a negative tone for the article right off the bat.
But once you get into it, it is the same basic level that most CEO's write at. It also points out that the same analysis that determined Sarah Palin's writing level measured the Abraham Lincoln "Gettysburg Address" spech at a 9.0 grade level and the Martin Luther King "I have a Dream" speech at 8.8 grade level.
The guy scoring these writings is a moderate democrat who started out wanting to find that Sarah Palin is a borderline idiot, but walked away with a different impression saying,"She came in as a solid communicator," and "She's very concise. She gives clear orders. Her sentences and punctuations are logical". Well now, isn't that a shocker. At least he was open minded enough to evaluate this fairly.
Also keep in mind that emails are not something most people spend a lot of time on. At work, my emails are short and to the point. Who really wants to read a two page email over a simple subject that requires only a sentance or two?
And, unless I'm mistaken, don't most communications courses teach people to write in clear, concise language that most people will be able to understand? It sounds like the Palin emails accomplish this and more.
It doesn't seem like there is much to rip into Palin about in these thousands of emails. What a waste of time a resources. It's kind of funny how news organizations will put so much effort into trying to discredit a private citizen, yet the president of the United States can lie, cheat, hang out with thugs and criminals and it gets ZERO press coverage. What a joke the media has become.