With all the hoopla surrounding the general election, with insults and hair flying, liars calling liars liars, and Vice-President Joe Biden’s proclamation that, “… that’s a bunch of malarkey!”, here is a very interesting and level-headed perspective on one big election topic; Hillary Clinton’s emails. The authors Helen Cunningham and Brenda Greene move from the controversial private server issues at the beginning of their article, What No One Has Said about Hillary’s Emails, to the guts of the piece – what Clinton’s emails reveal about her writing and communication skills, her manners, and her grasp of English grammar. With subtopics including Language, Tone, Proofreading, and Dashes there are examples of best practices, clear language, and perfect punctuation. Then there’s Cherie Blair’s poor spelling and syntax: 
“Hilary can you give me a telephone number for the Qatar Crown Prince can ring you on and he will get in touch.” I beg your pardon! Almost worse is her misspelling of Hillary by forgetting one “l.” Beyond rude.
On Language the authors write, “Hillary is a master of plain English and clarity in email. Her readers will never need a dictionary, nor will they need to re-read a message. She writes tightly, avoiding extra words and using simple, direct sentences. To Jacob Lew, then-budget director: “Let’s talk tomorrow. I’ll call you in the morning about two subjects: Haiti and Af-Pak. Is there anything else you want to raise?” To aide Robert Russo: “Pls make 4 copies of the Sept. 21 revised summary document you prepared for me for tomorrow. Thx.”
As the authors note, “You’d be lucky to have a boss like Hillary.” Here they address Etiquette: “Hillary’s emails are noteworthy for the generally polite and respectful manner towards staff. The abbreviations “Pls” and “Thx” (“please” and “thanks”) are ubiquitous. “Pls come see me tomorrow about redesigning and updating the format. Thx.” “Thanks for all your hard work on this difficult speech to get it as right as possible.”
Finally, down to brass tacks – “Proofreading: Hillary leads by example with exacting standards for writing and a sharp eye. She often reminds staff to give documents a rigorous review before releasing them to the public, and does so with a surprisingly gentle tone. “Ok but be sure it’s proofread. ” “Also, pls be sure the text is carefully proofread since there are a number of typos and missing words.” “I think it is ready to go w one question: when you say in the 4th para, “last July”, do you mean 09 or 10? I thought we started in 09.”
So, email servers and elections aside – if you get hacked, don’t be a Cherie Blair, be a Hillary Clinton! Here are some Fall 2016 courses that will help:
Fall Courses at CALA:
Professional Writing with Power
Writing and Grammar: The Basics
Grammar Intensive for Publishing Professionals
From ALI (American Language Institute)
Helen Cunningham will teach: