When nearly 25,000 of former Alaska governor Sarah Palin’s e-mails were released last week, we all were given a (much anticipated) look not only at what she was writing, but how she was writing.
AOL brought in two writing analysts to individually assess the level at which the e-mails were being composed. What they found was impressive. Palin’s writing skills appeared to reach an eighth grade level — a score, the analysis explained, that is excellent for a chief executive.
(MORE: Sarah Palin’s E-Mail Etiquette)
Paul J.J Payack, President of the Global Language Monitor, and 2tor CEO John Jatzman were responsible for the analysis. “She came in as a solid communicator,” Payack noted. The e-mails sent via Blackberry were scored at Grade 8.5 level. They also noted there were few “Alaskanisms,” or instances of regional slang, in the messages.
Katzman, one of the analysts, told AOL, “I’m a centrist Democrat, and would have loved to support my hunch that Ms. Palin is illiterate.” Sorry, Katzman, but based on your evaluation, this doesn’t seem to be the case. “She has much more of a disciplined mind than she’s given credit for,” Payack said.