Now that I've seen your "From the Heart" press releases -- not your first "benchmark" efforts but the assignment for Lesson Two -- I see several categories of problem. I have already emailed you some feedback on these which you can review from the red link in this paragraph.

For that first release, you are receiving collective feedback. If you were in my classroom, I would have you read your releases aloud, and we would critique them together. Then you would rewrite them based on what you learn from that discussion.

On the following pages you'll find twelve problem areas for press releases, which represent the categories of criticism that arise from the classroom critique. I want you to take your time and read these pages carefully, because they'll save you a lot of time later.

I say "take your time" because too many online students think they can simply skim a few paragraphs and "get it." You can't "get it" just by scanning the material -- you have to internalize it. That means reading it carefully and comparing each point to your own press release.

From this point forward, when I critique your work, I'll refer to these 12 problem areas. I will expect you to be able to refer to them, so you might want to print out the following several pages.

Developing PR writers need to pay attention to a number of writing problems simultaneously. The following pages will be a big help. Another good guide for your self-evaluation is the chart on Evaluating Press Releases. Notice that there are samples of "A," "C," and "F" papers. There is also a sample of an "A" quality Message Planner.

I expect you -- and your client or boss will expect you -- to take the initiative in perfecting your work. Your client, or boss, will often suggest changes in how you approach your assignment. But they will expect that all the basic problems will be solved before you present your draft.

Go on to the next page.